Application of an Improved Wetting and Drying Scheme in POM

The Princeton Ocean Model (POM) is a three-dimensional baroclinic ocean model based on the original equations, using a sigma coordinate in the vertical coordinate to deal with significant topographical variability, and has been widely used for estuary and coastal ocean simulation. Wetting and drying is a common and important phenomenon of the coastal ocean, and the process could not be simulated by POM using fixed boundaries. In this paper, we simulate the tides and tidal currents of Shenzhen Bay in China with POM coupling with an improved wetting and drying scheme. In order to simplify the calculation, a coordinate transformation is used to arrange the model domain. The modeled results agree well with the observed data and truly inflect the hydrodynamic characteristics of the sea, and successfully simulate the wetting and drying process of tidal flats as well. Based on the new definition of water depth, the improved wetting and drying scheme can also be used to simulate floodplain of a storm surge.