Multiresolution approximation for shallow water equations using summation-by-parts finite differences

Abstract

Abstract We present spatial approximation for shallow water equations on a mesh of multiple rectangular blocks with different resolution in Cartesian geometry. The approximation is based on finite-difference operators that fulfill Summation By Parts (SBP) property – a discrete analogue of integration by parts. The solution continuity conditions between mesh blocks are imposed in a weak form using Simultaneous Approximation Terms (SAT) method.We show that the resulting discrete divergence and gradient operators are anti-conjugate. The important consequences are the discrete analogues for mass and energy conservation laws along with the proof of stability for linearized equations. The numerical shallow water equations model based on the presented spatial approximation is tested using problems with meteorological context. Test results prove high-order accuracy of SBP-SAT discretization. The interfaces between mesh blocks of different resolution produce no significant noise. The local mesh refinement is shown to have positive effect on the solution both locally inside the refined region and globally in the dynamically coupled areas.