Impact of Sea Level Rise on Tidal Level in the Pearl River Estuary

Sea level rise has been a serious environmental problem worldwide and the Pearl River Delta area is one of the most vulnerable regions with sea level rise (SLR). To analyze the influence of SLR on tidal level in this region, it is meaningful and necessary to establish the hydrodynamic numerical model. In this paper, a high-resolution ADCIRC model was employed to simulate flow in the Pearl River Estuary. The model was forced by tides and river discharges and was validated with field data. The simulations were performed with 0.5-m and 1.0-m sea level rise. It indicates that the stations in shallow water areas are more sensitive to SLR than stations in the open sea. In the simulation with 0.5-m SLR, the increasing amplitude of tide reaches more than 0.25 m, which is approximately 0.55 m in the case of 1.0-m sea level rise in the study stations around shallow water. The research will benefit to the environment engineering in estuary and coastal areas.