Simulating the ocean circulation in the Arabian Gulf

Details

Supervisors

Hanert, Emmanuel

Faculty

Ecole polytechnique de Louvain

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur civil en mathématiques appliquées, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

The Arabian Gulf (hereafter, the Gulf) is a shallow semi-enclosed basin whose circulation is particularly complex. As it is the scene of daily oil exports around the world, the Gulf's circulation presents major climatic and economic challenges. It is primarily driven by water inflow from the Gulf of Oman and by density-driven and wind-driven flows within the Gulf. This study presents a high resolution model of the circulation in the Gulf, with a special focus on the the Gulf of Salwa, south of Bahrain, which we would like to investigate the connectivity with the rest of the Gulf. To achieve our aims, we will use the two-dimensional barotropic model as well as the Lagrangian particle tracker of the Second-generation Louvain-la-Neuve Ice-ocean Model (SLIM) on a unstructured mesh having a highest resolution of 500 m. The model has been validated with on-site observations off Qatar. The results allow to describe the hydrodynamics of the Gulf with important accuracy. We describe inter-seasonal and inter-annual changes in the Gulf's circulation. Then, we study the mean residence time of the Gulf of Salwa, which is the time for fictive particles to leave the region while being driven by the model currents. We state that the Gulf of Salwa is a pretty isolated area of within the Gulf.