Development of Brunei regional hydrodynamic model for modelling of Brunei coastal waters using Delft3D.

The Brunei coastline represents a diverse multi-use coastal zone ranging from the production of oil & gas to recreational uses. Brunei Maura port is also considered as an alternative stopover for docking cargo and oil carrying ships, owing to the fact that the nearby docking port in this region (Singapore) is very busy. This facility provides extensive economic benefits to this region to develop infrastructure facilities for these navigation ships. A robust hydrodynamic model is needed to better understand the processes and reproducing the driving mechanisms of these large-scale driven flows in Brunei waters. Since there is no hydrodynamic model available in this region, so a regional model covering the sea coast of Brunei is developed, which is termed the Brunei Regional Hydrodynamic Model (BRHM). This model covers a coastline extending from Miri to Kota Kinabalu, which is on either side of the Brunei Sea coast. The hydrodynamic model is calibrated using the satellite data available in this region. This calibrated model can be further used for simulating the typical and extreme scenarios of storm surges at the South China Sea (SCS) and their effects on the local hydrodynamics, which in turn affect the navigation and ecosystem in Brunei Bay. This research study which is the first of its kind in this region, will demonstrate the nonlinear tidal interactions and storm surges in SCS. This study also helps us to understand the tide-bathymetry/geometry interactions that cause frequent sea level anomalies in this region. This well-calibrated hydrodynamic model will form the benchmark to simulate the typical and extreme scenarios of storm surges at SCS and their effects on the local hydrodynamics, which in turn affect the navigation and ecosystem in Brunei Bay. This research study will extensively support the Brunei Darussalam national vision to make Maura port a Service Hub for Trade and Tourism by providing efficient shipping, ports, value-added services and infrastructure facilities for these navigation ships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]