RT Conference Proceedings
T1 Modeling changes in the tidal propagation and its implication for vessel navigation in Guadalquivir estuary ( Spain)
A1 Moreno-Navas, Juan
A1 Pulido, Ángel
A1 García, Rodrigo
A1 Delgado-Cabello, Javier
A1 García-Lafuente, Jesús
A1 García, Rodrigo
K1 Puertos
AB The Port of Seville is an inland harbour located in the Guadalquivir Estuary some 80 kmfrom the river mouth and is the unique Spanish inland port. Vessel traffic in the estuary isa relevant economic activity and a suitable trade-off between vessel draught and safety toprevent ship aground is required and to optimize the port operability. The Guadalquivir isa mesotidal estuary with tidal range of 2-3 m, an important fraction of the minimum depthof the navigation waterway (presently 6.5m). Upstream navigation is favoured aroundhigh water as the tide progresses at 12 knots, which is comparable to the vessel speed,thus allowing greater vessel draughts. Oceanwards navigation of heavy vessels, on thecontrary, is hampered by the tide because a low water is unavoidably met when headingdownstream.A 3D, high resolution hydrodynamic model has been implemented in the whole estuary tostudy the tidal propagation. The model is forced by the oceanic tide at the mouth andfreshwater discharges controlled by an upstream dam at the head. It has been satisfactorilyvalidated and predicts tidal oscillations with high accuracy (less than 4 cm in amplitudeand 20 min in phase everywhere in the estuary). Based on the model outputs of tidalheights and currents and using present-day estuary bathymetry, a MATLAB applicationhas been developed for shipping planning (Vessel Traffic Decision Support System,VTDSS). The application allows the final users to test different traffic schedulingscenarios in order to assess the effects on navigational patterns and explore possiblemanagement and policy scenarios under sea level rise and changes in tidal propagation. Adescription of the model and an overview of the VTDSS are presented here; theeffectiveness as a decision support tool is demonstrated via the simulated navigation timeof several vessels.
YR 2018
FD 2018-10-01
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/16557
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/16557
LA eng
NO Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.Autoridad Portuaria de Sevilla
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 28 feb 2026