The influence of wind and river pulses on an estuarine turbidity maximum: Numerical studies and field observations in Chesapeake Bay |
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| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">E?W?NorthEmail author S?Y?Chao L?P?Sanford R?R?Hood |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Civil and Disaster Prevention Engineering, National United University, Miao-Li, 36003, Taiwan;(2) Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, National Applied Research Laboratories, Taipei, 106, Taiwan;(3) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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