Mixing and Transport in Coastal River Plumes

Horner‐Devine, Alexander R.; Hetland, Robert D.; MacDonald, Daniel G.

doi:10.1146/annurev-fluid-010313-141408

Cited by 314 publications

(298 citation statements)

References 124 publications

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“…Horner-Devine et al [67] describe the primary parameters that govern the behavior of river plumes as "freshwater discharge, tidal amplitude, coastline bathymetry/geometry, ambient ocean currents, wind stress and the Earth's rotation". The volume of freshwater discharge, wind stress and the strength of the Coriolis effect (arising from the Earth's rotation) differ most between the two systems.…”

Section: Plume Dynamics and Coastal Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Continental Shelf River Plumes in the Northern and Southern Gulf of Mexico Promote Ecological Resilience in a Time of Climate Change?

Kemp

Day

Yáñez‐Arancibia

et al. 2016

Water

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Section: Plume Dynamics and Coastal Currentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Continental Shelf River Plumes in the Northern and Southern Gulf of Mexico Promote Ecological Resilience in a Time of Climate Change?

Kemp

Day

Yáñez‐Arancibia

et al. 2016

Water

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“…In a near-field region, river flow has a lift-off point in the location where river water detaches from the bottom and the upper layer Froude number is equal to one (Horner-Devine et al, 2015). At the lift-off point, vertical velocities cause shoaling of the plume interface and acceleration of the upper layer flow in a more seaward region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a barrier region is not observed in laboratory simulations. Natural buoyant river plumes have a small vertical to horizontal aspect ratio, O (10 −3 ), where vertical turbulent flux of density is considered to be dominant over horizontal turbulent fluxes (Horner-Devine et al, 2015). For laboratory simulations, the aspect ratio is at least an order of magnitude smaller.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neither the evolution of the bulge nor the anti-cyclonic circulation within it can be identified from the composite satellite remote sensing images. Although each river plume can be considered as specific, Horner-Devine et al (2015) have summarized the dynamics of an anti-cyclonically rotating bulge, with special emphasis on the river water volume recirculating within the bulge. In their study, with reference to Nof and Pichevin (2001), they summarize that, with stronger anti-cyclonic circulation within the bulge, more water recirculates in the bulge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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River bulge evolution and dynamics in a non-tidal sea – Daugava River plume in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Satellite remote sensing imagery and numerical modelling were used for the study of river bulge evolution and dynamics in a non-tidal sea, the Gulf of Riga (GoR) in the Baltic Sea. Total suspended matter (TSM) images showed a clearly formed anti-cyclonically rotating river bulge from Daugava River discharge during the studied low wind period. In about 7-8 days the bulge grew up to 20 km in diameter, before being diluted. A high-resolution (horizontal grid step of 125 m) General Estuarine Transport Model (GETM) was used for detailed description of the development of the river plume in the southern GoR over the period when satellite images were acquired. In the model simulation, the bulge growth rate was estimated as r b ∼ t 0.5±0.04 (R 2 = 0.90). Both the model simulation and the satellite images showed that river water was mainly contained in the bulge and there were numerous intrusions at the outer perimeter of the bulge. We performed numerical sensitivity tests with actual bathymetry and measured river runoff without wind forcing (1) having an initial three-dimensional density distribution, and (2) using initially a homogeneous ambient density field. In the first case, the anti-cyclonic bulge did not develop within the course of the model simulation and the coastal current was kept offshore due to ambient densitydriven circulation. In the second case, the river plume developed steadily into an anti-cyclonically recirculating bulge, with r b ∼ t 0.28±0.01 (R 2 = 0.98), and a coastal current. Additional simulations with constant cross-shore and alongshore winds showed a significant effect of the wind in the evolution of the river bulge, even if the wind speed was moderate (3-4 m s −1 ). While previous studies conclude that the midfield bulge region is governed by a balance between centrifugal, Coriolis and pressure gradient terms, our study showed that geostrophic balance is valid for the entire mid-field of the bulge, except during the 1-1.5 rotation period at the beginning of the bulge formation. In addition, while there is discharge into the homogenous GoR in the case of a high inflow Rossby number, the river inflow might split into two jets, with strong mixing zone in-between, in the plume nearfield region.

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“…The downstream plume can extend 100 km northwards of the river mouth and has a width of 20 to 40 km (de Ruijter et al 1997). The Rhine ROFI is dominated by friction and tides in contrast to classic river plumes (Horner-Devine et al 2015). In the Rhine ROFI, the tides also determine the release of the freshwater lenses at the river mouth (de Ruijter et al 1997), which influence the evolution of the entire system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous measurements of tidal straining and advection at two parallel transects far downstream in the Rhine ROFI

Rijnsburger

Hout

Tongeren³

et al. 2016

Ocean Dynamics

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This study identifies and unravels the processes that lead to stratification and destratification in the far field of a Region of Freshwater Influence (ROFI). We present measurements that are novel for two reasons: (1) measurements were carried out with two vessels that sailed simultaneously over two cross-shore transects; (2) the measurements were carried out in the far field of the Rhine ROFI, 80 km downstream from the river mouth. This unique four dimensional dataset allows the application of the 3D potential energy anomaly equation for one of the first times on field data. With this equation, the relative importance of the depth mean advection, straining and nonlinear processes over one tidal cycle is assessed. The data shows that the Rhine ROFI extends 80 km downstream and periodic stratification is observed. The analysis not only shows the Van Oord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands important role of cross-shore tidal straining but also the significance of along-shore straining and depth mean advection. In addition, the nonlinear terms seem to be small. The presence of all the terms influences the timing of maximum stratification. The analysis also shows that the importance of each term varies in the cross-shore direction. One of the most interesting findings is that the data are not inline with several hypotheses on the functioning of straining and advection in ROFIs. This highlights the dynamic behaviour of the Rhine ROFI, which is valuable for understanding the distribution of fine sediments, contaminants and the protection of coasts.

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Mixing and Transport in Coastal River Plumes

Cited by 314 publications

References 124 publications

Can Continental Shelf River Plumes in the Northern and Southern Gulf of Mexico Promote Ecological Resilience in a Time of Climate Change?

Can Continental Shelf River Plumes in the Northern and Southern Gulf of Mexico Promote Ecological Resilience in a Time of Climate Change?

River bulge evolution and dynamics in a non-tidal sea – Daugava River plume in the Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea

Simultaneous measurements of tidal straining and advection at two parallel transects far downstream in the Rhine ROFI

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