Validation of Three‐Dimensional Hydrodynamic Model of Chesapeake Bay

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Abstract
A time‐varying three‐dimensional numerical hydrodynamic model of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland has been developed to provide flow fields to a 3‐D water quality model of the bay. The water surface, 3‐D velocity field, salinity, and temperature are computed. Major physical processes affecting bay circulation and vertical mixing are modeled. A particular feature of the model is the solution of transformed equations on a boundary‐fitted grid in the horizontal plane. The 3‐D model has been validated through application to six data sets. The first three were about one month long each and represented a dry summer condition, a spring runoff, and a fall wind‐mixing event. The last three applications were yearlong simulations for 1984, 1985, and 1986. These years represent a wet, dry, and average freshwater inflow year, respectively. A major storm in November 1985 over the lower portion of the bay resulted in a 200‐year flood on the James River and served to demonstrate the ability of the model to simulate extreme eve...

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