NUMERICAL FLOW MODELING AROUND OKINAWA FROM CORAL REEF AREA TO OPEN OCEAN

Coastal area along the Okinawa sea is formed from coral reefs. In the area, coastal flows are generated by various factors of tide, wave, wind, river discharge and so on. In the offshore areas, oceanic currents including the Kuroshio also influence the coastal flows, because of the openness. Thus, the flow pattern becomes complicated by such external forces. To simulate the flow pattern of the Okinawa sea by numerical flow modeling, the model needs to deal with the various external forces from shallow coral reef area to deep open ocean. Additionally, steep slope exists in the offshore end of coral reef. In such region, we have to be careful because flow simulation is likely unstable. This study intends to develop the numerical flow model which is applicable to the Okinawa sea, and its performance has been tested in the several sea areas. In addition, field observations were carried out to investigate the flow phenomena and to verify the model accuracy. The result of filed observation and its comparing with the simulation is shown.