Effect of sea level rise on tidal circulation in the Hooghly Estuary, Bay of Bengal

Abstract

The issue of sea level rise is receiving considerable attention all over the world. Although the Indian stations have shown mixed trends, a positive sea level trend has been noticed in the Hooghly Estuary, situated on the east coast of India. The Hooghly River serves as a navigable waterway to Calcutta and Haldia ports. The river is tidal for nearly 250 km. To study the water levels and tidal currents in the lower part of the Hooghly Estuary, from sea face at Sagar to Hooghly Point, a vertically integrated numerical model has been used. The model is fully nonlinear and uses a semiexplicit finite‐difference scheme to solve the basic hydrodynamic equations on a staggered grid. This model is coupled with a one‐dimensional model, which has been used for the upper estuary from Hooghly Point to Swarupganj, where the flow is unidirectional. The computed water levels and currents are found to be in good agreement with the available observations. This model is applied to study the alterations in tidal circulation for a rise and fall in the sea level. The results have shown a substantial increase in the amplitude and velocities of the tidal wave due to the sea level rise.