Waterway Design Criteria of Land Reclamation Based on an Environmental Fluid Dynamics Computer Model

Abstract

Jiang, W.; Zhang, H.; Peng, J.; Song, C., and Li, X., 2020. Waterway design criteria of land reclamation based on an environmental fluid dynamics computer model. In: Yang, D.F. and Wang, H. (eds.), Recent Advances in Marine Geology and Environmental Oceanography. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 108, pp. 89–94. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Planning design criteria are critical for offshore artificial island land reclamation. To evaluate the coastal environmental impact of land reclamation, a quantitative analysis is carried out based on an environmental fluid dynamics computer (EFDC) model. Eight hypothetical waterway conditions are simulated in three groups (island–shore distance, island–island distance, and waterway direction). The effects of different conditions are compared by hydrodynamic characteristics and water exchange capacity. Based on the simulation results, the waterway design principles could be summarized as three aspects: (1) increasing the distance between the islands and the coast is beneficial to improving water circulation capacity, (2) the distance between artificial islands should be reduced as much as possible to speed up the water flow in the waterway, and (3) the waterways segregating the artificial islands should be as parallel to the coast as possible. It can be observed that the proposed waterway design criteria could provide effective and environmentally friendly guidance for future planning and construction.