Three-dimensional simulation of water circulation in the Java Sea : Influence of wind waves on surface and bottom stresses

Abstract

A one-year simulation of tide- and wind-driven circulation in the Java Sea, which is one of the Indonesian seas located in a tropical area, has been carried out using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model incorporating the influence of the wind waves generated at the sea surface. This area is influenced by the monsoon climate (east- and west-monsoon). Six hourly-wind fields at 10 m above the sea surface were used as a representative wind field. In other respects, the effect of waves on the three-dimensional hydrodynamic model has been represented by the surface and bottom stresses. A third-generation wave model called WAM (WAMDI, 1988) was used to calculate the wave parameters and the wave dependence of the drag coefficient. The trajectory of water particles induced by the calculated velocity fields in the Java Sea was then simulated. In dealing with hazardous phenomena, this model will be extended to predict suspended sediment fluxes, particularly those relating to catastrophic changes in sea bottom topography and beach erosion. It is also an important tool for the prediction of storm surge events.