Collaborative Research: Towards an Accurate, High-Fidelity Modeling System for Multiphysics and Multiscale Coastal Ocean Flows

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

In correspondence with global warming and fast expansion of human activities in coastal waters, it is now becoming urgently needed to advance our modeling capabilities to a level of direct, high-fidelity simulation of many emerging, real-world, multiphysics, multiscale coastal ocean flow problems. Examples of these problems include oil spill at bottom of oceans, tidal energy extraction in coastal waters, etc. Currently, essentially there is no model at this level of simulation. The objective of this project is to develop computational methods and an unprecedented computer modeling system, which will be not only applicable to such problems but also a new platform to study many other problems. In particular, a geophysical fluid dynamics model and a fully 3D fluid dynamics model are integrated via domain decomposition and two-way coupling into a single modeling system, in which the former captures mesoscale [O(10) km - O(10,000) km], background ocean currents and the latter resolves sub-mesoscale [O(1) m - O(10) km], complicated, local phenomena. The objective will be realized via three tasks: 1) Methods and algorithms with regard to solution accuracy, computational efficiency, and transmission condition. 2) Numerical experiments on the methods and algorithms, their validation in test problems, and a showcase application. 3) Development of a robust, efficient software package of the modeling system. The educational component aims at increasing awareness of students, especially those from underrepresented groups, on new computational problems and necessity for new methods of their solution, stimulating their interest in numerical algorithms and model development. The activities of this component include a series of seminars, teaching material development, etc.