Computer Simulation of the Hydrodynamic and Salinity Behavior of Weeks Bay, Alabama, at Equatorial Tide Conditions

Whereas the long term goal of the work described focuses on issues related to estuaries in general, specific attention in this paper focuses on one – Weeks Bay, Alabama. This estuary is one of seventeen estuarine research reserves established as “natural field laboratories” for long-term scientific and educational programs (See Figure 1).

Initially, Weeks Bay will be assumed to be a well mixed estuary such that two-dimensional (depth averaged) modeling can be used. The Waterways Experiment Station Implicit Flooding Model (WIFM), developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, Mississippi is used.

Complete data sets at equatorial tidal conditions were chosen from the field data available. Good agreement of model results with field measured water elevations was noted. These results are typical of the kind of agreement that is expected from two-dimensional depth averaged model simulations.

As anticipated, there seems to be little or no movement of salt along the western shoreline when the Bon Secour Bay salinities are low. This indicates selective flow of Fish River water down the western side of the bay with a corresponding preference for Bon Secour Bay water to flow along the eastern shore.