Studies on navigational depth of a shipping channel using numerical modelling and bathymetric analysis in the Hooghly estuary, India.

Availability of navigational draft along the shipping channel is essential for effective freight transport of any port for its economic sustenance. Rangafala channel is one of the main channels leading to Kolkata port. The primary objective of this research work is to find the critical and vulnerable positions in the navigation channel. A Cartesian grid-based, two-dimensional, depth-averaged, finite volume model has been developed using existing bathymetry, water level, sediment data, and appropriate boundary conditions in hydrodynamic and sediment transport modelling. The developed model is first calibrated using observed velocity data, and then, it has been validated with observed water level data at the Haldia gauge station. The validated model has been simulated for 6-month boundary values, and it has been experienced that the depth-averaged model velocity is relatively high throughout the channel. The hydrodynamic and sediment transport model results suggest that the channel remains self-maintained, and only a few locations experience little deposition. Eleven years of channel bathymetric data are used to complement the simulated model results. It is observed that the required draft for navigation has always been maintained along the Rangafala channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]