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1.
Measurements over an annual cycle of longitudinal and vertical salinity distributions in a small sub-estuary, the Tavy Estuary,
UK, are used to illustrate the dependence of salt intrusion and stratification on environmental variables. The interpretations
are aided by vertical profiling and near-bed data recorded in the main channel and on the mudflats. Generally, high water
(HW) salt intrusion at the bed is close to the tidal limit and is dominated by runoff and winds, with decreasing salt intrusion
associated with increasing runoff and increasing up-estuary winds (or vice versa). Tidal effects are not statistically significant
because of two compensating processes: the long tidal excursion, which is comparable with the sub-estuary length for all but
the smallest neap tides, and the enhanced, near-bed, buoyancy-driven salt transport that occurs at small neap tides close
to the limit of saline intrusion. The effect of wind on HW surface salt intrusion in the main channel is not statistically
significant, partly because it is obscured by the opposing local and estuary-wide effects of an up-estuary or down-estuary
wind stress. These processes are investigated using a simple tidal model that incorporates lateral, channel–mudflat bathymetry
and reproduces, approximately, observed channel and mudflat velocities. Surface salinity at HW increases with tidal range
because of enhanced spring-tide vertical mixing—a process that also reduces salinity stratification. Stratification increases
with runoff because of increased buoyancy inputs and decreases with up-estuary winds because of reduced near-bed salt intrusion.
Stratification and plume formation are interpreted in terms of the bulk and estuarine Richardson Numbers, and processes at
the confluence of the sub-estuary and main estuary are described. 相似文献
2.
The Humber Estuary, UK, divides into the Ouse and Trent estuaries at the so-called Apex within its upper reaches. Remotely sensed Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) images and boat measurements were used to observe a strong turbidity maximum in the upper Humber and Ouse during a spring tide in November 1995. Surface suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations during the late ebb, as estimated from the CASI data, increased from approximately 6 to 13 g I−1 moving up-estuary into the Ouse. Greater SPM concentrations (∼10 g I−1) were evident in the deeper channels of the Ouse, compared with shallower areas, possibly due to faster ebb currents there and differential down-estuary advection of the turbidity maximum. Ribbons, or streaks, of lower SPM and slightly cooler waters were observed. It appears that slightly cooler and lower turbidity waters from the confluent Trent estuary remained fairly distinct for distances of approximately 2 km down-stream of its confluence with the upper Humber and Ouse. These waters eventually broke into ribbon-like or streak-like structures within the higher SPM-laden and slightly warmer waters of the Humber. They were discernible for more than 5 km down-estuary of the confluence of the Humber, Ouse, and Trent. Boat measurements showed that the turbidity maximum occurred over a fairly restricted region of the upper Humber, between about 20 to 50 km from the tidal limit at high water. The turbidity maximum’s sediment load was largely suspended in the water column during stronger currents. SPM rapidly settled close to the bed during high water and low water slack periods. At these times, SPM concentrations in a thin, near-bed layer were >60 g I−1 in the turbidity maximum region of the Ouse and >30 g 1−1 in the upper Humber (where channel volumes were much greater). SPM within the turbidity maximum comprised very fine-grained material and its low organic content demonstrated that the SPM was essentially mineral, clastic sediment derived originally from erosion and decay of crustal rocks. 相似文献
3.
Long-term observations in the Weser estuary (Germany) between 1983 and 1997 provide insight into the response of the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) under a wide range of conditions. In this estuary the turbidity zone is closely tied to the mixing zone, and the positions of the ETM and the mixing zone vary with runoff. The intratidal suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations vary due to deposition during slack water periods, subsequent resubsequent and depletion of temporarily-formed and spatially-limited deposits during the following ebb or flood, and subsequent transport by tidal currents. The corresponding time history of SPM concentrations is remarkably constant over the years. Spring tide SPM concentrations can be twice the neap tide concentrations or even larger. A hysteresis in SPM levels between the falling and rising spring-neap cycle is attributed to enhanced resuspension by the stronger spring tidal currents. There is evidence that the ETM is pushed up-estuary during times of higher mean water levels due to storms. During river floods the ETM is flushed towards the outer estuary. If river floods and their decreasing parts occur during times of relatively high mean water levels, the ETM seems to be maintained in the outer estuary. If river floods and their decreasing parts occur during times of relatively low mean water levels, the ETM seems to loose inventory and may need up to half a year of non-event conditions to gain its former magnitude. During this time seasonal effects may be involved. Analyses of storm events and river floods have revealed that the conditions in the seaward boundary region play an equally important role for the SPM dynamics as those arising from the river. 相似文献
4.
A local, one-dimensional, depth-dependent model is used in conjunction with a one-dimensional, longitudinal, hydrodynamical model to examine the mechanisms affecting yertical profiles of longitudinal residual current in the macrotidal (tidal range typically exceeds 4 m during spring tides), partly-mixed Tamar Estuary. Residual currents are simulated at a deep (15m) station in the lower reaches, which possesses a small tidal amplitude to depth ratio and a nonzero salinity throughout the tidal cycle, as well as at a shallow station in the upper reaches, which varies in depth from 1 m at low water, when salinity is zero, to 5 m at high water. A slow, up-estuary current dominates the residual circulation just beneath the high-water level at the deeper station. Further down the water column a down-estuary residual current develops which is the near-surface component of a two-layer gravitational circulation. The up-estuary component of this gravitational circulation occurs deeper in the column and extends to the bed at the deep station, whereas at the shallow station it is eventually dominated by a down-estuary current in the bottom 1 m. Simulated residual currents are fairly insensitive to estuary-bed slope and to observed depth variations in longitudinal density gradient. Residual current profiles of the observed form can only be generated by a longitudinal density gradient. The reduction in vertical eddy viscosity by water column stability due to stratification is an essential requirement for producing a strong gravitational circulation of the observed magnitude. Stratification at the shallow station is much higher during the ebb than during the flood and this asymmetry enhances the gravitational circulation in the upper reaches. The formation of residual flows at both stations is illustrated by showing time-series data over a tidal cycle for the simulated current profiles. 相似文献
5.
This research investigates the dynamics of the axial tidal flow and residual circulation at the lower Guadiana Estuary, south Portugal, a narrow mesotidal estuary with low freshwater inputs. Current data were collected near the deepest part of the channel for 21 months and across the channel during two (spring and neap) tidal cycles. Results indicate that at the deep channel, depth-averaged currents are stronger and longer during the ebb at spring and during the flood at neap, resulting in opposite water transport directions at a fortnightly time scale. The net water transport across the entire channel is up-estuary at spring and down-estuary at neap, i.e., opposite to the one at the deep channel. At spring tide, when the estuary is considered to be well mixed, the observed pattern of circulation (outflow in the deep channel, inflow over the shoals) results from the combination of the Stokes transport and compensating return flow, which varies laterally with the bathymetry. At neap tide (in particular for those of lowest amplitude each month), inflows at the deep channel are consistently associated with the development of gravitational circulation. Comparisons with previous studies suggest that the baroclinic pressure gradient (rather than internal tidal asymmetries) is the main driver of the residual water transport. Our observations also indicate that the flushing out of the water accumulated up-estuary (at spring) may also produce strong unidirectional barotropic outflow across the entire channel around neap tide. 相似文献
6.
In October of 2004, a 3-d observational program to measure flow and sediment resuspension within a coastal intertidal salt
marsh was conducted in the North Inlet/Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve located near Georgetown, South Carolina.
Current and acoustic backscatter profiles were obtained from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployed in
a shallow tidal channel during the spring phase of the tidal cycle under high discharge conditions. The channel serves as
a conduit between Winyah Bay, a large brackish estuary, and North Inlet, a saline intertidal coastal salt marsh with little
freshwater input. Salinity measurements indicate that the water column is vertically well mixed during flood, but becomes
vertically stratified during early ebb. The stratification results from brackish (15 psu) Winyah Bay water entering North
Inlet via the tidal channel, suggesting an exchange mechanism that permits North Inlet to receive a fraction of the poor water
quality and high discharge flow from upland rivers. Although maximum flood currents exceed maximum ebb currents by 0.2 m s−1, suspended sediment concentrations are highest during the latter ebb phase and persist for a longer fraction of the ebb cycle.
Even though the channel is flood-dominated, the higher concentrations occurring over a longer fraction of the ebb phase indicate
net particulate transport from Winyah Bay to North Inlet during spring tide accompanied by high discharge. Our evidence suggests
that the higher concentrations during ebb result from increased bed friction caused by flow asymmetries and variations in
water depth in which the highest stresses occur near the end of ebb near low water despite stronger maximum currents during
flood. 相似文献
7.
We describe the tidal circulation and salinity regime of a coastal plain estuary that connects to the ocean through a flood
tide delta. The delta acts as a sill, and we examine the mechanisms through which the sill affects exchange of estuarine water
with the ocean. Given enough buoyancy, the dynamics of tidal intrusion fronts across the sill and selective withdrawal (aspiration)
in the deeper channel landward appear to control the exchange of seawater with estuarine water. Comparison of currents on
the sill and stratification in the channel reveals aspiration depths smaller than channel depth during neap tide. During neap
tide and strong vertical stratification, seawater plunges beneath the less dense estuarine water somewhere on the sill. Turbulence
in the intruding bottom layer on the sill promotes entrainment of fluid from the surface layer, and the seawater along the
sill bottom is diluted with estuarine water. During ebb flow, salt is effectively trapped landward of the sill in a stagnant
zone between the aspiration depth and the bottom where it can be advected farther upstream by flood currents. During spring
tide, the plunge point moves landward and off the sill, stratification is weakened in the deep channel, and aspiration during
ebb extends to the bottom. This prevents the formation of stagnant water near the bottom, and the estuary is flooded with
high salinity water far inland. The neapspring cycle of tidal intrusion fronts on flood coupled with aspiration during ebb
interacts with the sill to play an important role in the transport and retention of salt within the estuary. 相似文献
8.
磨刀门已由"径流型"向"径流-波浪型"河口转变,波浪已是该河口主要动力之一,但波浪对河口洪季水流及泄洪的影响缺少研究。在2-D潮流数学模型中添加随潮位实时变化的波浪辐射应力,建立波浪潮流耦合数学模型;波浪求解采用缓坡方程,背景水深由潮流模型实时提供,可通过比较考虑和未考虑波浪影响的河口流场来分析波浪对泄洪的影响。在年均常浪作用下,磨刀门河口洪季涨落潮阶段均有明显的波生环流结构。由于波浪作用方向向陆,波生流减弱了浅滩区的向海余流,增大了浅滩向陆余流;受浅滩向海余流减弱影响,河口动力自调整后形成归槽水流,促使深槽内向海余流增大。波浪有顶托河口泄洪之势,可改变滩槽泄洪分配比例;年均常浪的波高较小,其对潮流及泄洪的影响区域限制在浅水区,故对泄洪的负面影响有限。 相似文献
9.
Jianhua GAO Yang YANG Yaping WANG Shaoming PAN Rui ZHANG 《Frontiers of Earth Science》2008,2(3):249-261
High-resolution current velocity and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data were collected by using an Acoustic Doppler
Current Profiler (ADCP) at two anchor stations and a cross-section in the South Channel of the Changjiang River mouth during
meso and neap tides on Nov. 16, 2003. In addition, tidal cycle (13-hour) observation at two stations was carried out with
traditional methods during the spring tide. Results indicated that resuspension occurred not only at the flood and ebb maximum,
but also in the early phase of ebb in the meso and neap tide. When tidal current transited from high to ebb phase, current
speed accelerated. Subsequently, fine-grained sediment with low critical threshold was resuspended and increased concentration.
The river mouth area remained in siltation in the meso and neap tidal phase during the observation season, with calculated
resuspension flux in the order of magnitude of 10−4–10−7 kg·m−2/s. Suspended sediment transport in the South Channel was dominated by freshwater discharge, but the Storks drift,
vertical circulation and vertical shear effect due to tidal oscillation also played an important role in resuspension and
associated sediment transport. In contrast, resuspension sediment flux in the spring tide was larger than that in meso and
neap tide, especially at the ebb maximum and flood maximum. The present study revealed that intensive resuspension corresponded
well with the larger current velocity during winter. In addition, the ‘tidal pumping’ effect and tidal gravity circulation
were also vital for forming the turbidity maximum in the Changjiang River estuary. 相似文献
10.
Measurements were made of tidal currents, bed sediment particle sizes, and bedform dimensions at the South Branch and the
South Channel of the Changjiang estuary, China, during the dry season in 1997 and the flood season in 1998. The near bottom
current speed and direction were measured by a mechanical current meter for 10 h in 1997. The near surface current speed and
direction were measured by a Current Meter of Endeco/YSI Inc. 174 SSM for 14 h in 1997 and 1998. Nine bed sediment samples
were taken and their particle sizes were analyzed with sieves and siphons. The bedforms were nautically detected by an echo
sounder and a side scan sonar. Results show that the ebb tides had larger near-bottom and near-surface current speeds and
longer durations than the flood tides, in which the former occurred during the flood season in 1998 and not in the dry season
in 1997. The bed sediments were composed of coarse silts and very fine sands during the dry season but of fine sands during
the flood season. Bedforms were dominated by ebb tidal currents, the height∶length ratios of dunes and lee face angles were
low, and heights and lengths were larger during the flood season in 1998. The ebb and flood tidal currents, bed sediment sizes,
and dune morphology were largely controlled by the seasonal runoff variations. A new tentative boundary might be proposed
for natural dunes in very fine sand with the availability of additional field data in the future. 相似文献
11.
Particulate trace metal (Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) and major element (Fe, Mn and Al) concentrations have been determined following intensive sampling over two consecutive spring tidal cycles in the 'turbidity maximum zone' (TMZ) of the Port Jackson estuary, Australia. Salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and chlorophyll a were also determined. A three-factor analysis of variance was used to test temporal variability in concentrations of particulate trace metals and major elements as a result of tidal oscillation. Estuarine master variables, such as temperature and pH, varied within a narrow range; nevertheless, the tidal signal was clear for surface and bottom waters. In surface water, no variance was detected in SPM concentrations between consecutive tidal cycles or between tidal stages (i.e. flood, ebb and slack water). In bottom water, however, SPM concentrations were significantly higher (PА.05) at flood tide than at slack high water and ebb tide. Concentrations of particulate trace metals and major elements in surface water do not display significant variability between tidal cycles or stages. Nevertheless, differences within each tidal stage were significant (PА.05) for all elements. In bottom water, only particulate Fe and Al exhibited significant differences (PА.05) between tidal cycles, whereas particulate Ni was the only trace element that presented significant differences (PА.05) between tidal stages, following the distribution of SPM, with highest concentrations at flood tide. Among the metals studied, significant variation was found at all three temporal scales examined (i.e. from hours to consecutive tidal cycles), although the patterns of variation were different for each metal. The semi-diurnal fluctuation of SPM and particulate trace metal concentrations during spring tides is interpreted as a resuspension-deposition cycle caused by cyclical oscillations of bottom currents. The results are discussed in the context of the implications of tidal cycle influence on the geochemistry and cycling of particulate trace metals in the Port Jackson estuary. 相似文献
12.
为研究磨刀门盐水混合层化特征,基于SCHISM模型,建立了三维盐度数值模型,根据实测资料对其进行验证。结合水体势能异常理论,对枯季磨刀门河口混合层化的时空变化特征及深槽与浅滩的层化机制差异进行分析。结果表明:磨刀门河口小潮时水体层化最强,中潮时水体层化最弱,且拦门沙至挂定角段水体层化始终较强。磨刀门深槽水体层化主要受纵向平流、纵向水深平均应变和垂向混合影响,而浅滩水体层化则受横向平流、横向水深平均应变和垂向混合影响;磨刀门河口表、底层水体湍动能耗散率较高,而中间水层存在低耗散区,且涨潮时湍动能耗散率比落潮时大。 相似文献
13.
Data are presented on dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and their relationship to salinity, suspended particulate matter (SPM), concentrations, and the turbidity maximum in the Humber-Ouse Estuary, United Kingdom, during summer 1995. Measurements in the upper Humber during March 1995 showed DO in the range 82% to 87% of saturation. Suspended particulate matter concentrations were <5000 mg l?1 and salinity was in the range 0.5 to 12. In contrast, a pronounced DO sag occurred in the upper reaches of the Ouse during medium and spring tide, summer conditions. The DO minimum was essentially an anoxic level and was associated with the location of the turbidity maximum, at salinities between about 0.4 and 1.5. SPM concentrations at 1 m beneath the surface reached 25,000 mg l?1 in the turbidity maximum, between about 20 km and 40 km from the tidal limit. Suspended particulate matter concentrations were much lower at neap tides, although dense suspensions of SPM (>60,000 mg l?1) occurred within 1 m of the bed in the turbidity maximum region. A spring-neap record showed a dramatic and tidally controlled decrease in DO at very low salinities as the tides progressed from neaps to springs. An anchor station located down-channel of the turbidity maximum showed that about 95% of the variance in DO, which varied from 28% at low-water slack to 67% at high-water slack, could be explained in terms of salinity variation. At the up-channel margins of the turbidity maximum, DO increased from zero (anoxia) near high water to 60% near low water slack, in contrast to the behavior down-channel of the turbidity maximum. About 82% of the variance in DO could be explained in terms of salinity variations alone. Only 43% of the DO variance could be explained in terms of SPM alone. Up-channel of the turbidity maximum, SPM concentrations were relatively low (<3000 mg l?1) and DO levels varied from 48% of saturation near high water to 83% near low water slack. About 76% of the variance in DO could be explained in terms of salinity variations alone. Within the turbidity maximum region, DO varied from <2% saturation on the early flood and late ebb and maximized around 7% at high water slack. About 63% of the variance in DO could be explained in terms of salinity variation alone. This increased to 70% when suspended particulate matter was taken into account. Only 29% of the DO variance could be explained in terms of suspended particulate matter alone. Because bacteria were likely to have been the cause of the observed reduction in DO, the numbers of bacteria, both free-living and attached to particles, were measured in the turbidity maximum region. Numbers of free-living bacteria were low and most of the bacteria were attached to sediment particles. There was a linear correlation between total bacterial number and suspended particulate matter concentration, suggesting that the strong DO demand was exerted locally as a result of bacterial activity associated with increased suspended particulate matter concentrations. An order of magnitude analysis of DO consumption within the Ouse’s turbidity maximum, based on the premise that DO depletion was directly related to suspended particulate matter concentrations and that DO addition was due to reaeration, indicates that complete deoxygenation could have occurred with an oxygen depletion rate of ～0.01 mg DO h?1/g suspended particulate matter during the residence time of waters within the turbidity maximum (～7 d). This rate was sufficiently fast that anoxic to aerobic conditions were able to develop a spring-neap periodicity within the turbidity maximum, but too slow to generate substantial intratidal fluctuations in DO. This is in accordance with the observations, which show that relatively little of the intratidal variance in DO could be explained in terms of suspended particulate matter fluctuations, whereas most of the variance could be explained in terms of salinity, which behaved as a surrogate measure for the proximity of the turbidity maximum. 相似文献
14.
José D. Carriquiry Julio A. Villaescusa Víctor Camacho-Ibar L. Walter Daesslé Pedro G. Castro-Castro 《Environmental Earth Sciences》2011,62(7):1407-1418
During the last century, the Colorado River delta (CRD) has been dramatically altered by the diversion of river water for
use in human activities. This alteration has eliminated the delivery of fresh water to the Gulf of California radically transforming
the former estuary into an inverse-estuary. Under the new conditions, the new materials budget was estimated at the mouth
of the Colorado River in terms of salts, total suspended sediments, organic suspended matter and nutrients. The results of
this study show that, because of the asymmetry of the tidal wave, the variability of seston concentration follows a sedimentation
pattern of three successive stages: re-suspension (erosion at ebb flow) > dilution (during flood flow) > sedimentation (at
the end of the flood stage). The tidal asymmetry during neap tides was characterized by longer ebb (at least, 30 min longer)
than flood and more intense ebb currents (as much as 43% higher), hence characterizing an ebb-dominated system. The CRD is
characterized by high nutrients concentrations. Maximal levels are: nitrates (41 μM), phosphates (2.6 μM) and silicates (68 μM),
nitrite (15 μM). The mass balance indicates that the system acts as a net exporter of suspended sediment with rates as high
as 7 tons per tidal cycle. This behavior indicates that the CRD is in a destructive stage as a result of the lack of freshwater
inflow and supply of sediment into the system. 相似文献
15.
Periodic frontogenesis in a region of freshwater influence 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
Observations are presented from a series of three conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) surveys of the salinity and temperature structure of Liverpool Bay, a region that is strongly influenced by the input of fresh water from the rivers of northwest England. The surveys demonstrate the development, seaward movement, and eventual decay of a haline front. The frontogenesis is driven by the relaxation of a freshwater-induced horizontal density gradient following the decrease in tidal range at neap tides. It results in the area of Liverpool Bay being stratified for a period of 8 d before the increase in tidal mixing as the spring tide approaches returns the region to its initial vertically mixed state. In Liverpool Bay this process usually repeats on the spring-neap cycle, though strong wind-mixing may prevent the frontogenesis and subsequent stratification. Analysis with a 1-dimensional numerical model suggests that relaxation of an initially nonlinear horizontal density field, creating the front, is triggered by the stability produced by tidal straining of the water column during the ebb half-cycle. The reduction in tidal mixing energy approaching neap tide does not lead to frontogenesis without this initial stability. Such a regular stratification signal will have a marked effect on the local environment. The periodic frontogenesis will act as a tidal pump, moving buoyant substances in the water column offshore, while the onshore residual currents lower in the water column will more deeper dissolved substances inshore. The cycling of stability on the springneap time scale is considerably faster than the seasonal cycle of thermal stratification in the shelf seas, but is similar in creating the conditions required for phytoplankton blooms. Conditions favorable for enhanced primary production may therefore occur frequently in such regions of freshwater influence. 相似文献
16.
The influence of wind and river pulses on an estuarine turbidity maximum: Numerical studies and field observations in Chesapeake Bay 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
The effect of pulsed events on estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM) was investigated with the Princeton Ocean Model, a three-dimensional
hydrodynamic model. The theoretical model was adapted to a straight-channel estuary and enhanced with sediment transport,
erosion, deposition, and burial components. Wind and river pulse scenarios from the numerical model were compared to field
observations before and after river pulse and wind events in upper Chesapeake Bay. Numerical studies and field observations
demonstrated that the salt front and ETM had rapid and nonlinear responses to short-term pulses in river flow and wind. Although
increases and decreases in river flow caused down-estuary and up-estuary (respectively) movements of the salt front, the effect
of increased river flow was more pronounced than that of decreased river flow. Along-channel wind events also elicited non-linear
responses. The salt front moved in the opposite direction of wind stress, shifting up-estuary in response to down-estuary
winds and vice-versa.
Modeled pulsed events affected suspended sediment distributions by modifying the location of the salt front, near-bottom shear
stress, and the location of bottom sediment in relation to stratification within the salt front. Bottom sediment accumulated
near the convergent zone at the tip of the salt front, but lagged behind the rapid response of the salt front during wind
events. While increases in river flow and along-channel winds resulted in sediment transport down-estuary, only reductions
in river flow resulted in consistent up-estuary movement of bottom sediment. Model predictions suggest that wind and river
pulse events significantly influence salt front structure and circulation patterns, and have an important role in the transport
of sediment in upper estuaries. 相似文献
17.
Variability of the mixing zones and estuarine turbidity maxima in the Elbe and Weser estuaries 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
The neighboring coastal plain estuaries of the Elbe and Weser Rivers in Northern Germany exhibit pronounced estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM). Common features and differences between the longitudinal distributions of salinity and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in both estuaries are compared as well as the mechanisms effecting them. Monthly transects of the near surface SPM indicate that the long-term variability of salinity and the ETM is mainly influenced by the freshwater runoff. The variability is reduced to certain characteristic patterns by application of Empirical Orthogonal Functions analysis. The coefficients of these patterns are then correlated to runoff and the resulting functional regressions are used for the construction of a statistical model for the distribution of salinity and SPM along the estuaries; for SPM this has not been successful. 相似文献
18.
《Sedimentary Geology》2006,183(3-4):159-179
In the macrotidal Severn estuary, UK, the dynamics of intertidal fine-gravel dunes were investigated. These dunes are migrating across a bedrock platform. Systematic observations were made of hydraulic climate, geometry, migration rates and internal sedimentary structures of the dunes. During spring tides, the ebb flow is dominant, dunes grow in height and have ebb orientated geometry with bedrock floors in the troughs. During neap tides, a weak flood flow may dominate. Dunes then are flood orientated or symmetrical. Neap dune heights decrease and the eroded sediment is stored in the dune troughs where the bedrock becomes blanketed by muddy gravel. During spring tides, instantaneous bed shear stresses reach 8 N m− 2, sufficient to disrupt a 9 mm-gravel armour layer. However, a sustained bed shear stress of 4 N m− 2 is required to initiate dune migration at which time the critical depth-mean velocity is 1 m s− 1. Ebb and flood inequalities in the bed shear stress explain the changes in dune asymmetry and internal structures. During flood tides, the crests of the dunes reverse such that very mobile sedimentary ‘caps’ overlie a more stable dune ‘core’. Because ebb tides dominate, internal structures of the caps often are characterised by ebb orientated steep open-work foresets developed by strong tidal currents and some lower angle crossbeds deposited as weaker currents degrade foresets. The foresets forming the caps may be grouped into cosets (tidal bundles) and are separated from mud-infused cores of crossbeds that lie below, by reactivation and erosion surfaces blanketed by discontinuous mud drapes. The cores often exhibit distinctive muddy toe sets that define the spacing of tidal cosets. 相似文献
19.
Kuo-Chuin Wong 《Estuaries and Coasts》1999,22(2):194-205
The buoyant discharge from Delaware Bay forms two separate branches of residual outflow near the bay mouth, one along each shore. Upon exiting the bay, the branch along the Delaware shore turns right to form the southward flowing Delaware coastal current along the inner continental shelf off the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia coasts. CTD and thermosalinograph, data collected at the mouth of Delaware Bay over two semidiurnal tidal cycles are used to examine the hydrographic distribution at the source region of the Delaware coastal current. In this region the buoyant source water of the coastal current, is largely detached from the shoreline and confined to the top 15 m of the water column over much of the tidal cycles. The core of the coastal current's source water, as defined by the point of salinity minimum, is located over the deep channel well offshore of the Delaware coast. The separation between this buoyant water and the more saline waters right along the Delaware coast and that in the central part of the bay mouth are marked by regions of high horizontal salinity gradients. The horizontal salinity gradients around the inshore and offshore boundaries of the source water of the coastal current are intensified during the flood tide, and clearly defined fronts (with a change of 3‰ over a distance of 150 m) are present at the offshore boundary near the end of the flood tide. The structure of the mean flow and the distribution of the brackish coastal current on the inner continental shelf contribute to the persistence of stratification in the source region off the Delaware shore throughout the ebb and flood tides. In contrast, the ebb-induced stratification in the region off the New Jersey shore is quickly destroyed with the onset of the flood current. 相似文献
20.
Tidal straining,density currents,and stirring in the control of estuarine stratification 总被引：9，自引：0，他引：9
Buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters. Predicting the development and breakdown of such stratification is an inherently more difficult problem than that involved in the analogous case of stratification induced by surface heating because the buoyancy input originates at the lateral boundaries. In the approach adopted here, we have adapted the energy considerations used in the surface heating problem to describe the competition between the stabilizing effect of fresh water and the vertical mixing brought about by tidal and wind stirring. Freshwater input induces horizontal gradients which drive the estuarine circulation in which lighter fluid at the surface is moved seaward over heavier fluid moving landward below. This contribution to stratification is expected to vary in time as the level of turbulence varies over the tidal cycle. The density gradient also interacts directly with the vertical shear in the tidal current to induce a periodic input to stratification which is positive on the ebb phase of the tide. Comparison of this input with the available stirring energy leads to a simple criterion for the existence of strain-induced stratification. Observations in a region of Liverpool Bay satisfying this criterion confirm the occurrence of a strong semidiurnal variation in stratification with complete vertical mixing apparent around high water except at neap tides when more permanent stratification may develop. A simulation of the monthly cycle based on a model including straining, stirring, and the estuarine circulation is in qualitative agreement with the main features of the observations. 相似文献