Preliminary Results From a Simplified Numerical Model of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

A numerical model which solves the simplified equations for water mass, salt, and constituent transport has been developed and preliminary application made to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. The hydrodynamic component of the model solves the time averaged equations for a series of grids or boxes simulating the geometry of the Bay. Two layers in the vertical allow representation of typical estuarine flows. The water quality component solves the mass transport equation, including first order decay, settling, atmospheric flux, and bottom flux as additional terms. Model output includes exchange coefficients between adjacent boxes in both horizontal and vertical directions, and the distribution of pollutant concentrations.