Tridimensional Circulation in Curvilinear Coordinates: Application to Monterey Bay

A combination of general curvilinear transformations of the non-linear flow equations, boundary-fitted grids, and a semi-implicit algorithm are used to construct a time-dependent three-dimensional primitive equations coastal ocean model. The model, referred as GCOM (General Curvilinear Ocean Model) is able to reproduce the complex oceanographic phenomena arising from flow-topography interaction. Preliminary model simulations are presented for Monterey Bay.