Construction of Nets of Sub-basins

Abstract

In many aquatic applications, geometry and dynamics split a water body into regions controlled by different physical processes (Fig. 5.1). A useful approach is to model the system as a net of sub-basins and separately examine the effects of local factors and the interactions between surrounding basins. This approach is an obvious choice for water bodies with complex geometries due to straits, bays, islands, estuaries, and semi-enclosed seas, but it could also be used in mass balance studies of large water bodies such as oceans; for example, we could examine the water balance by looking at the exchange of water between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. In this chapter, we will first learn how to couple two coastal basins and how to include a moving grid for calculating changes in water levels. From the exercise, we will learn how to expand the two-basin model to a three-basin model.