HR: 1340h
AN: OS13A-0517    [Abstracts]
TI: Control of Estuarine Stratification by Lateral Dynamics
AU: * Scully, M E
EM: mscully@vims.edu
AF: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 United States
AU: Friedrichs, C T
EM: cfried@vims.edu
AF: Virginia Institute of Marine Science, P.O. Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA 23062 United States
AB: In estuarine systems, scaling arguments suggest that as stratification increases and rotation becomes increasingly important, lateral momentum terms become as large or larger than their axial counterparts. Two data sets collected in the York River estuary under contrasting river flow conditions support these scaling arguments. In fact, during a month long experiment conducted under stratified conditions, the lateral density gradient was, on average, over four times larger than the longitudinal density gradient. Such strong lateral density gradients drive lateral flows that play a significant role in controlling the vertical density stratification. Including the lateral terms in a simple potential energy model enabled relatively accurate prediction of the time varying vertical density stratification at two locations in the estuary cross-section. The lateral change of tidal phase across the estuary favored stronger lateral density gradients during the flood tide. As a result, stronger lateral circulation during flood tides increased stratification more than on ebb, often offsetting the asymmetry expected due to longitudinal tidal straining.
DE: 4235 Estuarine processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting