Author(s): B. Loose; C. Y. Nino
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Keywords: Density-coupled; Baroclinic circulation; Well-mixed estuary; Hyperbolic methods
Abstract: The Rio Maipo river discharges into the Pacific Ocean just south of the Port of San Antonio, Chile, draining a 15,140-km2 catchment which includes the entire Metropolitan region of Santiago, Chile's largest city. Interest in the fluvial dynamics of the tidal reach has arisen out of a desire to understand the potential for contaminant loading within the Maipo estuary and the morphodynamics of the river, whose migration would threaten the Port expansion plan. To study the salinity intrusion and circulation dynamics within the estuary a Finite Volume model was developed based on the MUSCL-Hancock solution for conservation laws. The model solves the 2D equations of motion, with salt transport coupled to the momentum equations via the Boussinesq approximation. We study a particular case provoked by a large storm on June 1-2,2002 which caused the complete removal of a littoral bar that typically restricts flow at the rivermouth. Simulations of flow within the estuary were performed with and without the bar. It was discovered that the presence of the bar almost completely eliminates the saline intrusion. This result matches field data taken in June 2001.
Year: 2003