Observations and Modeling Forcing Mechanisms for the Coastal Dynamics of the Upper Gulf of Thailand
type: CreativeWork
description: A numerical model based on the Princeton Ocean Model (130M) with ∼1 km horizontal grid and 21 vertical layers has been used to study the influence of wind stresses, river discharges, surface heat fluxes and tides on the three-dimensional circulation of the upper Gulf of Thailand (UGOT). Analysis of observations, including sea level data, provided additional information to support the model simulations. The UGOT is a shallow coastal system, ∼1°×1° in size with the average depth of only 15 m. Sensitivity studies evaluate how the dynamics is affected by surface wind stresses, river discharges, and surface heat fluxes. The impact of the low latitudes (∼13 °N) on the dynamics is tested by comparing the simulations to results obtained when simulations are modified to mid-latitudes (∼45 °N). The model results show that the circulation in the UGOT is strongly affected by the seasonal monsoon winds, changing from counter-clockwise during the northeast monsoon to clockwise during the southwest monsoon. The vertical distribution of velocities is found to follow the classical wind-driven Ekman dynamics, even though the UGOT is shallow and low latitude. The flow tends to be more barotropic and with the wind direction in the shallow area where the water depth is less than the Ekman layer, while in the deeper channels a two-layer seems to develop. The results from the three-dimensional numerical model are compared well with a simple wind-driven analytical model. The impact of river discharges is the formation of a coastal jet of freshwater along the west coast, whereas the effect of Coriolis parameter is to advect the freshwater plume farther south along the west coast in mid-latitudes compared to low latitude simulations. Satellite sea surface temperature data generally agrees with the simulated spatial structure. The influence of ENSO resulted in up to 2-4°C inter-annual variations in water temperatures in the GOT. Analysis of sea level data shows in general a rate of relative s…
abstract: A numerical model based on the Princeton Ocean Model (130M) with ∼1 km horizontal grid and 21 vertical layers has been used to study the influence of wind stresses, river discharges, surface heat fluxes and tides on the three-dimensional circulation of the upper Gulf of Thailand (UGOT). Analysis of observations, including sea level data, provided additional information to support the model simulations. The UGOT is a shallow coastal system, ∼1°×1° in size with the average depth of only 15 m. Sensitivity studies evaluate how the dynamics is affected by surface wind stresses, river discharges, and surface heat fluxes. The impact of the low latitudes (∼13 °N) on the dynamics is tested by comparing the simulations to results obtained when simulations are modified to mid-latitudes (∼45 °N). The model results show that the circulation in the UGOT is strongly affected by the seasonal monsoon winds, changing from counter-clockwise during the northeast monsoon to clockwise during the southwest monsoon. The vertical distribution of velocities is found to follow the classical wind-driven Ekman dynamics, even though the UGOT is shallow and low latitude. The flow tends to be more barotropic and with the wind direction in the shallow area where the water depth is less than the Ekman layer, while in the deeper channels a two-layer seems to develop. The results from the three-dimensional numerical model are compared well with a simple wind-driven analytical model. The impact of river discharges is the formation of a coastal jet of freshwater along the west coast, whereas the effect of Coriolis parameter is to advect the freshwater plume farther south along the west coast in mid-latitudes compared to low latitude simulations. Satellite sea surface temperature data generally agrees with the simulated spatial structure. The influence of ENSO resulted in up to 2-4°C inter-annual variations in water temperatures in the GOT. Analysis of sea level data shows in general a rate of relative s…
author: Saramul, Suriyan
keywords: Numerical model, Sea level rise, Upper Gulf of Thailand, Oceanography
date published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:34:39Z
provider: Old Dominion University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Old Dominion University