ir. F. Ebrahimierami (Fateme)

Estuarine saltwater dynamics at floodgates and scour holes

Saltwater intrusion, which is defined as the movement of saline water into freshwater, widely occurs in estuarine areas and can be very problematic to local communities. Worldwide, there is an urgent need for accurate models for salt intrusion predictions since it is one of the most challenging and widespread environmental problems that threaten the quality and sustainability of freshwater resources.
Salt intrusion can be aggravated by anthropogenic changes and human activities like building flood barriers on the mouth of a n estuary. Flood barrierscan restrict the free exchange of saltwater and freshwater in an estuary. These hydraulic structures also cause local flow acceleration and the formation of large-scale bed depressions that are also known as scour holes. Saltwater that has a higher density can accumulate in the scour holes and can potentially exacerbate the salinization of freshwater once it is entrained by tidal flow or wind and moves upstream. Therefore, understanding the role of anthropogenic changes on the severity and frequency of salt intrusion events is of high importance in order to get accurate forecasts.
The main objective of this research is to Investigate the accumulation and mixing processes of saltwater in scour holes and the effect of flow dynamics alteration due to floodgates on salt intrusion dynamics in an estuary. Understanding the detailed and local-scale physics of the interaction between hydrodynamics and bathymetry is crucial to accurately predict salt trapping and develop a parametrized 3D hydrostatic model. 

Publications

See all research output of this employee

View my profile

Assisting with the teaching of the following courses:

• Fluid Mechanics 1
  
• Hydraulic Engineering 
  

Organisations

• Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), Water systems (WS)