Application of an Unstructured Grid RANS Model to the Coastal Ocean
Speaker: Matthew D. Rayson, Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, Stanford University
Presentation
Abstract
Flows in the coastal ocean and continental shelf region are investigated using an unstructured grid RANS model, SUNTANS. The hydrodynamics in these regions are modified by complex topography and coastlines as well as time-dependent mechanical and buoyancy forcing processes. Here I will present two applications: i) estuarine circulation, which is primarily driven by a balance between horizontal pressure gradients and vertical mixing, and ii) internal wave dynamics, which result from tides interacting with the seabed topography in density stratified regions. A brief overview of the model will also be given as well as challenges with acquiring the forcing and observation data necessary to run and validate a real-world numerical flow model in the natural environment.
Biography
Rayson is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Environmental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory at Stanford under the supervision of Prof. Oliver Fringer. He received his Ph.D. degree in 2012 from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth under the supervision of Prof. Greg Ivey. He has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering at UWA. He has research interests in numerical modeling and visualization techniques of fluid flow in the coastal ocean.