The Journal of
the Korean Society on Water Environment

The Journal of
the Korean Society on Water Environment

Bimonthly
  • ISSN : 2289-0971 (Print)
  • ISSN : 2289-098X (Online)
  • KCI Accredited Journal

Editorial Office

Title A Sensitivity Analysis on Numerical Grid Size of a Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Model (EFDC) for the Saemangeum Reservoir
Authors 전지혜 ( Ji Hye Jeon ) ; 정세웅 ( Se Woong Chung )
Page pp.26-37
ISSN 2289-0971
Keywords EFDC; Grid size; Hydrodynamic and water quality modeling; Saemangum Reservoir
Abstract Multi-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality models are widely used to simulate the physical and biogeochemical processes in the surface water systems such as reservoirs and estuaries. Most of the models have adopted the Eulerian grid modeling framework, mainly because it can reasonably simulate physical dynamics and chemical species concentrations throughout the entire model domain. Determining the optimum grid cell size is important when using the Eulerian grid-based three-dimensional water quality models because the characteristics of species are assumed uniform in each of the grid cells and chemical species are represented by concentration (mass per volume). The objective of this study was to examine the effect of grid-size of a three dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model (EFDC) on hydrodynamics and mass transport in the Saemangeum Reservoir. Three grid resolutions, respectively representing coarse (CG), medium (MG), and fine (FG) grid cell sizes, were used for a sensitivity analysis. The simulation results of numerical tracer showed that the grid resolution affects on the flow path, mass transport, and mixing zone of upstream inflow, and results in a bias of temporal and spatial distribution of the tracer. With the CG, in particular, the model overestimates diffusion in the mixing zone, and fails to identify the gradient of concentrations between the inflow and the ambient water.