Numerical model of the submarine fresh-water discharge in a karst cavity

Abstract

We discuss the results of numerical experiments aimed at the reconstruction the structure of hydrophysical fields in a karst cavity (in the region of Cape Aiya on the South Coast of Crimea) observed in the course of the second specialized expedition in September 2008. To describe the process of submarine fresh-water discharge, we use a three-dimensional hydrostatic model with a priori specified boundaries of the layers (σ- and/or Z- levels) in the “rigid-lid” approximation including the procedure of “convective adjustment.” It is shown that only a good vertical resolution enables one to give a quantitatively correct description of a thin upper freshened layer of the sea. It is shown that, in order to get an adequate picture of the influence of bottom topography on the upper layer of the sea, it is reasonable to use a mixed grid along the vertical combining the σ- and Z- coordinates. We also present the results of numerical experiments allowing us to estimate the effects of location, number, and power of fresh-water sources placed on the lateral boundary of the cavity.