ABSTRACT
Dynamic models of estuaries simulate the effect of the driving forces on estuarine hydrodynamics at time scales much less than tidal cycles. Estuarine flow models must include boundary conditions for flows or water surface elevations at the riverine and oceanic interfaces. The simplest and a frequently used computational grid in finite-difference schemes is the rectangular grid with fixed grid spacing. Curvilinear coordinates allow even greater flexibility in the placement of horizontal grid points. The z-grid or Cartesian vertical coordinate system is equivalent to the rectangular horizontal grid. A. F. Blumberg present a two-dimensional circulation and water quality model that included equations for continuity, momentum, and constituent transport. The modeling of the Chesapeake Bay used a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model in conjunction with a three-dimensional water quality model. In the indirect linkage approach, the results of the circulation model are processed, saved to files, and then used as input to models of water quality.
