HYDROTAM: 3D Model for Hydrodynamic and Transport Processes in Coastal Waters

HYDROTAM is a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrated three-dimensional baroclinic numerical model that has been developed to simulate the hydrodynamic and transport processes in coastal waters. The infrastructure of the program is based on cloud computing technology. GIS platform of HYDROTAM facilitates the time consuming task of preparation of data input and output. On the model interface, all functions of the MS Silverlight framework are available to the user with a menu driven graphical user interface (GUI). The numerical model consists of hydrodynamic, transport, turbulence and wave propagation model components. In the hydrodynamic model component, the 3D Navier–Stokes equations are solved with the Boussinesq approximation. The transport model component consists of the pollutant transport, water temperature and salinity transport and suspended sediment transport models. In the turbulence model, a two-equation k–e formulation is solved to calculate the kinetic energy of the turbulence and its rate of dissipation, which provides the variable vertical turbulent eddy viscosity. In wave propagation component, mild slope equations are solved.