ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Coastal Ocean Processes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1707930
Effects of River Discharge and Wave Forcing on Hydrodynamics in a Seasonal Dual-Inlet Estuary
Provisionally accepted
- Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
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This study employs the Delft3D coupled wave-current model to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of flow and salinity fields, and the mechanisms governing residual currents under varying runoff and wave conditions in an estuarine area on the southeastern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, China. Model calibration and validation using multi-source observational datasets confirm good agreement with measured water levels, currents, and waves. Results reveal pronounced seasonal variations in the estuarine flow field: in summer, runoff-driven flows enhance seaward surface currents, whereas winter flow fields are primarily tide-driven and vertically uniform. The residual current patterns show significant sensitivity to runoff magnitude and spatial configuration. Northern runoff induces robust surface outflow and bottom inflow across a wide estuarine region, while southern runoff is topographically constrained. The result of double-runoff case exhibits nonlinear interactions, including localized enhancement and cancellation of residual currents. Wave forcing modulates the vertical structure and magnitude of residual currents, especially in offshore and geomorphically complex areas, with stronger influence on longitudinal components. These findings clarify the interplay between seasonal hydrodynamics, runoff input, and wave dynamics, offering new insights into residual circulation mechanisms in seasonally dynamic estuaries.
Keywords: Seasonal estuary, Delft3D, Estuarine dynamics, Wave-runoff interaction, residual currents
Received: 18 Sep 2025; Accepted: 13 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Wang, Liang, Jia, Liu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhenlu Wang, wangzhenlu@ouc.edu.cn
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