Coupled solution of oil slick and depth averaged tidal currents on three-dimensional geometry of Persian Gulf

Abstract

In this paper, simulation of oil spill due to tidal currents in Persian Gulf is performed by coupled solution of the hydrodynamics equations and an equation for convection and diffusion of the oil. The hydrodynamic equations utilized in this work consist of depth average equations of continuity and motion in two dimensional horizontal planes. The effect of evaporation is considered in the continuity equation and the effects of bed slope and friction, as well as the Coriolis effects are considered in two equations of motion. The overlapping cell vertex finite volume method is applied for solving the governing equations on triangular unstructured meshes. Using unstructured meshes provides great flexibility for modeling the flow in arbitrary and complex geometries, such as Persian Gulf flow domain. The results of the hydrodynamic model for tidal currents in Persian Gulf domain is examined by imposing tidal fluctuations to the main flow boundary during a limited period of time. Finally, the developed model is used to simulate an accidental oil spill from a point in Persian Gulf.