NUMERICAL MODELING OF THE HYDRODYNAMICS OF SANTA CATARINA STATE – SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Abstract

A study of the coastal dynamics in the region of Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil, was conducted fromnumerical modeling, based on the Princeton Ocean Model(POM). The research aimed to analyze the hydrodymics ofthe coastal region for engineering projects andconstructions. Sea surface elevations and currents weresimulated for two months, January and July 2009, in orderto represent summer and winter conditions. A completestatistics of the circulation was obtained, such as thevariability of the sea surface and maximum currents (at thesurface and below). The model processing allowed toestimate the energy associated with the dynamics in the areaand this information is very valuable for the correctdimensioning of the engineering projects.Index terms  ⎯  hydrodynamic numerical modeling, tidal andwind effects, statistics of the circulation, Santa CatarinaState.