A mathematical coastal ocean circulation system with breaking waves and numerical grid generation

The three-dimensional coastal ocean modelling system is presented. The system is a primitive equation coastal ocean modelling system with grid generation routines and turbulent closure taking surface ocean breaking waves into account. The system consists of the coastal ocean model, grid-generated routines, and a grid package that allows the model to be coupled with model grids. Although the influence of surface waves on the surface layer of the ocean has been well studied numerically and experimentally the ocean wave effects on momentum and energy fluxes, currents, and turbulence are not taken into account in all existing coastal ocean models. On the other hand, traditionally, rectangular grids have been most commonly used in coastal ocean modelling for their simplicity. However these grids may not be well suited to some coastal regions, especially those with complicated physical fields, open boundaries, coastlines, and bathymetry. In many cases open boundary conditions are poorly treated with traditional rectangular (cartesian) grids even at very high resolution. In the system the curvilinear orthogonal and nearly orthogonal, coastline-following grids are used to enhance model numerical solution by better treating coastlines, complicated topography, and boundary conditions. These kinds of grids can also easily increase horizontal resolution in the subregion of the model domain without increasing the computational expense with a higher resolution over the entire domain. These grids are designed by using grid generation techniques. The coastal ocean model for the South China Sea (SCS) has 16 sigma vertical levels, free surface dynamics, a turbulence closure taking breaking waves into account (see Ref. 3), and realistic coastlines and bathymetry. The SCS model and associated grids are used to simulate winter circulation and to produce the basic physics of the SCS such as coastal currents and upwelling locations.