Hydrodynamic Modeling of Sea of Oman

Being a major route for oil transport from the Middle East countries to the rest of the world, the Sea of Oman is vulnerable to pollution. A better understanding of hydrodynamic and morphological changes along the coast and the sea of Oman due to natural effects and artificial discharge requires detailed studies. Numerical modeling is an effective tool in describing a complex circulation pattern between the Sea of Oman, Arabian Gulf, and the Arabian Sea. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, that is, Delft3D with depth averaged condition has been used to study the Sea of Oman. Delft-Flow module has been used to simulate the hydrodynamic circulation taking into account all the significant driving forces. Field measured data are used as initialization and evaluation of the Model. Preliminary modeling results show the variability of water level and current in response to tidal forces and ranges of various hydrodynamic parameters in the study area. This paper provides a better understanding of hydrodynamic modeling of the Sea of Oman which can act as the base tool for various hydro-environmental studies