Field Measurements and 3D Numerical Modeling of Hydrodynamics in Chabahar Bay, Iran

As the first phase of a series of monitoring and modeling studies of Iranian coastal areas, Chabahar Bay, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Oman, was under a comprehensive monitoring and modeling study in 2006-2007. The study included an extensive one-year field measurements program to help understanding the ongoing processes in the bay and provide inputs or boundary conditions and validation data for numerical models. An analysis of the collected data and the results of three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic numerical modeling are described in this paper. 3D numerical model of MISED was employed to provide a full spatial picture of bay-wide circulations and its sensitivity to environmental factors such as tides and winds. MISED simulations were completed for the months of February and March 2007 and the results were compared with the measurements. It was observed that the simulated tidal currents favorably agree with the measured data at the selected stations. Particle tracking simulations using a Lagrangian Particle Tracking Model showed that the combination of wind-driven and tidal currents generates a self-flushing function that tends to carry suspended material to outside of the bay. The combination of winds and tides has thus a very important assimilative function for water quality of Chabahar Bay.