A modeling study of the Satilla River estuary,Georgia. I: Flooding-drying process and water exchange over the salt marsh-estuary-shelf complex |
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Authors: | Lianyuan?Zheng Email author" target="_blank">Changsheng?ChenEmail author Hedong?Liu |
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Institution: | 1.College of Marine Science,University of South Florida,St. Petersburg;2.School for Marine Sciences and Technology,University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth,New Bedford |
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Abstract: | The flooding-drying process over the intertidal zone of the Satilla River estuary of Georgia was examined using a three-dimensional
(3-D) primitive equations numerical model with Mellor and Yamada's (1982) level 2.5 turbulent closure scheme. The model was
forced by the semi-diurnal M2, S2, and N2 tides and freshwater discharge at the upstream end of the estuary. The intertidal salt marsh was treated using a 3-D wet-dry
point treatment technique that was developed for the σ-coordinate transformation estuary model. Good agreement was found between
model-data comparison at anchor monitoring sites and also along the estuary that suggested that the model provided a reasonable
simulation of the temporal and spatial distribution of the 3-D tidal current and salinity in the Satilla River estuary. Numerical
experiments have shown that the flooding-drying process plays a key role in the simulation of tidal currents in the main river
channel and in water transport over the estuarine-salt marsh complex. Ignoring this process could lead to a 50% under-estimation
of the amplitude of tidal currents. The model results also revealed a complex spatial structure of the residual flow in the
main channel of the river, with characteristics of multiple eddy-like cell circulations. These complicated residual currents
are formed due to tidal rectification over variable topography with superimposition of inertial effects, asymmetry of tidal
currents, and baroclinic pressure gradients. Water exchanges over the estuary-intertidal salt marsh complex are asymmetric
across the estuary, and tend to vary periodically on the northern side while quickly washing out of the marsh zone on the
southern side. Strong Stokes’ drifting velocity was predicted in the estuary, so that the Lagrangian trajectories of particles
were characterized by strong nonlinear processes that differ significantly from those estimated by the Eulerian residual currents. |
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