JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017

Presentation information

[JJ] Poster

A (Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences) » A-OS Ocean Sciences & Ocean Environment

[A-OS21] [JJ] The dynamics of freshwater discharge - rivers, estuaries, and along coasts

Mon. May 22, 2017 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Poster Hall (International Exhibition Hall HALL7)

convener:Shinichiro Kida(Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University), Dai Yamazaki(JAMSTEC - Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), Yoshimasa Matsumura(Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo), Yosuke Yamashiki(Global Water Resources Assessment Laboratory - Yamashiki Laboratory Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability Kyoto University)

[AOS21-P06] The dynamics of the freshwater discharge at the Ganges-Brahmaputra river mouth

*Shinichiro Kida1 (1.Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University)

The Bay of Bengal receives significant freshwater input from the Ganges-Brahmaputra river. This freshwater discharge is observed with a prominent seasonal cycle, a minimum in late winter to early spring and a maximum in late summer to early fall. However, the river mouth of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river is a mega-delta and thus has multiple channels rather than just one. We have carried out regional numerical experiments utilizing a land-river-ocean seamless model to investigate the basic dynamics of how this river discharge events near the river mouth occur. On a large-scale, we find freshwater discharge to create river plumes along the coast and to establish a coastal current that flows southwestward when the oceanic currents are assumed quiescent. On a river mouth scale, however, the pathways of the freshwater discharge is complex. Preliminary analysis indicates that this is because of river-ocean interaction and that the various channels of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta are dynamically connected.