Cape Fear-Northeast Cape Fear River, North Carolina; Numerical Model Study

摘要

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic and salinity numerical model of the Cape Fear River Estuary, NC, was developed, verified, and used in an experimental program. The purpose of the model was to determine salinity and water level changes in the estuary that may result from a planned deepening of the Wilmington Harbor channel. The model included a discretized representation, or numerical grid, of the system, boundary condition forcings, and the RMA10-WES (TABS-MS) finite element code. Verification was realized by comparisons of model results to approximately 8 weeks of prototype data for tides, velocities, and salinities. The experimental program consisted of calculating salinity and water level results for differing proposed channel depths and comparing these values to the base, or existing, conditions. The results indicate that deepening beyond 12.2 m (40 ft) resulted in average maximum tide height increases of 50 m (2 in.) and small decreases in salinity in the Willmington vicinity.