Strong form-based meshfree collocation method for wind-driven ocean circulation

Abstract

A meshfree point collocation method for modeling large scale wind-driven ocean circulation is proposed. A distinct feature of the method is its ability to represent derivative operators via moving least-square approximation of the Taylor expansion through point-wise computations at collocation points. The method directly discretizes strong forms using the precomputed derivative operators at each collocation point. Numerical studies with three benchmark problems are performed to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the method. Along with these studies, an examination is presented regarding the effect of numerical parameters on the error behavior of the proposed method. Finally, wind-driven ocean circulation in the Mediterranean Sea is examined to test the method’s ability to model realistic oceanic flow with arbitrary shaped coastal lines.