Author(s): A. Etemadshahidi; A. Hadjmomeni; T. Asano
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: MIKE 11; Water quality modeling; Super saline bay; Numerical simulation Fick’s law
Abstract: Jafari bay is a closed bay in the southwest of Iran. The salinity of this bay has increased to saturation level due to closure of its connection to Persian gulf in three decades ago. Not only the salinity of this bay is seven times of that of Persian gulf, but the geotechnical surveys has also shown that there is about 3 meters of salt deposits in the bottom of this bay. In order to rehabilitate this water body and its environment, it has been decided to reduce the salt content both in the water column and bottom deposits. Several scenarios were considered to achieve this goal. MIKE 11 was selected as a numerical tool to evaluate the performance of different scenarios. However, MIKE 11 and other commercial models are not able to simulate the release of salt from the bottom deposits when the salinity of the water column becomes less than the saturated level. Therefore, an empirical mass transport equation based on Fick's law was used in combination with MIKE 11 to simulate the salt deposit transport mechanism. In this paper the trial and error method used to estimate the time required to reduce the salinity level is described. It will be shown that the required time for reducing the salinity of the bay to the natural level would be seven times higher if the salt deposits are not dredged and remain as a source of salinity in the bottom of the bay.
Year: 2003