Numerical methods for the solution of the turbulence energy equations in shelf seas

This paper investigates the accuracy of numerical finite difference methods for solving the turbulence kinetic energy equations in thermally stratified shelf seas with wind and tidal mixing. Alternative discretisation methods are presented for both the source terms and the diffusion term in the turbulence kinetic energy equation. It is shown that techniques not widely used in this field maintain greater accuracy at low spatial and temporal resolution than is obtained with commonly used ones, with no added computational cost. Therefore, these techniques are valuable for use in three‐dimensional models. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.