• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2021

To investigate the effect of freshwater discharge on the seawater circulation in the semi-closed harbor, a 3-D hydrodynamic model was applied to the International Ferry Terminal (IFT). The model run is conducted for 45 days (from May 15 to June 30, 2020), and the reproducibility of the model for time-spatial variability of current velocity and salinity was verified by comparison with model results and observation data. There are two sources of freshwater towards inside of the IFT: Han River and water reservoir located in the eastern part of IFT. In residual current velocity results, the two-layer circulation (the seaward flow near surface and the landward flow near bottom)derived from the horizontal salinity gradient in only considering the discharge from a Han River is more developed than that considering both the Han River and water reservoir. This suggests that the impact of freshwater from the reservoir is greater in the IFT areas than that from a Han River. Additionally, the two-layer circulation is stronger in the IFT located in southern part than Incheon South Port located in northern part. This process is formed by the interaction between tidal current propagating into the port and freshwater discharge from a water reservoir, and flow with a low salinity (near 0 psu) is delivered into the IFT. This low salinity distribution reinforces the horizontal stratification in front of the IFT, and maintains a two-layer circulation. Therefore, local sources of freshwater input are considered to estimate for mass transport process associated with the seawater circulation within the harbor and It is necessary to perform a numerical model according to the real-time freshwater flow rate discharged.