Brownsville Ship Channel Hydrodynamic Modeling

Abstract : The US Army Engineer District, Galveston, requested a numerical model of hydrodynamic changes that would result from each of several possible enlargements of the Brownsville Ship Channel in Brownsville, Texas. These plans include possible deepening and widening of the ship channel from its connection to the Gulf of Mexico to the turning basin approximately 18 miles inland. The model was validated to flow, wind, and tide conditions from June 1997. Model-specific parameters for bed roughness were set and used for the plan simulations. Velocity, discharge, and water surface analyses were performed at several locations along the ship channel to determine the impacts of the proposed changes.