Three-Dimensional Numerical Simulation of Tidal Flows in the Yangtze River Estuary

This paper presents a numerical investigation on three-dimensional hydrodynamic characteristics driven by astronomical tides and river flows in the Yangtze River Estuary by using CCHE3D. The computational domain covers a regional scale area of the estuary from Jiangying to the offshore at the Sheshan Island, of which the river course is more than 200 km. The hydrodynamic modeling for the large-scale estuary was performed to simulate 11-days tidal flows during a spring-neap tide period from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, 2000. Preliminary numerical results reproduced the 3D tidal flow processes in the spring and neap tides. The computed flow patterns in the estuary reveal that complicated 3D circulations can be generated at the areas where the Yangtze River flows interact with the flood tides from downstream.