Results of recent theoretical studies are used as a basis for a new two-parameter system of estuarine classification. The classes are delineated by the magnitudes of the relative stratification and circulation parameters associated with changes in the salt balance mechanism. The theoretical results depend on a knowledge of the eddy coefficients of viscosity and diffusivity. Tentative relationships between these coefficients and the bulk parameters of tidal current, river flow, and geomorphology, which are obtained from experimental data, may be used to determine the salinity and net current distributions in partially mixed and well-mixed coastal plain estuaries. l Contribution No.
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.
Differential equations, boundary, and discontinuity conditions are obtained which relate the internal tide to the surface tide in a two‐layer system. Solutions of these equations give internal tides which may be large compared to the surface tide. In the coastal region these internal tides are standing waves and further offshore they attain the characteristics of progressive waves traveling seaward.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.