Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2011, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (3): 16-23.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2011.03.016cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2011.03.016

• Marine hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Energy flux and dissipation in the Pearl River Estuary

LIU Huan1,2 , WU Chao-yu1 , BAO Yun3   

  1. 1. Research Center of Coastal Ocean Science and Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; 2. School of Envi- ronmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; 3. Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
  • Received:2010-10-19 Revised:2010-10-24 Online:2011-07-18 Published:2011-07-20

Abstract:

A three-dimensional numerical model that covers the river network, estuary and coastal region is developed to study the energy flux and characteristic of energy dissipation. The results are as follows. (1) The energy source in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) is mainly from tides and freshwater, which have obvious seasonal variation. (2) There are typical hotspots where energy dissipation is higher by 1?2 orders than those in the immediate upstream and downstream sections in the PRE. This phenomenon is linked with flow dynamic structure and morphological unit. Based on the characteristic of morphology and dissipation, the hotspots can be categorized into three types: “gate” of the PRE, meandering river, and branch and junction.

Key words: energy flux, energy conversion, energy dissipation, numerical simulation, Pearl River Estuary