A field experiment was conducted to examine stratified and unstratified curvature-generated lateral circulation and momentum balances in an estuarine tidal channel. Conductivity, temperature, depth, and current profiler data were collected vertically and laterally across the channel at a sharp bend over a fortnightly period to measure the terms of the lateral momentum budget. Well-mixed conditions allow the development of classic two-layer helical flow around a bend. Stratification strengthens curvature-induced lateral circulation, but the development of a lateral baroclinic pressure gradient opposes the resultant motions. The spatial and temporal response of this baroclinic pressure gradient is different than centrifugal acceleration, producing a three-layer profile. As the baroclinic term becomes stronger (or as centrifugal acceleration disappears as the flow exits the bend), two-layer flow with the opposite direction from curvature occurs. In both stratified and well-mixed conditions, downstream adjustment of lateral circulation (nonlinear advective acceleration) is of leading order in the lateral momentum budget; the depth-averaged term adjusts the streamline direction, while vertical deviations from the depth average account for changes in lateral circulation. The asymmetry of forcing mechanisms on flood and ebb, because of variations in stratification and strength of tidal flow, can strongly affect net lateral transport and generation of residual currents in regions of curvature.

[1] Tidal asymmetry in estuaries with mixed, mainly semidiurnal tides arises from both the interaction of principal tides and the higher harmonics generated by distortions within the estuary. The duration asymmetry in rise and fall of water level caused by principal tides on the west coast of the continental United States is ebb-dominant, and so the tide entering estuaries is also ebb-dominant, prior to any internal distortions within the estuary. The interaction of higher harmonics with principal constituents either augments or cancels the duration asymmetry in the principal tides. In estuaries where tidal elevation and velocity phase are near quadrature (90°out of phase), the duration asymmetry in tidal elevation leads to asymmetries in tidal current magnitude. Asymmetry can be conveniently quantified in terms of the sample skewness, g 1 , the normalized third sample moment about the mean. An analytic approximation to the skewness shows that traditional metrics of asymmetry, namely the ratio of constituent amplitudes and the relative constituent phase difference, arise from calculating the third sample moment. Observations from three California estuaries of different morphologies are presented as an illustration of how skewness can be used to quantify asymmetry in real systems. As in semidiurnal systems, morphology is a good predictor of whether higher harmonics engender ebb-dominance or flood-dominance, however asymmetry imposed by principal tides at the mouth must first be overcome and so there is a spatial evolution in the total asymmetry. Quantifying observations via skewness should be considered in addition to traditional metrics in estuaries with mixed tides.

[1] Anthropogenic and climatic forces have modified the geomorphology of tidal wetlands over a range of timescales. Changes in land use, sediment supply, river flow, storminess, and sea level alter the layout of tidal channels, intertidal flats, and marsh plains; these elements define wetland complexes. Diagnostically, measurements of net sediment fluxes through tidal channels are high-temporal resolution, spatially integrated quantities that indicate (1) whether a complex is stable over seasonal timescales and (2) what mechanisms are leading to that state. We estimated sediment fluxes through tidal channels draining wetland complexes on the Blackwater and Transquaking Rivers, Maryland, USA. While the Blackwater complex has experienced decades of degradation and been largely converted to open water, the Transquaking complex has persisted as an expansive, vegetated marsh. The measured net export at the Blackwater complex (1.0 kg/s or 0.56 kg/m 2 /yr over the landward marsh area) was caused by northwesterly winds, which exported water and sediment on the subtidal timescale; tidally forced net fluxes were weak and precluded landward transport of suspended sediment from potential seaward sources. Though wind forcing also exported sediment at the Transquaking complex, strong tidal forcing and proximity to a turbidity maximum led to an import of sediment (0.031 kg/s or 0.70 kg/m 2 /yr). This resulted in a spatially averaged accretion of 3.9 mm/yr, equaling the regional relative sea level rise. Our results suggest that in areas where seaward sediment supply is dominant, seaward wetlands may be more capable of withstanding sea level rise over the short term than landward wetlands. We propose a conceptual model to determine a complex's tendency toward stability or instability based on sediment source, wetland channel location, and transport mechanisms. Wetlands with a reliable portfolio of sources and transport mechanisms appear better suited to offset natural and anthropogenic loss.