A new method of describing bottom stress in two-dimensional hydrodynamical models of shallow homogeneous seas, estuaries, and lakes

A new expression for bottom friction is developed for use in two-dimensional hydrodynamical models of shallow homogeneous seas, estuaries, and lakes. Bottom stress is provided by a single relaxation approximation which can be used to replace the conventional parametrization in any existing explicit time-stepping model. The method produces the correct steady state flow for wind-driven circulation in shallow systems. It derives the bottom stress from the vertical eddy viscosity which can have any prescribed variation through the water column. The single relaxation approximation uses a recursive relation for bottom stress involving only values at the previous time step and a pair of precomputed coefficients at each grid point.