Coastal Management Program, Environmental and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat, Kuwait.
Coastal Management Program, Environmental and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat, Kuwait.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Feb;127:82-96. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.11.049. Epub 2017 Nov 25.
Hydrodynamics and associated environmental processes have always been of major concern to coastal-dependent countries, such as Kuwait. This is due to the environmental impact that accompanies the economic and commercial activities along the coastal areas. In the current study, a three-dimensional numerical model is utilized to unveil the main dynamic and physical properties of Kuwait Bay during the critical season. The model performance over the summer months (June, July and August 2012) is assessed against comprehensive field measurements of water levels, velocity, temperature and salinity data before using the model to describe the circulation as driven by tides, gravitational convection and winds. The results showed that the baroclinic conditions in the Bay are mainly determined by the horizontal salinity gradient and to much less extent temperature gradient. The gradients stretched over the southern coast of the Bay where dense water is found at the inner and enclosed areas, while relatively lighter waters are found near the mouth of the Bay. This gradient imposed a reversed estuarine circulation at the main axis of the Bay, particularly during neap tides when landward flow near the surface and seaward flow near the bed are most evident. The results also revealed that the shallow areas, including Sulaibikhat and Jahra Bays, are well mixed and generally flow in the counter-clockwise direction. Clockwise circulations dominated the northern portion of the Bay, forming a sort of large eddy, while turbulent fields associated with tidal currents were localized near the headlands.
水动力学及其相关环境过程一直是依赖沿海地区的国家（如科威特）关注的主要问题。这是因为沿海地区经济和商业活动带来了环境影响。在当前的研究中，利用一个三维数值模型揭示了科威特湾在关键季节的主要动力和物理特性。在利用该模型描述潮汐、重力对流和风驱动的环流之前，先对夏季（2012 年 6 月、7 月和 8 月）的水位、流速、温度和盐度综合现场测量数据对模型性能进行了评估。结果表明，湾内的斜压条件主要由水平盐度梯度决定，而温度梯度的影响则要小得多。梯度延伸到湾的南部海岸，在那里，内湾和封闭区域发现了高密度水，而湾口附近则发现了相对较轻的水。这种梯度在湾的主要轴线上产生了反向的河口环流，特别是在小潮期间，表面附近的向陆流和近底的向海流最为明显。结果还表明，包括苏莱比卡赫和杰赫拉湾在内的浅水区混合良好，通常呈逆时针方向流动。顺时针环流主导了湾的北部，形成了一种大漩涡，而与潮流相关的湍流动场则集中在岬角附近。
