Study on Numerical Modeling for Pollutants Movement Based on the Wave Parabolic Mild Slope Equation in Curvilinear Coordinates

Abstract

Nearshore waves and currents induced by breaking of obliquely incident waves are important dynamic factors that significantly affect pollutants movement at offshore zones. A combined numerical model in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates is developed to simulate pollutants movement in surf zones, including a wave transformation model based on the parabolic mild slope equation, a wave-induced current model, and a pollutant transport model driven by waves and currents. This combined model has been applied to pollutants movement laboratory cases, and comparison of the simulations with experimental measurements shows good agreement. The model has also been applied to simulation of the Gourlay experiment and it shows consistent results with the distribution of waves and offshore currents. This coupled numerical model has preliminarily improved the situation of rare numerical research on the nearshore pollutant transport in coastal wave and wave-induced current based on wave radiation stress theory in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.