3D Numerical Simulation of Wind Direction Effect on Flow Circulation and Salinity Patterns at Lake Urmia

In recent years, Lake Urmia has encountered with environmental crisis, due to poor management of water resources, increasing the agricultural land and over the construction of dams on feeding rivers. In this research, a 3D model (Mike 3 flow model FM) was applied to investigate the effects of changes in wind direction and construction of causeway on flow circulation and salinity distribution in Lake Urmia. The salinity data measured in two depths (near the water surface and close to the bed), and different locations were used to evaluate the calibration and verification of the model. The results of the present study showed that the wind speed and its direction are one of the important parameters that play a major role in flow circulation patterns, especially in the surface layer of the water, and salinity distribution in both cases with and without causeway. Moreover, three-dimensional simulation results revealed that the flow path and salinity distribution were different in surface and bottom layers, due to the wind direction and construction of the causeway.