Effects of Sea Level Rise on Tidal Dynamics in Macrotidal Hangzhou Bay

Sea level rise (SLR) due to climate change is expected to alter tidal processes and energy transport, disproportionately affecting coastal communities. Utilizing a nested hydrodynamics model, we provided an integrated investigation of tidal responses to SLR in the Hangzhou Bay (HZB). The scenarios of SLR in the next hundred years count for both non-uniform trends based on historical altimetry data and uniform trends from the latest IPCC projections. In a comparison of model results under different SLR scenarios, we found that the tidal range is amplified by SLR in HZB with stronger amplification at the shallow southern coast. Tidal range change generally increases with the SLR scale; however, neglecting the heterogeneities in the spatial distribution of SLR tends to overestimate the SLR effects. The harmonic analysis illustrates that SLR exaggerates the dominated semidiurnal tides (M-2 and S-2) but dampens their overtides and compound tides (M-4, M-6, and MS4), of which M-2 amplitude amplification explains 71.2-90.0% of tidal range change. SLR tends to promote tidal energy entering HZB through the Zhoushan Archipelago (ZA) compared to the prototype, while dampened sea-bed roughness and reduced tidal velocity come with a less dissipative environment in HZB, resulting in 6-18% more tidal energy exported upstream. Numerical experiments indicate ZA has significant effects on tidal responses and energy flux generation, therefore, its quantitative influences and physical mechanism are also discussed in this paper.

Automated summary

Sea level rise due to climate change has disproportionate effects on tidal processes and energy transport, especially for coastal communities. This study investigates the tidal responses to sea level rise in the Hangzhou Bay and finds that sea level rise amplifies tidal range, particularly in the shallow southern coast. Neglecting the heterogeneities in the spatial distribution of sea level rise tends to overestimate its effects.