Marine Geodesy

ISSN: 0149-0419 (Print) 1521-060X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/umgd20

A Tidal Flow Model for the Gulf of Kachchh, India

P. C. Sinha, S. K. Dube, A. K. Mitra, T. S. Murty
To cite this article: P. C. Sinha, S. K. Dube, A. K. Mitra, T. S. Murty (2000) A Tidal Flow Model for
the Gulf of Kachchh, India, Marine Geodesy, 23:2, 117-132, DOI: 10.1080/01490410050030689
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490410050030689

Published online: 29 Oct 2010.

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Marine Geodesy, 23:117 132, 2000

Copyright C 2000 Taylor & Francis
0149-0419 /00 $12.00 + .00

A Tidal Flow Model for the Gulf of Kachchh, India

P. C. SINHA
S. K. DUBE
Centre for Atmospheric Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology
New Delhi, India

A. K. MITRA
National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting
IMD Complex
New Delhi, India

T. S. MURTY
W. F. Baird and Associates Coastal Engineers
1145 Hunt Club Road, Suite I
Ottawa, Canada
A vertically integrated model has been used to study the tidal circulation and currents in
the Gulf of Kachchh along the west coast of India. The model is fully nonlinear and uses
a semiexplicit nite difference scheme to solve the basic hydrodynamic equations on a
staggered grid. The model is forced by prescribing the tides along the open boundary
of the model domain. The ow is simulated both with and without the presence of the
proposed tidal barrage across the Hansthal Creek in the Gulf of Kachchh. The results
show a considerable change in the behavior of the tidal ow in the presence of the
barrage.
Keywords Gulf of Kachchh, Hansthal Creek, semiexplicit scheme, tidal ow, vertically integrated model

The continental shelf on the northwest coast of India is quite wide and leads into a converging
channel, the Gulf of Kachchh. The Gulf (Figure 1) is the navigable waterway to Kandla,
which is a major sea port on the west coast of India and serves as the sea gate to northwest
India. The Kandla Port Trust is incurring heavy expenditures on dredging to keep the channel
to the Kandla port navigable. The tidal range in the gulf is more than 5 mts in some parts with
very strong tidal currents. The dominant motion in this part of the coast is the oscillatory
ow driven by the tides of the adjacent Arabian Sea. The tidal wave propagates in the gulf
almost parallel to the coasts. In this process the gulf sucks sediments from the Indus River in
its northeastern sector and pumps it out to the Arabian Sea near its southeast sector (Gupta
and Hashmi 1985). Nair, Hashmi, and Rao (1982) have reported that the high speed tidal
Received 4 November 1999; accepted 18 January 2000.
The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to the Department of Ocean Development , Government of
India, for providing necessary funding under the INDOMOD project.
Address correspondenc e to Dr. P. C. Sinha, Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology,
Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110 016, India. E-mail: pcsinha@cas.iitd.ernet.in

117

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 1 Map of India showing location of the Gulf of Kachchh.

currents at the mouth of the gulf act as a dynamic barrier to the transport of the Indus borne
sediments to the continental shelf and slope off the Saurashtra peninsula. This shows that the
oscillating strong tidal currents play the major role for the excursion of sediments in the gulf.
The high range of the tide in the Gulf of Kachchh has attracted the Central Electricity
Authority of the Government of India to carry out a technoeconomic feasibility study for
the proposed medium scale capacity tidal power station near Kandla. This will be the rst
tidal power project in India. The proposed site of the barrage is Hansthal Creek (Figure 2).
For designing tidal power schemes, the knowledge of tidal amplitude, current and
maximum available energy is very much required, and these data can be obtained from the
simulations of a numerical model (Prandtle 1984). Proctor (1981) used a two-dimensional

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A Gulf Tidal Model

FIGURE 2 Gulf of Kachchh and its bathymetry.

hydrodynamic model to investigate the effects on the tidal ow of three tidal power schemes
sited in the Bristol channel.
The posttidal barrage behavior of the Kandla port should be predicted in advance. After
construction of the tidal barrage, the tidal ow behavior through the two main creeks
Kandla and Hansthalmay be altered, affecting the sediment movement in that region. To
study the sediment movement and posttidal barrage ow, a numerical model will be the
most rational tool. Hence, in this article a depth-averaged numerical hydrodynamical model
for the Gulf of Kachchh is described and the tidal ow simulated by this model is discussed.

Model Formulation
To simulate the tidal ow in the Gulf of Kachchh the basic vertically integrated equations
are used (Chittibabu et al. 2000). The theoretical formulation is analogous to that described
herein. The Coriolis parameter is kept xed for the gulf at 22N. Also, we neglect the
surface stress terms, as that effect is found to be very small on the tidal circulation in the
gulf. The forcing is provided only by the astronomical tide of the adjacent Arabian Sea.
The model has three open boundaries connected by dashed line as shown in Figure 2. The
oscillatory ow in the gulf is simulated by prescribing temporal variation of the sea-surface
elevation across the western open-sea boundary extending in the north-south direction. The
bathymetry used in the model is taken from the National Hydrographic Of ce Charts, India.

Boundary and Initial Conditions

Radition type boundary conditions are prescribed along the three open-sea boundaries.
Along the western open-sea boundary the sea surface is prescribed by:

u+

()
g
h

1
2

( ) [( ) ]

g
f = 2a
h

1
2

Sin

x t
T

+u

( 1)

This condition provides the tidal forcing to the gulf. At the eastern open-sea boundary

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P. C. Sinha et al.

the sea surface elevation is prescribed by a zero gradient condition given as,
@
@x

(f , v ) = 0

(2)

and along the southern open-sea boundary by

v +

()
g
h

1
2

f = 0

(3)

With these prescribed boundary conditions, the equations of continuity and momentum are
integrated ahead in time from an initial state of rest.

Numerical Procedure
A semiexplicit time integration scheme with spatially staggered grid, similar to that given
by Chittibabu et al. (2000), is used. The southern open-sea boundary consists of f and u
points, where as the eastern and western open-sea boundaries consists of f and v points.
The stair-step coastline is so constructed that u is zero on north-south walls and v is zero
on east-west walls. The analysis area also contains three islands. The analysis area in
the east-west direction is from 58480 E to 70200 E. The north-south extension is from
22120 N to 23030 N. With these settings, the number of grid points in the x-direction is
taken as 93 (odd) and in the y-direction taken as 52 (even), and D x and D y comes out to be
1.7 km and 1.8 km, respectively. The maximum depth in the gulf is around 50 m. From the
CFL condition a time-step of 60 seconds is found to be consistent with the computational
stability. In the model domain when i is odd and j is odd, it is a f point. With i even and j
odd, it is a u point. Finally, with i odd and j even, it is a v point.

Discussion
Starting from an initial state of rest the governing equations of mass and momentum conservation were integrated ahead in time subjected to the boundary conditions (1 3). Oscillatory
tidal solution was achieved after four cycles of integration and the results of the fth cycle
are analyzed.
Using this model, three different sets of simulations were carried out. They are,
1. with uniform topography (a constant depth of 30 m was taken),
2. with real topography, and
3. with real topography and by putting a barrage across the Hansthal Creek.
For the purpose of model validation, the coastal M2 tide amplitudes obtained from
National Hydrographi c Chart are used for the above mentioned experiments. A value of
1.0 m for the forcing parameter a in Equation (1) was found to give the best results.
Hence, for all these experiments a was taken as 1.0 m. Figure 3 shows the variation of the
sea surface elevation at the western open-boundar y during one tidal cycle as obtained from
the boundary condition (1). This is a pure sine curve, representing the M2 constituent.
Figures 4 and 5 show the computed amplitudes and phases of the M2 tide, simulated
by the model using an uniform depth of 30 m in the gulf. As expected, the tidal wave is
ampli ed as one goes from west to east. The amplitude reaches a value of 2.5 m near Kandla.
From Figure 5 it is seen that the wave propagates from Dwarka to the eastern open-boundar y

A Gulf Tidal Model

121

FIGURE 3 Variation of sea surface elevation at the western open boundary.

and takes 1.5 hours (45 phase). It is interesting to see in the distribution of phase that the
time taken by the wave to travel from Dwarka to Mandavi is almost 88% of the total time.
In other words, it takes only approximately 10 minutes (5 phase) for the tidal wave to
travel from Mandavi to Kandla. Figures 6 and 7 show the computed tidal stream currents
in the gulf 3.5 hours before and 1.5 hours after the occurrence of high water, respectively,
at Okha. In Figure 6 the ood tide is seen to be developing. The variation of currents in
the latitudinal direction is negligible. In Figure 7 ood has already occurred in the gulf and
ebbing is going to start. Figure 8 shows the computed tidal residual in the gulf with uniform
depth. Even with uniform depth, the existence of residual gyres can be seen in the gulf.

FIGURE 4 Amplitude of M2 tide (meters) for uniform depth.

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 5 Phase of M2 tide (degrees) for uniform depth.

This shows that considerable amount of nonlinearity is generated in the ow because of the
irregular coastline and the presence of islands.
In the next experiment, the tidal ow was simulated using the real depths in the gulf.
Figure 2 shows the variation of the bottom topography (collected from the National Hydrographic Chart) in the gulf. The depth varies from 5 m to 50 m. The southwestern area
near the open boundary is relatively deeper. Two deep zones with strong gradients towards

FIGURE 6 Tidal stream current three and half hours before high at Okha (uniform depth).

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123

FIGURE 7 Tidal stream current one and a half hours after high at Okha (uniform depth).
the coast are seen above the Bhaidar-Nora Island system. This irregular topography will
no doubt affect the incoming tidal wave. Figure 9 shows the variation of the sea surface
elevation during a tidal cycle at different stations in the gulf. The solid line is from the
computations with real depth, whereas the dashed line is from that with uniform depth. As
we go from west to east, the shape of the tidal curve is distorted from a pure sine wave due
to the nonlinearity in the ow. The computations from the uniform depth case show a higher

FIGURE 8 Tidal residual current (uniform depth).

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 9 Variation of sea surface elevation at interior stations ( real depth;

------ uniform depth).
range of sea surface elevation and an early occurrence of high and low water for all four
stations are plotted. From Table 1 it is clear that the computed amplitudes are realistically
reproduced after introducing the real bathymetry in the model. A good agreement between
the observed and computed amplitudes of M2 tide for the eight different stations reveal that
the dynamics of the tidal ow is well simulated in this model.
TABLE 1 Observed and Computed Amplitudes (mts.) of M2 Tide at Various
Stations in the Gulf of Kachchh
Computed
Stations
Kandla
(85, 49)
Rozi
(75, 25)
Sikka
(61, 21)
Mundra
(59, 37)
Salya
(49, 13)
Mandavi
(31, 39)
Okha
(17, 19)
Dwarka
(9, 5)

Observed

With uniform depth

With real depth

With barrage

2.3

2.565

2.323

2.372

2.05

2.459

2.019

2.088

1.9

2.250

1.729

1.802

1.85

2.315

1.880

1.961

1.6

2.047

1.583

1.656

1.25

1.590

1.082

1.144

1.25

1.419

1.039

1.056

0.85

0.962

0.954

0.941

A Gulf Tidal Model

125

FIGURE 10 Amplitude of M2 tide (meters) for real depth.

After introducing the real depth, the M2 amplitude values (Figure 10) have reduced
compared to the uniform depth case. Figure 10 shows that the M2 amplitude rst decreases
from open-boundary to Okha and then gradually increases towards Kandla. This reducing
feature near the western open-boundar y was not found in Figure 4. With real depth, the
computed phases seem to increase from the western open-boundar y to Kandla (Figure 11).
The phase difference is 110, indicating that it may take approximately four hours for the
wave to travel from Dwarka to Kandla. Compared to the uniform depth case (Figure 5),

FIGURE 11 Phase of M2 tide (degrees) for real depth.

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 12 Amplitude of M4 tide (cms) for real depth.

the wave does not propagate unrealistically fast from Mandavi to Kandla. Figure 12 shows
the computed M4 amplitudes in the gulf. The high values of the M4 constituent con rm the
nonlinearity in the ow. In the shallower regions near Kandla, the highest values are found.
Figures (13 through 16) show the distribution of the computed tidal stream current at
different phases of the tidal cycle. The ood-ebb reversal, moving in an anticlockwise
direction is nicely reproduced. At any time, strong tidal currents are seen above the BhaidarNora Island system. This may be one of the reasons, why the water is relatively deeper there.
The ow bifurcation around the islands is also reproduced. After introducing the real depth,

FIGURE 13 Tidal stream current three and a half hours before high at Okha (real depth).

A Gulf Tidal Model

127

FIGURE 14 Tidal stream current one and a half hours before high at Okha (real depth).
the computed residual current (Figure 17) is found to be more complicated compared to that
with uniform depth (Figure 8). In the real depth case, the residual in Hansthal Creek near
Kandla has become stronger. A strong anticlockwise gyre is seen above Nora Island. Another clockwise gyre is also found above Bhaidar Island. In general, the residual is stronger
with the real depth case, con rming further the increase of nonlinearity in the ow.
As a rst approximation, a solid wall was put across the Hansthal Creek to represent
the proposed barrage. All other conditions remaining the same, the ow was simulated with

FIGURE 15 Tidal stream current one and a half hours after high at Okha (real depth).

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 16 Tidal stream current four and a half hours after high at Okha (real depth).
the barrage. All other conditions remaining the same means that the same conditions have
been taken as that of the real depth (case 2). On the computational grid, this barrage connects
all u points satisfying the no- ux condition automatically. Figures 18 and 19 show the computed M2 amplitude and phase, respectively, with the barrage. Compared with the results
without the barrage (Figures 10 and 11), the ranges of amplitude and phase are found not to
be very different. The M2 amplitudes are in general slightly higher compared to no-barrage

FIGURE 17 Tidal residual current (real depth).

A Gulf Tidal Model

129

FIGURE 18 Amplitude of M2 tide (meters) with barrage.

case. This can also be veri ed from Table 1. With the barrage, the phase value is 10 less
compared to the no-barrage case, indicating a slightly faster movement of the tidal wave
towards Kandla. Comparing Figure 19 with Figure 11, it is seen that the equal phase lines
with the barrage have a concave shape, indicating that occurrence of high or low water at
coastal stations will be delayed slightly relative to the midstations. The solid lines in Figure
20 show the variation of sea surface elevation at the interior stations as simulated with the
barrage. The dashed lines are those for the case without the barrage. At Mundra and Rozi,

FIGURE 19 Phase of M2 tide (degrees) with barrage.

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P. C. Sinha et al.

FIGURE 20 Variation of sea surface elevation at interior stations ( with barrage;

------ without barrage).
the water levels are slightly higher compared to the no-barrage case. At Kandla, with the
barrage, the level at low tide is found to be less than that without the barrage case. The 10
phase difference at Kandla, seen in Figure 11, is also manifest in the result of Figure 20.
Figures 21 and 22 show the tidal stream currents 1.5 hours before and 1.5 hours after the
high water, respectively, at Okha with the barrage. When compared with the corresponding

FIGURE 21 Tidal stream current one and a half hours before high at Okha (with
barrage).

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131

FIGURE 22 Tidal stream current one and a half hours after high at Okha (with barrage).
Figures 14 and 15 without the barrage, it is found that the currents are modi ed in the
presence of the barrage. Figure 21 shows relatively stronger currents approaching the Kandla
Creek after introducing the barrage. Similarly, in Figure 22 the magnitude of the tidal current
after introducing the barrage is considerably decreased. The residual current with the barrage
(Figure 23), when compared with the corresponding Figure 17 without the barrage, reveals
that the residual ow pattern is changed in the Hansthal Creek. The strong residual going
out of the analysis area from the gulf is no more seen after introducing the barrage. The

FIGURE 23 Tidal residual current (with barrage).

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P. C. Sinha et al.

magnitude of the residual current to the left of Hansthal Creek is also reduced. A clockwise
residual circulation pattern is seen near the barrage. These modi ed ows due to the barrage
will, no doubt, affect the sediment transport processes in the Kandla and Hansthal Creeks.

Conclusions
The depth-averaged hydrodynami c model of the Gulf of Kachchh is able to simulate the
tidal wave propagation realistically. The introduction of realistic bathymetry of the Gulf is
very important to simulate the ow correctly. The introduction of an arti cial barrage near
Hansthal Creek does not affect the sea-level remarkably, but the tidal and residual currents
are modi ed signi cantly.

References
Chittibabu, P., S. K. Dube, A. D. Rao, P. C. Sinha, and T. S. Murty. 2000. Numerical simulation of
stream sea levels using location speci c high resolution model for Gujarat coast of India. Marine
Geodesy 23: (This issue of the journal).
Gupta, H. V. S., and N. H. Hashmi. 1985. Fluctuation in glacial and interglacial sediment discharge
in the Gulf of Kutch. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 14:66 70.
Nair, R. R., N. H. Hashmi, and P. V. Rao. 1982. Sedimentological studies of the Gulf of Kutch. Mar.
Geol. 47:77 82.
Prandtl, D. 1984. Simple theory for designing tidal power schemes, Adv. Water Resources 7:21 27.
Proctor, R. 1981. Mathematical modelling of tidal power schemes in the Bristol channel, Proc. of 2nd
International Symposium on Wave and Tidal Energy, Cambridge, U.K. pp. 33 51.