A free-surface hydrodynamic model for density-stratified flow in the weakly to strongly non-hydrostatic regime

Abstract

A non-hydrostatic density-stratified hydrodynamic model with a free surface has been developed from the vorticity equations rather than the usual momentum equations. This approach has enabled the model to be obtained in two different forms, weakly non-hydrostatic and fully non-hydrostatic, with the computationally efficient weakly non-hydrostatic form applicable to motions having horizontal scales greater than the local water depth. The hydrodynamic model in both its weakly and fully non-hydrostatic forms is validated numerically using exact nonlinear non-hydrostatic solutions given by the Dubriel–Jacotin–Long equation for periodic internal gravity waves, internal solitary waves, and flow over a ridge. The numerical code is developed based on a semi-Lagrangian scheme and higher order finite-difference spatial differentiation and interpolation. To demonstrate the applicability of the model to coastal ocean situations, the problem of tidal generation of internal solitary waves at a shelf-break is considered. Simulations carried out with the model obtain the evolution of solitary wave generation and propagation consistent with past results. Moreover, the weakly non-hydrostatic simulation is shown to compare favorably with the fully non-hydrostatic simulation. The capability of the present model to simulate efficiently relatively large scale non-hydrostatic motions suggests that the weakly non-hydrostatic form of the model may be suitable for application in a large-area domain while the computationally intensive fully non-hydrostatic form of the model may be used in an embedded sub-domain where higher resolution is needed.