Hydrodynamic Modeling of the St. Lawrence Fluvial Estuary. II: Reproduction of Spatial and Temporal Patterns

This is the second part of an investigation aimed at documenting the tidal hydrodynamics of the St. Lawrence fluvial estuary (SLFE). In Part I, the calibration and validation of a high-resolution, two-dimensional (2D), time-dependent hydrodynamic model of the SLFE was presented. Herein, the process-based (structural) validation procedure used to quantitatively assess the ability of the model to reproduce spatial and temporal patterns observed in the field data is presented. Tidal and flow features were found to be reproduced satisfactorily in terms of their lateral and longitudinal variability at both the intratidal and fortnightly scales. These properties can be used to describe the real system dynamics, including flooding–drying processes, tidal propagation and modulation, and transient momentum balance, providing insights into the general physical processes of the SLFE and of large tidal rivers globally.