title: Residence and transport time scales associated with Shatt Al-Arab discharges under various hydrological conditions estimated using a numerical model.
abstract: Over the last several decades, concerns in the Northwest Arabian Gulf have risen regarding water quality and ecological conditions, particularly near Kuwait. This interest is mainly attributed to the reduction of freshwater discharge and its associated constituents from the Shatt Al Arab as a result of human activities at diverse scales. From the hydrological perspective, the reduction has also resulted in alteration to the dynamic regime and related residence time and transport conditions. Using a previously well-validated three-dimensional numerical model of the Northern Arabian Gulf (NAG) (Alosairi and Pokavanich, 2017), the residence and transport conditions of numerical tracers have been assessed through a series of numerical tests. The results indicate that density-driven circulations have played a key role in reducing the residence time in the Northwest Gulf by approximately 15% to 20% compared to tidal forces only. The transport conditions correlated well with the Shatt Al Arab discharges, but they were only significant along the Kuwait coast due to counter-clockwise circulations and alongshore currents. Arrival times and mixing processes varied reasonably with the Shatt Al Arab discharges; the results exhibited the enhancement in mixing and transport with increases in discharge. Residence times in the NAG associated with Shatt Al Arab discharge displayed spatial variations, particularly in Kuwait Bay, where the residence time increased by 60days during low discharge compared to high discharge.
authors.affiliation: Coastal Management Program, Environmental and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait. Electronic address: yosairi@kisr.edu.kw.
authors.forename: Yousef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alosairi
authors.affiliation: Coastal Management Program, Environmental and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Tanuspong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pokavanich
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D062070:Hydrology; D007730:Kuwait; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012623:Seawater; D060753:Water Quality
keywords: Arabian Gulf; Flushing; Kuwait Bay; Mixing; Reverse estuary; Water quality