Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Forough Kameli ¹
• Daryoush Yousefi Kebria ²
• Tahereh Salehi ³

¹ Master's student Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Civil engineering faculty, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, babol, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Civil engineering faculty, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, babol, Iran.

³ PhD Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Babol, Iran

Abstract

Estuaries are among the most critical zones for the transport and dispersion of various industrial pollutants and sediments. Although several studies in recent years have examined wave induced circulation, research on the Sefidrud River estuary has predominantly focused on sedimentation processes and has typically been conducted using two dimensional models. Three dimensional investigations within this region remain limited. This study represents the first integrated application of a large scale wave model for the entire Caspian Sea coupled with a high-resolution hydrodynamic model of the estuary, implemented using the SW module of MIKE 21 for wave simulation and the Flow Model module of MIKE 3 for three-dimensional current modeling. Model validation was performed using measured current velocity data during both high-flow and low-flow conditions. The simulation results indicate that during the high flow season, the predominant flow pattern is directed from west to east and toward the southeast. In contrast, during the low-flow season, currents tend to move shoreward, flowing toward the estuary along the coastal zone. Based on the modeling outcomes, current velocities during the high-flow period range from 0.01 to 1.5 m/s, with peak values reaching approximately 3.5 m/s during periods of elevated river discharge (around 370 m³/s) combined with storm-induced winds. Overall, the strong agreement between model predictions and observational data confirms that MIKE 3 is a robust, reliable, and efficient tool for simulating estuarine hydrodynamics and coastal marine processes.

Keywords

• Wave and Current Patterns
• Three dimensional modeling
• Sefidrud River Estuary
• DHI MIKE

Main Subjects

• Water and hydraulic structures