Particle Tracking Model And Its Application To Xiangxi River

The operation of the Three Gorges Project (TGP) leads to a dramatic change in hydrodynamic condition and aquatic ecological environment in the reservoir and some tributaries. To quantify such changes in Xiangxi River, one tributary of the Yangtze, the three-dimensional unstructured-mesh oceanic model ELcirc together with a particle tracking model (PTM) were verified against flume experiment data and applied to simulate flow and algae particles' movement from September to October in 2007 when the TGP reservoir began to impound. The modeling results show that backflow from the Yangtze's main stream into the Xiangxi River occurred, and pollution particles were pushed to the upper reach. The research could provide scientific information for the management of water quality in TGP reservoir area.