Effects of tidally induced eddies on sporadic Kuroshio-water intrusion (kyucho)

The sudden intrusion of Kuroshio warm water into the Bungo Channel (kyucho) occurs mainly at neap tides during summer, suggesting that tidal mixing is one of the essential factors regulating kyucho. In order to clarify the physical mechanisms responsible for the regulation of kyucho, we carry out non-hydrostatic three-dimensional numerical experiments allowing Kuroshio warm water to intrude into a strong tidal mixing region. It is shown that the Kuroshio warm water can (or cannot) pass through the tidal mixing regions off the east coast of the Bungo Channel during neap (or spring) tides. The analysis of the dynamic balance off the east coast of the Bungo Channel shows that tidal residual currents generated by tidal flow interaction with complicated land configurations off the east coast of the Bungo Channel can also play an important role in regulating kyucho. In order to assess separately the effects of tidal mixing and tidal residual currents on kyucho, we incorporate the parameterized vertical mixing and tidal stresses into the numerical model instead of tidal currents. It is demonstrated that tidal mixing cannot by itself block the northward intrusion of Kuroshio warm water, and that an additional effect induced by tidal residual eddies equivalent to horizontal mixing is needed to regulate kyucho. This strongly suggests that the basin–ocean water exchange processes in areas with complicated land configurations can only be reproduced by taking into account the effects of tidal residual eddies on a 1-km scale in addition to tidal mixing effects evaluated by microstructure measurements.     

用活有孔虫分布指示三亚汊道外港潮流格局

由因子分析得知,海南岛三亚湾汊道外港海底分布有四个主因子活有孔虫群,它们分别代表海湾内水体、湖冲出半盐水水体、湾外内陆架水体及内陆架与海湾水相混的过渡水体.这些水体在潮汐作用下的运动、相互混合,可由各水体的有孔虫指示.由每个主因子因子得分最高的三个属种百分含量之和等值线图所指示的外港潮流循环格局,与海洋学研究所得的结果相当一致.利用有孔虫指示潮汐汊道潮流格局尚属首次尝试,这方法对海岸开发分析泥沙运动、污染物排放等有实践意义.     

Field studies of velocity,salinity and suspended solids concentration in a shallow tidal channel near tidal flap gates

The design and operation of mathematical models of solute mixing and sediment transport in estuaries rely heavily on the provision of good-quality field data. We present some observations of salinity, suspended sediment concentration and velocity at one of the tidal limits of a semi-enclosed tidal lagoon in Southern England (Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, UK) where the natural processes of tidal incursion and solute mixing have been heavily modified as a result of the construction of sea walls dating back to the 18th Century. These observations, made immediately downstream of two parallel tidal flap gates by conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profiler, and also using bed-mounted sensor frames to measure velocity at 2 fixed depths, have yielded a set of results covering 11 tidal cycles over the period 2002–04. It is clear from the results obtained that over a typical tidal cycle, the greatest vertical salinity gradients occur in the 1–2 h immediately after the onset of the flood tide, and that subsequently, energetic mixing acts to rapidly break down this stratification. Under moderate-to-high fresh water flows (>0.5 m³/s), the break-down in vertical salinity gradient is more gradual, while under low fresh water flows (<0.2 m³/s), the vertical salinity gradient is generally less pronounced. Estimates of Richardson number during the early flood-tide period reveal values that vary rapidly between <1 and about 20, with lower values occurring after around 1.5–2 h after low water. Observations of suspended sediment concentration vary widely even for similar tidal and fresh water flow conditions, revealing the possible influence of wind speed, the storage effects of the water in the lagoon downstream of the observation site, and the complexity of the hydrodynamics downstream of tidal flap gates. The data also show that most of the sediment transport is landward, and occurs during flood tides, with estimated total tidal landward flood tide flux of fine sediment of the order of 50–120 kg under low fresh water flow conditions. These observations, which reinforce the results presented in Warner et al. (2004) and elsewhere, can help to provide information about the appropriate techniques for managing sediments and pollutants, including nutrients from sewage effluent waters, in estuaries where hydraulic flap gates are used to control the entry of fresh water over the tidal cycle.     

变性绕极深层水入侵时南极普里兹湾湍流混合特征研究

基于中国第28、29和31次南极科学考察中的CTD数据,利用Thorpe尺度方法计算了普里兹湾及其附近海域湍动能耗散率,分析了其分布特征,并对当地的水团结构进行研究.结果表明,普里兹湾及其附近海域中,前两个航次观测中次表层湍动能耗散率强度在陆架坡折区域达到最大.在水团分布方面,在第28和29航次中均观测到了变性绕极深层...     

Tidal and river discharge forcing upon water and sediment circulation at a rock-bound estuary (Guadiana estuary,Portugal)

The relative impacts of tidal (neap, spring) and river discharge (including a flood event) forcing upon water and sediment circulation have been examined at the rock-bound Guadiana estuary. Near-bed and vertical profiles of current, salinity, turbidity, plus surface suspended sediment concentrations (SSC, at some stations only), were collected at the lower and central/upper estuary during tidal and fortnightly cycles. In addition, vertical salinity and turbidity profiles were collected around high and low water along the estuary. Tidal asymmetry produced faster currents on the ebb than on the flood, especially at the mouth. This pattern of seaward current dominance was enhanced with increasing river flow, due to horizontal advection that was confined within the narrow estuarine channel. The freshwater inputs and, at a degree less, the tidal range controlled the vertical mixing and stratification importance. Well-mixed (spring) and partially stratified (neap) conditions alternated during periods of low river flows, with significant intratidal variations induced by tidal straining (especially at the partially stratified estuary). Highly stratified conditions developed with increasing river discharge. Intratidal variability in the pycnocline depth and thickness resulted from current shear during the ebb. A salt wedge with tidal motion was observed at the lower estuary during the flood event. Depending on the intensity of turbulent mixing, the residual water circulation was dominantly controlled either by tidal asymmetry or gravitational circulation. The SSC was governed by cyclical local processes (resuspension, deposition, mixing, advection) driven by the neap-spring fluctuations in tidal current velocities. More, intratidal variability in stratification indicated the significance of tidal pumping at the partially and highly stratified estuary. The estuary turbidity maximum (ETM) was enhanced with increasing current velocities, and displaced downstream during periods of high river discharge. During the flood event, the ETM was expelled out of the estuary, and the SSC along the estuary was controlled by the sediment load from the drainage basin. Under these highly variable river flow conditions, our observations suggest that sand is exported to the nearshore over the long-term (>years).     

Combined tidal velocity and duration asymmetries as a determinant of water transport and residual flow in Paranaguá Bay estuary

Net transports of water, salt and suspended particulate matter (SPM) for a cross-section in front of the Paranaguá Harbour (Paranaguá Bay, Brazil) are presented for eight distinct tidal cycles. Data include measurements over single spring and neap tidal cycles, during both wet and dry seasons. The main drive forces of circulation and SPM dynamics are identified. Advective transport dominated under moderate to high vertical salinity stratification and weak currents, while mixing processes dominated under well-mixed conditions generated by high currents and low freshwater input. Under partially mixed conditions, both advective and mixing processes were important. The tide-induced residual circulation dictated the magnitude and direction of residual currents and net transports of water and salt, but not of SPM transport. The SPM dynamics was intrinsically related to cyclical processes of erosion, resuspension and deposition driven by tidal currents. The turbulent mixing intensity conditioned the vertical mixing of SPM. Resuspension and vertical mixing were conspicuous in spring cycles, while the horizontal advection preponderated in the neaps. Lags between maximum currents and SPM peak concentrations occurred, with more pronounced hysteresis during ebb periods.     

Processes influencing iron distribution in the coastal waters of the Tsugaru Strait,Japan

We report measurements of iron, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, humic-type fluorescence intensity and chlorophyll a concentrations in the coastal waters at the inflow (western) and outflow (eastern) ends of Tsugaru Strait (Japan) in June 2003 and 2004. Two different water masses (intensive eastward flow “subtropical Tsugaru Warm Current Water (TWCw)” and weak westward flow “subarctic Oyashio Water (OW)”) were observed at the eastern end of the strait. TWCw at the southern part of the eastern strait was vertically homogeneous with a uniform concentrations of iron (0.7–1.1 nM for labile dissolved Fe and 14–20 nM for total dissolvable Fe in 2003) as well as other chemical, biological and physical components throughout the water column of 200 m due to strong vertical mixing in the strait. The degree of mixing in the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) is predominantly affected by diurnal tidal current, which is strong during the period of tropical tides and weak during the period of equinoctial ones. The especially strong vertical water mixing in 2003 is caused by large dissipation energy input due to the bottom friction of passage-flow through the strait and tidal current. At the northern part of the eastern strait, the fresh surface layer overlying the OW and the deep-bottom waters in 2003 contained large concentrations of dissolved iron, resulting from iron supplied from river runoff and shelf sediments, respectively. These results suggest that the most important mechanism for transporting iron in the strait is the strong vertical water mixing due to the tidal current, and that the iron sources in the coastal waters are the organic-associated, iron-rich freshwater input into the surface water.     

Turbulent mixing in a stratified estuarine tidal channel: Hikapu Reach,Pelorus Sound,New Zealand

Channel constrictions within an estuary can influence overall estuary-sea exchange of salt or suspended/dissolved material. The exchange is modulated by turbulent mixing through its effect on density stratification. Here we quantify turbulent mixing in Hikapu Reach, an estuarine channel in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. The focus is on a period of relatively low freshwater input but where density stratification still persists throughout the tidal cycle, although the strength of stratification and its vertical structure vary substantially. The density stratification increases through the ebb tide, and decreases through the flood tide. During the spring tides observed here, ebb tidal flow speeds reached 0.7?m?s^?1 and the buoyancy frequency squared was in the range 10^?5 to 10^?3?s^?2. Turbulence parameters were estimated using both shear microstructure and velocimeter-derived inertial dissipation which compared favourably. The rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy reached 1?×?10^?6?m²?s^?3 late in the ebb tide, and estimates of the gradient Richardson number (the ratio of stability to shear) fell as low as 0.1 (i.e. unstable) although the results show that bottom-boundary driven turbulence can dominate for periods. The implication, based on scaling, is that the mixing within the channel does not homogenise the water column within a tidal cycle. Scaling, developed to characterise the tidal advection relative to the channel length, shows how riverine-driven buoyancy fluxes can pass through the tidal channel section and the stratification can remain partially intact.     

Computation of nitrate concentrations in turbid coastal waters using an in situ ultraviolet spectrophotometer

In order to investigate biogeochemical cycling and dynamics of nutrients, measurement capabilities with sufficient spatial and temporal resolution are required. New ultraviolet-based methods and instrumentation for in situ determination of nitrate provide a powerful tool for these purposes. Here, we present a full dataset obtained by an UV-based process spectrophotometer (ProPS) during a cruise in 2008 in the south-eastern North Sea. Due to highly turbid conditions and mixing water masses, an improved calculation algorithm was performed on the UV absorption data. Nitrate concentrations ranged from 0 to 9 μmol/L on very short timescales, mainly due to tidal effects. Comparison of continuous optical nitrate measurements was performed against conventional wet-chemical analyses of discrete water samples which lead to a standard deviation of 1.7 μmol/L NO₃^?. High resolution measurements performed at a tidal inlet demonstrated the capability to map nitrate dynamics in turbid coastal environments.     

Laboratory study of the influence of the densification during mixing effect on jet flows

A technique and some results of laboratory experiments, in which the densification during mixing of the salt water masses with the same initial densities occurs, are presented. A graphical interpretation of the densification during mixing and an empirical formula describing the dependence of the water density on temperature and concentration of the dissolved salt NaCl at atmospheric pressure are given. Examples of spreading of the initially horizontal, inclined and vertical round jets as well as a vertical plane jet are considered. In all examples, the jet submerged up to the bottom of the experimental setup. It was found that the submergence velocity was on the order of 0.5 ± 0.1 cm/s. The influence of the double diffusion on the jet submergence velocity in the salt water is discussed.     

A multi-parameter extension of temperature/salinity diagram techniques for the analysis of non-isopycnal mixing

The technique of water mass analysis based on temperature-salinity curves is extended to more than three water masses (or water masses defined by temperature-salinity curves rather than points) by including one or more additional parameters and solving the equations of linear mixing without additional assumptions. The oceanographical significance of the result is studied by means of examples. It is shown that the method is particularly useful for investigations of mesoscale mixing as observed in frontal zones where interleaving and intrusions are commonly observed, and that it can be used for obtaining bulk estimates of the impact of non-isopycnal, small-scale mixing events on the mesoscale fields. Possible parameters are discussed and sources of errors reviewed. Examples are used to show that major nutrients can be used as parameters to detect non-isopycnal mixing although limitations in the historical data and low data accuracy lead to considerable error bounds at present. It is argued that introduction of continuous flow analysis techniques and continuous vertical profiling in marine chemistry will greatly improve the potential of the method.     

长江口拦门沙地区的泥沙运动规律

依据１９８８年７月和１２月水文观测资料，通过流，盐，沙的综合分析，认识到长江口拦门沙地区的泥沙运动有与河口其他地区不同的特点，泥沙输移在水平面上和垂直面上存在着多种循环，潮流和盐水截留大量泥沙积聚的拦门沙地区，河口在盐淡水交锋地带，除了涨，落急时段外，发现在转流时期泥沙也可能产生再悬浮，从而形成一个潮周期中出现３次或４次再悬浮的特殊规律。     

Effect of boundary geometries on tidal currents and tidal mixing

The effects of the coastal boundary geometries on the tidal currents and the tidal mixing are studied mainly on the basis of hydraulic model experiments. Mizushima-Nada Sea, which is located in the central part of Seto Inland Sea, and the whole Seto Inland Sea were chosen as the prototypes.Currents and eddies geometrically induced in the tidal currents and in the ocean currents have significant effects on the water exchange, from small scales to meso scales, in the bays and near-shore regions of the ocean.As to small scale phenomena near irregular coastal boundaries such as river mouths, headlands and harbors, tidal currents produce organized eddy currents of the width scale. They are important to the temporary flushing and the local redistribution of the river water or the waste water.As to phenomena of larger scales, the tidal currents produce rather steady residual circulations in each part of the Inland Sea, due to the non-linear effects of the oscillating component. They are controlled by the geometry of the sea as separated by a narrow strait. These horizontal circulations of about 20 km in scale become the main mechanism of the water exchange in the Inland Sea. The one-dimensional dispersion coefficient due to these circulations is proportional to the product of the diameter and the current velocity of the circulations. The proportional constant takes the value of 0.40.5.     

Observations of some sedimentary processes acting on a tidal flat

In order to examine sedimentary processes acting on tidal flats, eighteen foot valves were “plumbed” into a small tidal cove in southern New Hampshire. Transport of suspended sediment was determined by comparing concentrations (determined by filtering) at 15 and 30 cm above the tidal flats throughout a tidal cycle. In general, sediment resuspension occurs more readily on the flood tide than the ebb. The concentration of suspended sediment follows the water mass distribution and is affected to a lesser degree by tidal currents and small amplitude waves. Deposition occurs during slack water shortly after high tide primarily in the bottom regime (15 cm); it is probably related to coarser particle sedimentation. The water mass distribution was not a simple rise and fall perpendicular to the bottom contours, but rather followed a slow clockwise gyre. The net effect on the suspended sediments was to impart a “longshore” component of drift to the suspended load during the tidal cycle.     

珠江河口底边界层湍流积分尺度研究

介绍湍流积分尺度的几种常用计算方法.基于三组珠江口崖门的湍流观测资料,分别计算了一个潮周期内珠江口底边界层湍流积分尺度的变化,并对比不同计算方法的稳定性.计算结果表明,基于Taylor假定的自相关函数积分法的计算结果稳定可靠.湍流积分尺度在一个潮周期内的变化很大,积分尺度的变化与平均流的流速变化有着很好的对应关系,三个测次纵向、横向和垂向积分尺度的平均值分别约为4.9～10.4 cm、3.3～6.2 cm和4.3～5.2 cm.     

Estuary/ocean exchange and tidal mixing in a Gulf of Maine Estuary: A Lagrangian modeling study

A Lagrangian particle method embedded within a 2-D finite element code, is used to study the transport and ocean–estuary exchange processes in the well-mixed Great Bay Estuarine System in New Hampshire, USA. The 2-D finite element model, driven by residual, semi-diurnal and diurnal tidal constituents, includes the effects of wetting and drying of estuarine mud flats through the use of a porous medium transport module. The particle method includes tidal advection, plus a random walk model in the horizontal that simulates sub-grid scale turbulent transport processes. Our approach involves instantaneous, massive [O(500,000)] particle releases that enable the quantification of ocean–estuary and inter-bay exchanges in a Markovian framework. The effects of the release time, spring–neap cycle, riverine discharge and diffusion strength on the intra-estuary and estuary–ocean exchange are also investigated.The results show a rather dynamic interaction between the ocean and the estuary with a fraction of the exiting particles being caught up in the Gulf of Maine Coastal Current and swept away. Three somewhat different estimates of estuarine residence time are calculated to provide complementary views of estuary flushing. Maps of residence time versus release location uncover a strong spatial dependency of residence time within the estuary that has very important ramifications for local water quality. Simulations with and without the turbulent random walk show that the combined effect of advective shear and turbulent diffusion is very effective at spreading particles throughout the estuary relatively quickly, even at low (1 m²/s) diffusivity. The results presented here show that a first-order Markov Chain approach has applicability and a high potential for improving our understanding of the mixing processes in estuaries.     

黄海的风、潮混合特征及其对冷水团边界的影响

本文第一作者早在1985年就提出,潮混合效应控制着夏季黄海冷水团的边界及海面冷水分布(赵保仁,1985)。1987年又进一步通过水文调査资料和卫星图片给出了黄海周围的浅水陆架锋(或称潮汐锋)的分布及强锋区的跨锋断面中的温度、盐度和坏流结构特征,并指出夏季的黄海沿岸流在性质上属沿锋面运动的强流(赵保仁,1987a,b),而后又对黄海西部的陆架锋进行了一次专门调査(赵保仁等,1991)。此外,他还指出黄海的强温跃层的形成和转移现象也与潮混合现象密切相关(赵保仁,1989)。因此,研究潮混合现象对阐明发生在黄海的多水文物理现象都是至关重要的。 为深入了解黄海的潮混合特征,作者把渤海、黄海和东海作为一个整体完成了一次精度较高的潮汐、溯流数值计算,在潮汐、潮流的分布方面,揭示了前人尚未阐明的一些特征。本文根据这些数值结果,计算了近最大潮流流速和层化参数,阐明了渤海、黄海和东海的潮混合特征及其对降温期黄海冷水团分布变化的影响。此外,还用 Sim pson等人(1981)的能量模式计算了南黄海西部的风、潮混合效率。     

Three Dimensional Baroclinic Numerical Model for Simulating Fresh and Salt Water Mixing in the Yangtze Estuary

For simulating fresh and salt water mixing in estuaries, a three dimensional nonlinear baroclinic numerical model is developed, in which the gradients of horizontal pressure contain the gradient of barotropic pressure arising from the gradi-ent of tidal level and the gradient of baroclinic pressure due to the gradient of salinity. The Eulerian-Lagrangian method is employed to descretize both the momentum equations of tidal motion and the equation of salt water diffusion so as to im-prove the computational stability and accuracy. The methods to provide the boundary conditions and the initial conditions are proposed, and the criterion for computational stability of the salinity fields is presented. The present model is used for modeling fresh and salt water mixing in the Yangtze Estuary. Computations show that the salinity distribution has the characteristics of partial mixing pattern, and that the present model is suitable for simulalion of fresh and salt waler mixing in ihe Yanglze Esluary.     

A hydraulic experiment on tidal exchange

Tidal exchange through a narrow entrance channel was studied experimentally with the use of a simplified hydraulic model. The inflowing water mass, visualized with dye solution, exhibits the shape of a starting plume with a starting vortex pair at its head. Because of their periodical formation by the tide, these are called the tidal plume and tidal vortex pair. The axis of the tidal plume deflects and undulates with a period 2 to 9 times that of the tide. Together with this undulation, the vortex pair becomes asymmetric. A circulating flow is formed in the bay which affects the shape of the inflowing and outflowing water masses. A part of the inflowing water mass flows out during the subsequent ebb, and this outflowing portion can be divided into two parts. One is the water remaining in the entrance channel at high water which flows out during the first half of the subsequent ebb and the other is the water flowing round the bay in the circulating flow during flood that flows out during the latter half of the subsequent ebb. Both contribute to the exchange ratio, but we can estimate an upper limit for the exchange ratio by neglecting the latter outflow. This neglected portion is considered in the concept of the age composition of outflowing water. The age composition of the bay water shows the existence of intermittent effluence superposed on a trend in the age composition that is similar to that of the well-mixed case. From the analysis of a model consisting of a number of mixing tanks connected in series with a recycle flow, it is concluded that this intermittent effluence occurs in the case of weak mixing due to the effect of circulating flow in the bay but is negligible in the case of strong mixing.     

Turbulent momentum and salt transport in the mixing zone of the Elbe estuary

Measurements in the mixing zone of the Elbe estuary were performed during three consecutive tidal cycles with three types of instruments—a moored tripod with velocity and temperature/conductivity/light attenuation sensors, a profiling sonde with similar sensors lowered from an anchored vessel, and instrumented moorings. Acoustic-travel-time sensors were used for velocity measurements.Spectral analysis of 12·8 min pieces of the obtained time series gives results that are consistent with isotropic turbulence for part of the frequency space. Temporal changes of turbulent kinetic energy are correlated with tidal current velocity. A retardation is found between changes in tidal current and turbulent energy. Not all shear stress terms are in similar phase with tidal flow. Mean gradients, Reynolds stress terms, and turbulent salt flux terms are combined to determine eddy viscosity and eddy diffusion coefficients.