The role of overwash in the evolution of mixing zone morphology within barrier islands

Overwash is a major controlling factor in the morphology of the mixing zone of coastal aquifers. Conceptual models of the mixing zone describe an interface controlled by tidal oscillations, wave run-up, and other factors; however, few describe the influence of large storm events. In August 1993, Hatteras Island, North Carolina, USA, experienced a 3-m storm surge due to Hurricane Emily. Sound-side flooding infiltrated a wellfield, causing a dramatic increase in TDS levels that persisted for more than 3 years. Two-dimensional simulations with SUTRA, the USGS finite-element model, are calibrated to the TDS breakthrough data of this storm to infer model dispersivity values. Simulations using the calibrated dispersivity values, predicted flooding levels, and 54 years of hurricane records to determine the influence of the overwash events suggest that it is rare for the mixing zone to approximate the conceptual morphology. Even during quiescent periods such as between 1965 and 1975, TDS levels do not return to theoretical levels before being elevated by a subsequent storm event. Thus, while tidal oscillations and other factors are important to mixing zone development, basic wind events and more severe storm events may have more influence and lasting effect on the morphology of the mixing zone.     

纵向弥散作用与渗透介质非均质性定量关系的模拟研究

在地下水污染模拟预报中,弥散参数是很难确定的一个模型参数。因实验室小尺度弥散规律一般不能用于大尺度弥散过程,而野外示踪试验却耗资大、周期长,限制了其实用性。文中利用随机数值模拟手段、基于随机理论的蒙特卡罗方法及序贯高斯模拟技术来生成渗透系数随机场,并研究渗透系数对数场的方差、相关长度以及变异函数类型在不同尺度上对纵向弥散度的影响,进而建立纵向弥散度与随机分布渗透系数场的方差和相关长度的统计定量关系,并与Gelhar理论计算结果进行比较。数值模拟结果表明,经过一定迁移距离后纵向弥散度与随机分布渗透系数对数场的方差和相关长度具有良好的线性统计关系,与Gelhar理论公式表达的关系类型类似。但对于较大的方差,纵向弥散度模拟结果明显大于Gelhar理论计算值,而对于较大相关长度在迁移距离不很大时,纵向弥散度模拟结果明显小于Gelhar理论计算值。本研究可为野外大尺度地下水污染预报模型中水动力弥散参数的确定提供方法借鉴。     

A Hydraulic Model for Multiple-Bay-Inlet Systems on Barrier Islands

In this study, we apply the traditional hydraulic engineering approach to model an inter-connected multiple-bay-inlet system that can represent the Great South Bay-Moriches Bay system on Long Island, New York. We show that the hydraulic model captures the essential physics of the system, despite its apparent simplicity in mathematical expressions. The model gives good estimates of bay tidal transmissions, including the tidal ranges, phase lags, and the flood-ebb asymmetry behavior in Moriches Bay. The hydraulic modeling results compare well with the simulations from a 3D coastal ocean circulation model, in particular the changes in bay tides due to the breach of Old Inlet by Hurricane Sandy. The modeled inlet discharge rates are in good agreement with the observations.     

Climatic and Tidal Forcing of Hydrography and Chlorophyll Concentrations in the Columbia River Estuary

Hydrographic patterns and chlorophyll concentrations in the Columbia River estuary were compared for spring and summer periods during 2004 through 2006. Riverine and oceanic sources of chlorophyll were evaluated at stations along a 27-km along-estuary transect in relation to time series of wind stress, river flow, and tidal stage. Patterns of chlorophyll concentration varied between seasons and years. In spring, the chlorophyll distribution was dominated by high concentrations from freshwater sources. Periods of increased stream flow limited riverine chlorophyll production. In summer, conversely, upwelling winds induced input of high-salinity water from the ocean to the estuary, and this water was often associated with relatively high chlorophyll concentrations. The frequency, duration, and intensity of upwelling events varied both seasonally and interannually, and this variation affected the timing and magnitude of coastally derived material imported to the estuary. The main source of chlorophyll thus varied from riverine in spring to coastal in summer. In both spring and summer seasons and among years, modulation of the spring/neap tidal cycle determined stratification, patterns of mixing, and the fate of (especially freshwater) phytoplankton. Spring tides had higher mixing and neap tides greater stratification, which affected the vertical distribution of chlorophyll. The Columbia River differs from the more tidally dominated coastal estuaries in the Pacific Northwest by its large riverine phytoplankton production and transfer of this biogenic material to the estuary and coastal ocean. However, all Pacific Northwest coastal estuaries investigated to date have exhibited advection of coastally derived chlorophyll during the upwelling season. This constitutes a fundamental difference between Pacific Northwest estuaries and systems not bounded by a coastal upwelling zone.     

Estimation and removal of non-tectonic effects from gravity survey data

When gravity survey accuracies of a few microgals are sought, many correction factors must be accounted for, including meter calibration constants, water-table level fluctations, solid-earth tides, ocean tides and in some cases rapid atmospheric fluctuations. Calculation of most of these correction factors is relatively straightforward. However, the effects of ocean tide loading are not as easily estimated, partly due to the lack of knowledge of the ocean tides themselves. Amplitude and phase factors for the better-known ocean tide components O₁ and M₂ have been theoretically computed for a grid in southern California in order to correct gravity survey data at arbitrary locations for these ocean tidal-loading components. The gravity data from a three-month period were recorded on a tidal gravimeter at the station PAS and then hand-digitized in order to test the ocean tide estimation program. The O₁ and M₂ ocean tidal components were effectively reduced to less than 0.5 μGal. The remaining high-frequency tidal components appear to be K₁ and S₂. If the ocean tides are not taken into account, as much as 16–20 μGal of error can occur solely due to the effect of ocean loading on the gravitational tides when comparing two surveys near Pasadena. The effect increases towards the coastline and decreases inland. Examples of reduced data from the CIT gravity survey network, which has been observed on an approximately monthly basis since 1974, will be shown.     

海潮引起的滨海地区包气带气压周期性变化的数值模拟

滨海地区的地下水位由于海潮而上下波动, 这早已是为人熟知的事实.但是, 滨海地区包气带中气压也会随海潮的起伏而作周期性变化, 这一点却很少为人注意.如果地表由渗透性差的材料如水泥或沥青路面覆盖(这种情况在香港高度城市化的近海地区很常见), 海潮的起伏会产生幅度异常高的气压波动.在某些情形下, 足够高的气压会引起如路面拱起等工程问题.因此, 研究海潮引起的包气带气流, 不仅具有理论意义, 还对滨海地区土木工程有实际指导作用.以香港某滨海地区为例, 建立了该地区一剖面上水气两相流的二维数学模型, 并用TOUGH2程序进行了数值模拟.通过数值敏感度分析, 探讨了影响沥青路面下气压的主要水文地质因素.在根据该地区实际水文地质情况选取了适当的模型边界条件和模型参数后, 沥青路面下气压的数值模拟结果和观测数据吻合程度良好.      

Modeling the Effects of Tidal Energy Extraction on Estuarine Hydrodynamics in a Stratified Estuary

A 3-D coastal ocean model with a tidal turbine module was used in this paper to study the effects of tidal energy extraction on temperature and salinity stratification and density-driven two-layer estuarine circulation. Numerical experiments with various turbine array configurations were carried out to investigate the changes in tidally averaged temperature, salinity, and velocity profiles in an idealized stratified estuary that connects to coastal water through a narrow tidal channel. The model was driven by tides, river inflow, and sea surface heat flux. To represent the realistic size of commercial tidal farms, model simulations were conducted based on a small percentage (less than 10 %) of the total number of turbines that would generate the maximum extractable energy in the system. Model results show that extraction of tidal in-stream energy will increase the vertical mixing and decrease the stratification in the estuary. Installation of in-stream tidal farm will cause a phase lag in tidal wave, which leads to large differences in tidal currents between baseline and tidal farm conditions. Extraction of tidal energy in an estuarine system has stronger impact on the tidally averaged salinity, temperature, and velocity in the surface layer than the bottom layer even though the turbine hub height is close to the bottom. Finally, model results also indicate that extraction of tidal energy weakens the two-layer estuarine circulation, especially during neap tides when tidal mixing is weakest and energy extraction is smallest.     

Ocean tidal loading affecting precise geodetic observations on Greenland: Error account of surface deformations by tidal gravity measurements

Air-borne and satellite based altimetry are used to monitor the Greenland ice-cap. Since these measurements are related to fiducial sites at the coast, the robustness of the height differences depends on the stability of these reference points. To benefit from the accuracy of these methods on the centimeter level, station corrections regarding the Earth tides and the ocean tidal loading have to be applied. Models for global corrections esp. for the body tides are available and sufficient, but local corrections regarding the effect of the adjacent shelf area still have to be inferred from additional observations. Near the coast, ocean tidal loading causes additional vertical deformations in the order of 1 to 10 cm. Therefore, tidal gravity measurements were carried out at four fiducial sites around Greenland in order to provide corrections for the kinematic part of the coordinates of these sites. Starting in 1993 four stations were occupied on Greenland for a one year record each.The results show the expected strong tidal anomalies due to ocean tidal loading. The loading computations confirmed these observations, but it turned out that with global models only about 50 % of the observed effect can be explained. This means that at these stations a vertical deformation of up to ± 3.5 cm is not corrected applying these global models.     

Tidal variability in the water quality of an urbanized estuary

Tide and water quality data were collected concurrently in the Hackensack River estuary (HRE), a tidal tributary of the New York-new Jersey Harbor estuary. Harmonic analyses of tidal elevation data indicate that HRE tides are predominantly semidiurnal, though modulated by diurnal and fortnightly components. Nearly uniform tidal ranges (averaging approximately 1.6 m) were observed at three stations within the HRE. Periodogram estimates reveal significant tidal variability for the water quality parameter NH₄−N under dry-weather conditions. Lag correlation analyses associate NH₄−N concentration variations with water level fluctuations. Longitudinal profile plots for NH₄−N reveal a consistent pattern of tidal translations, with peak concentrations oscillating about a major wastewater discharger. These analyses suggest that the distribution of NH₄−N concentrations in the HRE is controlled primarily by major point source loadings and horizontal advection. A simplified, one-dimensional model is used to describe this distribution. Effects of tidal variability in masking water quality status and waak trends are also analyzed. These analyses highlight the potential importance of short-term water quality variability in tidal estuaries where concentration gradients are large.     

A description of the tides and effect of Qeshm canal on that in the Persian Gulf using two-dimensional numerical model

The main semidiurnal (M2 and S2) and diurnal (K1 and O1) tidal constituents are simulated in the Persian Gulf (PG). The topography is discretized on a spherical grid with a resolution of 30 s in both latitude and longitude. It includes coastal areas prone to flooding. The model permits flooding of drying banks up to 5 m above mean sea level. At the open boundary, it is forced by 13 harmonic constituents extracted from a global tidal model. The model results are in good agreement with tide gauge observations. Co-tidal charts and flow extremes are presented for each tidal constituent. The co-tidal charts show two amphidromic points for semidiurnal and one for diurnal tidal constituents. Maximum amplitudes of sea level are obtained for the north-western part of the PG, where coastal flooding prevails in wide areas. Strong tidal currents occur in different parts of the PG for different types of constituents. Maximum velocities are found in shallow regions. Particularly, high amplitudes of elevations and high speed currents are founded in the canal between Qeshm Island and the mainland. Rectification of tides around Qeshm Island affects the propagation of tides in the PG as far as the coast of Saudi Arabia and the northern part of the PG.     

Tidal controls on coastal groundwater conditions: field investigation of a macrotidal system

Previous studies of coastal groundwater resources have not properly explored the hydraulic conditions at coastal and estuarine boundaries, despite recognised influences of oceanic and estuarine water-level fluctuations (e.g. tides and waves) on groundwater near these boundaries. Such influences may have important implications for determining submarine groundwater discharge and seawater intrusion. In this paper, oceanic and estuarine controls on the hydrology of coastal aquifers are characterised for a macrotidal system—the Pioneer Valley coastal plain, northeastern Australia. The tidal water-table over-height (tide-induced increase in average water-table height at the coastline) is quantified at three locations and compared with theoretical estimates, which assume simplified physiographical conditions compared with those encountered at the field sites. The results indicate that local geological conditions, beach morphology and characteristics of tidal forcing control the behaviour of nearshore groundwater within the system. Existing analytical and numerical solutions that are commonly applied as first-pass estimates are found to be insufficient for predicting observed tidal water-table over-height in the Pioneer Valley, due to the sediment heterogeneities, non-uniform beach slopes and large tidal ranges of the system. The study reveals the spatial and temporal variability in tidally influenced hydraulic heads at the estuarine and coastal boundaries of the aquifer, and provides estimates of tidal water-table over-height up to 2.41 m during spring tides. These findings highlight the complexity of coastal groundwater systems, and the need to incorporate appropriate nearshore and near-estuary boundary conditions in models of regional groundwater flow in coastal aquifers.     

Fluctuations in the angular momentum of the atmosphere and intraday irregularities in the Earth’s rotation

Numerical celestial-mechanical models are used to compare (andg interpolate and forecast) near-diurnal tidal variations in the Earth’s axial rotation and oscillations in the global angular momentum of the atmosphere using the IERS data and NCEP/NCAR meteorological data. In order to improve the accuracy of interpolations and forecasts made for short and intraday time intervals, it is expedient to include the effect of small perturbations in short-term zonal tides, which influence fluctuations in Universal Time UT1 directly related to the Earth’s rotation. Due to the quasi-static formulation of the problem, it is assumed that the dynamics of the thin surface atmosphere are completely determined by the gradient of the tide-generating geopotential, which supports forced oscillations of the entire subsystem (i.e., of the mantle and atmospheric envelope). A comparison of the numerical simulations with the NCEP/NCAR data shows that the model is effective for applications in forecasting atmospheric tides.     

Numerical simulation and prediction of storm surges and water levels in Shanghai harbour and its vicinity

A water level model incorporating the nonlinear interactions between tides and storm surges for numerical simulation and prediction use is developed in this paper. Using a conventional two-dimensional nonlinear storm surge model and tide model and associated semi-momentum finite-difference scheme, both the storm surges caused by the tropical cyclones hitting Shanghai and the tides in related regions during the period 1949–1990, are numerically simulated. In simulating storm surges, 16 tropical cyclones with different kinds of tracks are chosen. Meanwhile, to simulate tides, the governing equations for tides, along with 63 prescribed tidal constituents at open sea boundaries are numerically computed. Sixteen associated cases of total water-level simulations comprising joint effects linking surges and tides and one case of real-time prediction have been carried out in 1990 on the basis of computed surges and tides. The total water levels thus obtained in this way give better results than those obtained by the traditional method, i.e. without taking into account, in the model, nonlinear coupling between storm surges and tides.Comparison of the predictions of storm surges and the total water level with the hindcast ones in 1990 showed that a relatively larger error of prediction mainly results from the incorrect forecasting of tropical cyclones but not from the prediction method itself.     

三峡水库调节作用对长江近河口段水文水动力特性影响

为了评估三峡水库蓄水对长江感潮河段水文水动力特性的影响,建立了具有预测功能的水动力模型。考虑径流与潮流之间的相互作用,模型在只有上边界流量过程的条件下可以给出下边界的潮位过程。在此基础上应用一维河网非恒定流数学模型,对三峡水库蓄水前后长江近河口段大通—徐六泾的水流运动进行了10年的数值模拟。统计分析结果表明,水库调蓄作用对感潮河段各站的潮位累积频率及水文水动力因素的年内过程变化影响甚大。     

近底层潮流速分布模式比较

考虑到潮流运动的非恒定性和非线性特征,基于潮流雷诺应力分布式,应用Prandtl混合长度和von Karman自相似理论,并结合潮流运动方程,推导了近底层潮流速垂向分布的双对数模式.然后,将该分布模式应用于英国大陆南部西Solent水道和江苏岸外西洋海域流速的实测资料,并与对数线性分布的计算成果相比较,获得了比较满意的结果.最后,对几种分布模式进行了讨论和比较,结果表明:在近岸水域采用对数或对数线性流速分布模式计算摩阻流速和粗糙高度往往会带来较大的偏差,双对数模式能使计算的结果更为合理.     

Impacts of a Wave Farm on Waves,Currents and Coastal Morphology in South West England

This study investigates impacts of a wave farm on waves, currents and coastal morphology adjacent to the wave farm, which is located in the Southwest of England (the Wave Hub). In this study, we focus on the interaction between waves and tides due to the presence of the wave farm and its effects on wave radiation stresses, bottom shear stresses and consequently on the sediment transport and the coast adjacent to the wave farm, using an integrated numerical modelling system. The modelling system consists of the near-shore wave model SWAN, the ocean circulation model ROMS and a sediment transport model for morphological evolution. The results show that tidal elevation and tidal currents can have a significant effect on waves and that tidal forcing and waves have a significant effect on bottom shear stresses. Waves can impact on the processes related to the bottom boundary layer and mixing intensity in the water column. The wave farm has an impact on the gradients of radiation shear stresses and bottom shear stresses that modify current speeds and wave heights, which in turn impact on the near-shore sediment transport and the resulting morphological changes. Bed load transport rates show a decrease when the wave farm is present, even during storm conditions. The results highlight the importance of the interactions between waves and tides when modelling coastal morphology with presence of wave energy devices.     

Numerical simulation of the exchange process within shallow bar-built estuary

Great South Bay is the largest of a series of interconnected bar-built estuaries on the south shore of Long Island, New York. The depth-averaged barotropic motions in the bay were simulated by using a finite element two-dimensional numerical model. The barotropic motions were driven with astronomical tides, subtidal coastal sea level fluctuations induced by longshore wind stress over the adjacent continental shelf, and local wind stress over the surface of the bay. There was vigorous exchange at tidal frequencies between the western part of Great South Bay and the surrounding waters, but the tidal exchange was heavily damped in the eastern part of the bay. At subtidal frequencies the volume exchange did not exhibit significant attenuation in the interior of the bay. In the eastern part of Great South Bay, the magnitude of the subtidal volume exchange could exceed that of the tidal exchange. The principal mode of subtidal volume exchange was found to be associated with subtidal sea level fluctuations along the coast, which characteristically caused a filling or emptying of the system from all open boundaries of Great South Bay.     

Transport and Dispersion of a Conservative Tracer in Coastal Waters with Large Intertidal Areas

In late December 1991, an accidental release of 5,700 CI of tritiated water (HTO) from the Savannah River Site was transported via site streams into the Savannah River where it was carried downstream to the coastal zone. HTO released into a semitropical Georgia estuary was forced into the tidal marshes surrounding the estuary as well as discharged directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The spreading of HTO was studied with a 3D hydrodynamic model (ALGE) that includes flooding and draining of intertidal areas. Comparisons of model simulations to measured HTO concentration showed that ALGE simulated well the general increase and decrease of HTO as its plume passed a given area. The “sheet flow” approximation for marsh and small tidal creek flow largely compensated for lack of model resolution and accurate bathymetry in areas with numerous small to medium-sized tidal creeks. The water volume of the unresolved tidal creeks had to be accounted for in the simulations by increasing the initial water depth over the marshes. ALGE and a simple box model both reproduced the trapping of HTO in intertidal areas. The time scale over which intertidal areas import and export HTO back to the tidal channels varies between 10 and 30 days.     

基于卫星高度计的全球大洋潮汐模式的准确度评估

依据152个深海验潮站与大洋岛屿地面验潮站观测得到的8个主要分潮(M2、S2、K1、O1、N2、K2、P1及Q1)调和常数,对现有7个全球大洋潮汐模式的准确度进行了检验,结果显示各模式在深海大洋区域均达到了比较高的准确度:M2分潮的潮高均方根偏差在1.0～1.3cm之间;8个分潮的和方根偏差在2.1～2.3cm之间,与早期的模式相比,准确度又有了进一步提高。还依据中国近海18个岛屿的调和常数对其中的5个大洋潮汐模式的准确度进行了检验,结果表明,M2分潮均方根偏差在4.4～10cm,明显高于大洋的均方根偏差。其中日本国家天文台的潮汐模式NAO99在中国近海的结果相对较准确。     

周期性潮积岩及其研究意义

回顾了最近十余年来国外对周期性潮汐沉积物，特别是潮汐韵律层的研究进展，系统介绍了几种从古代沉积物中识别出来的潮汐周期，包括基本潮汐（半日潮，全日潮和混合潮），大一小潮周期以及一些长周期波动等。最后，对潮汐韵律层在推测地史时期地－月系的演化历史及计算短期沉积速率中的意义作了评述。