ascidian is intended to simulate regional-scale wind driven ocean circulation by simulating:
- 2D ocean currents, and
- ocean waves dynamic
The model will be merged within badlands to compute seabed transport over geological time-scale (several thousands of years).
In comparison to other approaches used for geological problem, the model solves the ocean dynamic in a more rigourous way. The method consists in defining several seasonal (fair-weather / storms) inputs and to compute for each of these scenarios the associated stresses applied to the seabed. The implications on the seabed evolution are computed on a yearly to decadal basis, assuming the changes on the seabed morphology are small and have minor effects on ocean/wave dynamic. This assumption is considered valid for the spatial scale that we intend to use.
The model is built around 2 codes:
- a simplified version of the spectral wave model SWAN (Simulating WAve Nearshore)
- an updated version of the tide and wind driven circulation model (TAWIC)
The model (code) is a spectral wave model developed at the Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. SWAN models the energy contained in waves as they travel over the ocean surface towards the shore.
The model solves the nonlinear two-dimensional hydrodynamic equations by a finite differencing method on a constructed zigzag boundary.
Reference:
- Caviglia F. J. & Dragani W. C., 1996. An improved 2-d finite-difference circulation model for tide- and wind-induced flows. Computers & Geosciences, 22(10), 1083-1096.
ascidian uses a XmL input file and outputs are generated in hdf5. The results are directly visualised in Paraview or MayaVI.
