A Study of Distribution of Jellyfish by Particle Numerical Experiment in Masan Bay

Abstract

The spatio-temporal distribution of jellyfish in Masan Bay was investigated in this study using a numerical model. First, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (POM) was constructed,taking into account residual flows, tides, temperature, salinity, and wind effects. A particle tracking model based on residual flow was then used to investigate the jellyfish present in Masan Port, referred to as the Heavy Industry and Gapo New Port in Masan. Jellyfish distribution was concentrated with maximum (2,533 individual) in the North Sea near Machang Bridge. Itcan be concluded that this concentration was due to multi-directional residual flows and topography effects. Residual flow currents are a dominant factor in understanding the aggregation of jellyfish, and this study used a numerical simulation of tide-induced residual currents, wind-driven currents and density currents in distinct cases to thoroughly address the topic. As a result, wind-driven currents (effect of the wind) was found to be superior to other components as an influence on the distribution of jellyfish near Machang Bridge and Modo in Masan Bay.