2021/04/01 by Donald V. Hansen, Maurice Rattray · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies #Geophysics and Gravity Measurements #Oceanographic and Atmospheric Processes
paper · doi:10.1357/002224021834614399
crossref issued 2021/04/01 · crossref published 2021/04/01 · crossref published-print 2021/04/01 · openalex publication_date 2021/04/01 · crossref created 2021/12/15 · crossref deposited 2023/11/14 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28
A coupled set of partial differential equations and associated boundary conditions is written to describe circulation and salt-flux processes for estuaries in which turbulent mixing results primarily from tidal currents. Similarity solutions, motivated by characteristic salinity distributions observed in estuaries, are obtained for this set of equations and are compared with observational data. The circulation is separated into modes analogous to the barotropic, baroclinic, and Ekman modes of oceanic circulation. The salinity distribution, although coupled to the velocity distribution, is found to vary independently of it as well. The theoretical results are discussed in regard to: (i) correlation between the vertical variations of mean velocity and salinity, (ii) the role of this correlation in maintaining the steady-state salinity distribution in estuaries, and (iii) some implications for computations of flushing and dispersion of contaminants.