The significance of coastal bathymetry representation for modelling the tidal response to mean sea level rise in the German Bight
<p>Due to climate change an accelerated mean sea level rise is expected. One key question for the development of adaptation measures is how mean sea level rise affects tidal dynamics in shelf seas such as the North Sea. Owing to its low-lying coastal areas, the German Bight (located in the sou...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-01-01
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Series: | Ocean Science |
Online Access: | https://www.ocean-sci.net/16/31/2020/os-16-31-2020.pdf |
Summary: | <p>Due to climate change an accelerated mean sea level rise
is expected. One key question for the development of adaptation measures is
how mean sea level rise affects tidal dynamics in shelf seas such as the
North Sea. Owing to its low-lying coastal areas, the German Bight (located
in the southeast of the North Sea) will be especially affected. Numerical
hydrodynamic models help to understand how mean sea level rise changes tidal
dynamics. Models cannot adequately represent all processes in overall
detail. One limiting factor is the resolution of the model grid. In this
study we investigate which role the representation of the coastal bathymetry
plays when analysing the response of tidal dynamics to mean sea level rise.</p>
<p>Using a shelf model including the whole North Sea and a high-resolution
hydrodynamic model of the German Bight we investigate the changes in M2
amplitude due to a mean sea level rise of 0.8 and 10 m. The shelf model
and the German Bight Model react in different ways. In the simulations with
a mean sea level rise of 0.8 m the M2 amplitude in the shelf model generally
increases in the region of the German Bight. In contrast, the M2 amplitude
in the German Bight Model increases only in some coastal areas and decreases
in the northern part of the German Bight. In the simulations with a mean sea
level rise of 10 m the M2 amplitude increases in both models with largely
similar spatial patterns. In two case studies we adjust the German Bight
Model in order to more closely resemble the shelf model. We find that a
different resolution of the bathymetry results in different energy
dissipation changes in response to mean sea level rise. Our results show
that the resolution of the bathymetry especially in flat intertidal areas
plays a crucial role for modelling the impact of mean sea level rise.</p> |
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ISSN: | 1812-0784 1812-0792 |