Abstract

The present study aims to understand the flow field near the coast of Halfmoon Bay located in the Arabian Gulf arising due to creation of an artificial island by al-Dannat. The study was performed using the state-of-art hydrodynamic model, Princeton ocean model (POM), applied for a detailed analysis of flow conditions, temperature and salinity distributions after the creation of this artificial island. These hydrodynamic conditions are felt to be critical in assessing stagnation of water, which may eventually lead to eutrophication process. The computed maximum current speeds are in the order of 0.03 ms^-1, which suffices to produce reasonable ventilation to the Arabian Gulf even after the construction activity.

Key words: Ocean circulation, modeling, stagnation.