Regional Physical Oceanography: Hydrodynamic and Water Quality Observations and Numerical Simulations

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 421

Special Issue Editors

Department of Physics, CESAM, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: numerical modeling; physical/biological/chemical interactions; remote sensing; estuaries and lagoons; coastal zone monitoring; atmosphere–ocean processes; water quality; climate change
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Regional physical oceanography provides vital insights into the dynamics of coastal and shelf seas, estuaries, and semi-enclosed basins. These systems, shaped by complex hydrodynamic processes, regulate biogeochemical cycles, sustain ecosystems, and support human activities. With growing pressures from climate change, sea level rise, and anthropogenic interventions, advancing our understanding of regional hydrodynamics and its implications for water quality has never been more urgent.

This Special Issue invites contributions that advance observational and modeling approaches to studying coastal and regional systems. Field measurements and in situ observations are essential to characterize circulation, mixing, and exchange processes, while numerical simulations provide powerful tools to explore dynamics across scales, test hypotheses, and project future scenarios. Equally important is the link between hydrodynamics and biogeochemical/water quality dynamics, including nutrient transport, oxygen variability, contaminant dispersion, and ecosystem health.

We welcome studies that address observational, experimental, and modeling approaches related to hydrodynamics and water quality in estuaries, lagoons, and coastal and shelf seas. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: circulation and exchange processes, tides and storm surges, river–ocean interactions, mixing and stratification, water quality observations and modeling, model development and validation, and the impacts of climate change.

We look forward to your contributions to this Special Issue, which will help to advance the field of regional physical oceanography.

Dr. Ana Picado
Dr. Magda Catarina Sousa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • coastal circulation
  • shelf sea dynamics
  • estuarine processes
  • tidal forcing
  • stratification and mixing
  • water quality modeling
  • biogeochemical fluxes
  • contaminant dispersion
  • climate-driven variability

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 4038 KB  
Article
Derived Effective (Keff) Versus Scalar (K0) Attenuation in the Baltic Sea: Characterising Spectral Divergence and Physical Drivers
by Aminah Kaharuddin, Stefan Forster and Hendrik Schubert
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(10), 927; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14100927 (registering DOI) - 18 May 2026
Abstract
The optical complexity of shallow Case 2 waters challenges remote sensing accuracy due to the non-linear behaviour of optically active constituents. This study evaluates the spectral divergence between the target-derived effective attenuation (Keff) and the ambient scalar attenuation [...] Read more.
The optical complexity of shallow Case 2 waters challenges remote sensing accuracy due to the non-linear behaviour of optically active constituents. This study evaluates the spectral divergence between the target-derived effective attenuation (Keff) and the ambient scalar attenuation coefficient (K0) across 12 Baltic Sea locations. Using hyperspectral radiometry and K-Means clustering, three optical water types (OWTs) were identified. We demonstrate that the historical static approximation based on the diffuse attenuation coefficient (Keff ≈ 2Kd) is systematically biased in scattering-dominated environments. Our empirical results yielded a regional relationship of Keff = 2.33K0 (R2 = 0.65); however, residual analysis reveals that linear multipliers fail to capture non-linear light decay. Random Forest regression identified total suspended matter (TSM) as the primary driver of Keff variance (28.0%), confirming that “geometric rejection” of scattered photons artificially inflates signal loss in turbid waters. This divergence is most pronounced in the 500–650 nm range, where low absorption facilitates multiple scattering events. We conclude that active remote sensing requires a sensor-fusion approach, utilising passive OWT classification to dynamically parameterise active attenuation models. Full article
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