NUMERICAL MODELING OF WATER CIRCULATION AND POLLUTANT TRANSPORT IN A SHALLOW BASIN

Abstract

A two-dimensional numerical model was developed1–3 to simulate the sediment and pollutant transport in a shallow basin. The developed model consist of two modules: Hydrodynamic module and sediment/pollutant transport module. A numerical hydrodynamic module based on the Saint-Venant equations, is resolved by a MacCormack numerical scheme and is used to simulate the circulation pattern in the basin. The obtained flow circulation is used as an input to the sediment/pollutant transport module to simulate the transport and dispersion of a pollutant emitted into the basin. To calibrate the numerical model, the distorted scale model of the Windermere Basin4 was used. In this physical model, the flow visualization and pollutant transport experiments provide a good calibration. The simulated results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements and the results in Ref. 4. With the aid of the validated model, the influence of the construction of dikes on the residence time distributions in the basin was examined.