Three-dimensional modelling of water quality in the Humber Estuary

Details are given herein of the development and application of a refined three-dimensional layer integrated model to predict water elevations, layer averaged velocity components, distributions of conservative and non-conservative water-quality constituents and sediment transport fluxes in estuarine and coastal waters. The model involves using the finite difference technique to solve the equations of mass and momentum conservation and the transport equations for a range of water quality indicators and sediment transport forms. The momentum equations include the effects of the Earthʹs rotation, refined bed and surface shear stresses and a zero or two-equation turbulence model. The model outlined has been applied to a number of site-specific estuaries for modelling flow, water-quality and sediment transport processes, with details reported herein of the model application to the Humber Estuary, in the U.K.