| Author | Chucheep Wongsupap |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.WM-09-03 |
| Subject(s) | Eutrophication--Thailand, Gulf of
|
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctoral Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. WM-09-03 |
| Abstract | The Gulf of Thailand (GoT) is an impor tant natural resource which contributes to Thailand’s socio-economic development. The multiple uses of GoT such as fishery, recreation, tourism, aquaculture and energy sour ces have been developed along the coastline and also in the gulf for many decades. The GoT now faces severe water quality problems especially high nutrient loads from river mouths which is caused by the eutrophic seawater phenomena. Red tides and fish kills have been also reported for many years. The GoT is an enclosed embayment gulf located in the South China Sea, surrounded by the countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The most important area is the Upper Gulf of Thailand (UGoT) which is located at the northernmost of the gulf. The major freshwater with nutrient loadings are discharged from four river mouths, namely, Chao Phraya river, Tha Chin river, Bang Pa kong river, and Mae Klong river. The UGoT can be categorized into eastern and western side s based on distinct char acteristics and economic activities. At the western side of UGoT, natural mangrove forest and low developed activities exist, while the industrial ports and intensive coastal area deve lopment appears at the eastern side. Moreover, there are also important tourism areas located at the eastern side. Various uses of coastal resources had led to some conflicts and high public awareness for sensitive natural resources in the UGoT. In this study, a hydrodynamic model has been applied to study the flow circulation, the water quality and eutrophication proce sses in the UGoT. The hydrodynamic model has successfully simulated the UGoT’s circulation pattern. Result of calib ration and verification using observed data in 1999 to 2005 showed that the hydrodynamic condition in the UGoT is dominated by tidal current rath er than wind force and river fl ow. Typically, flow circulation in UGoT is clockwise direction in April to Augu st, while it is counter-c lockwise direction in November to January. Flow patte rn in other periods, September to October and February to March, are considered as the changing flow direction’s tr ansition period. Following this UGoT’s long-term hydrodynamic modeling results, the water quality with nutrient transport model and the eutrophication mode l are set up and calibrated with available data from field surveys in 1999 to 2005. Relevant factors that affect seasonal (summer to winter conditions) and spatial (western to easter n coastal regions of UGoT) eu trophication phenomena in UGoT have been analyzed. Results indicated that the high freshwater discharg es with high nutrient loadings from the four main rivers have c ontributed to the nutrien t enrichment of UGoT, while flow circulation has play ed important role for eutrop hication occurrence’s timing and location. There are two typical hi gh river flow seasons discharg ing into UGoT which are May to June and September to October. Modeling re sults have demonstated that clockwise flow circulation with the receiving high freshwater discharge are si gnificantly influenced by the eastern UGoT’s eutrophic state from June to A ugust. Nutrient loadings from Chao Phraya and Tha Chin river that come with freshwater discharge are considered as the dominant source of this over-enriche d condition in this UGoT’s eastern coastal area. ... |
| Year | 2010 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. WM-09-03 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Water Engineering and Management (WM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Clemente, Roberto ;Sutat Weesakul (Co-Chairperson); |
| Examination Committee(s) | Preeda Parkpian ;Suphat Vongvisessomjai ;Gupta, Ashim Das; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish Inte rnational Development Assistance (DANIDA); |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009 |