Computational Model for Integrating Wave Hydrodynamics, Seagrass Blade Motion, and Seagrass Production

Navid Tahvildari, Old Dominion University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norfolk, VA, United States and Richard Carl Zimmerman, Old Dominion University, Ocean, Earth, & Atmospheic Sciences, Norfolk, VA, United States
Abstract:
A computational modeling framework is developed to simulate the two-way interactions between waves, flow, and highly flexible seagrasses and use the information on seagrass orientation to improve estimation of seagrass productivity. Waves and currents are simulated using a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes model and seagrass blade motion is simulated using a numerical model that allows for high deflection of seagrass blades. The flow and seagrass blade dynamics models are dynamically coupled. The coupled model is verified with field measurements over a seagrass meadow in the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The wave-vegetation interaction model is then used to obtain improved information on seagrass blade orientation to feed into a computational model for seagrass photosynthesis. The coupled computational modeling framework is used to assess impacts of sea level rise, change in wave dynamics, and tides on seagrass meadows.
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