Effect of Tidal Flat on the Circulation in the Yellow Sea using FVCOM

The macro tidal flats along the coast in the Yellow Sea are alternately exposed and inundated by tide. The surface sediment temperature at the tidal flat is changed dramatically during the exposure due to heat exchange with the atmosphere. The seawater temperature around the tidal flat is increased not only by the atmosphere but also due to transferring heat from the tidal flat to the seawater during spring, summer and winter, but vice versa in autumn. This horizontal differences in the seawater temperature near the tidal flat might cause variation in circulation in a coastal region with macro tidal flat. In order to evaluate the effect of tidal flat due to different heating or cooling near a macro tidal flat, we simulated the circulation in Yellow Sea using the unstructured grid, finite-volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM). For this study, a code for calculating the sediment temperature was added to include the heat exchange between seawater and the seabed.