Tidal energy flux and dissipation in the Pearl River estuary

The Pearl River delta is one of the most complicated large-scale estuarine systems in China.It consists of a reticulated network system and several estuary bays.To discuss the tidal energy flux and disspation in the Pearl River estuary,a 3D hydrodynamic model is developed to simulate the tidal transport process.The results of the numerical simulation and the morphodynamic analysis indicate that the tidal flux in the main channel is stronger than that in beach;the energy dissipation by bottom friction is larger than vertical advection,and the energy dissipation horizontal advection is the smallest.The regions of the fiord,bifurcated channel and meandering channel are typical high energy consumption areas,which are 1～2 order magnitude bigger than the other areas.