Tidal Characteristics in the Wenzhou Offshore Waters and Changes Resulting from the Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project

The Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project is the core part of Wenzhou Peninsula Engineering which is a big comprehensive development project to expand the city space. The dynamics of the surrounding area was proved to suffer little effect in response to the Lingni north dyke since it was built approximately along the current direction. Therefore, this paper focuses firstly on the tidal characteristics in the Wenzhou and Yueqing bays with the Lingni north dyke being built and then on the changes resulting from the implementation of the on-going Wenzhou Shoal Reclamation Project（WSRP） which will reclaim land from the whole Wenzhou Shoal. To simulate the tidal dynamics, a high-resolution coastal ocean model with unstructured triangular grids was set up for the Wenzhou and Yueqing Bays. The model resolved the complicated tidal dynamics with the simulated tidal elevation and current in good agreement with observations. In the study area, M2 is the predominant tidal component, which means the tide is semidiurnal. The new reclamation project hardly affects the Yueqing Bay and the open ocean, but there are concentrated effects on the mouth of the southern branch of the Oujiang River and the southwest of Wenzhou Shoal. This study provides an indicative reference to the local government and helps to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the project.