Errata pasted onto front end paper. / Bibliography: leaves 131-136. / v, 136 leaves : ill., maps (one col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The hydrodynamics of the Persian Gulf waters are of great importance because of oil transport activities and consequential oil spills. This thesis developed and applied a new technique for improving mathematical models to examine tidal movement in the Gulf, especially around the Iranian coast. Three different numerical tidal models, namely a uniform grid Cartesian model, a uniform grid spherical model and a spherical model containing dynamically nested regions with finer spatial and temporal grids were examined, with results compared with Admiralty chart 5081 and tidal constants computed from records from tidal stations. Results from the dynamically nested model better matched recorded values. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, 1998?