Storm surge induced flux through multiple tidal passes of Lake Pontchartrain estuary during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike

In September 2008, Hurricanes Gustav and Ike generated major storm surges which impacted the Lake Pontchartrain estuary in Louisiana. This paper presents analyses of in situ measurements acquired during these storm events. The main data used in the analyses were from three bottom mounted moorings equipped with conductivity, temperature, and depth sensors, acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), and a semi-permanent laterally mounted horizontal acoustic Doppler profiler (ADP). These moorings were deployed in the three major tidal channels that connect Lake Pontchartrain with the coastal ocean. A process similar to tidal straining was observed: the vertical shear of the horizontal velocity was negligible during the inundation stage, but a shear of 0.8 m/s over a less than 5 m water column was recorded during the receding stage, 2–3 times the normal tidal oscillations. The surge reached its peak in the Industrial Canal 1.4–2.1 h before those in the other two channels. The inward flux of water lasted for a shorter time period than that of the outward flux. The inward flux was also observed to have much smaller magnitude than the outward flux (∼960–1200 vs. 2100–3100 million m³). The imbalance was believed to have been caused by the additional water into Lake Pontchartrain through some small rivers and inundation over the land plus rainfall from the hurricanes. The flux through the Industrial Canal was 8–12%, while the flux through the other two tidal passes ranged between 17% and 70% of the total, but mostly split roughly half-half of the remaining (∼88–92% of the total).     

Temporal and spatial variability of sea level and volume flux in the Murderkill Estuary

The instantaneous sea level determined at two sites in the Murderkill Estuary, a tributary of Delaware Bay, results from the superposition of temporal variability operating over different time and spatial scales. Over the relatively short tidal time scales, the semidiurnal tides that represent the dominant tidal constituents in lower Delaware Bay show a modest increase in tidal amplitudes from the bay mouth (Lewes, Delaware), up to Bowers Beach (the mouth of the Murderkill Estuary). However, as the tides propagate into the Murderkill Estuary, the semidiurnal constituents undergo heavy attenuation, resulting in a 48% reduction in tidal amplitude from Bowers to Frederica (approximately the extent of saline intrusion). The diurnal tide, on the other hand, experiences only a 25% reduction in amplitude. The limited tidal asymmetry that is observed may be a result of interaction between flows in the tidal channel and the adjacent salt marsh. At longer time scales, the subtidal sea level experiences no attenuation. The Murderkill Estuary thus behaves like a low pass filter to preferentially damp out high frequency sea level forcing from lower Delaware Bay. The subtidal volume flux in the Murderkill is highly coherent with the time rate of change of sea level, indicating that the Murderkill basically co-oscillates with Delaware Bay in a standing wave fashion over the subtidal time scale. This remote coupling controls more than 90% of the variance in subtidal sea level in the estuary. The surface slopes in the lower bay and the Murderkill Estuary are closely correlated with winds along the orientation of the two waterways, consistent with the effect of local wind on subtidal sea level.     

Sea-level fluctuations in a coastal lagoon

Sea-level observations made during December, 1979, at six stations in Great South Bay (which is a coastal lagoon on the south shore of Long Island, New York) reveal that there were significant subtidal fluctuations in addition to the tidal oscillations. Harmonic analysis of the tidal oscillations of sea level indicates that M₂ is the dominant tidal constituent. The M₂ amplitude, however, suffered a more than 50% reduction in the interior of the Bay due largely to the narrow inlet. The subtidal sea level fluctuations within the Bay were forced primarily by the low-frequency fluctuations of the adjacent shelf water. The active subtidal exchange induced by this Bay-shelf coupling appeared to have suffered only minor attenuation within the Bay. As a consequence, the variance associated with subtidal sea level fluctuations was greater than that associated with the tidal oscillations over most of Great South Bay.     

Barotropic tide in the northeast South China Sea

A moored array deployed across the shelf break in the northeast South China Sea during April-May 2001 collected sufficient current and pressure data to allow estimation of the barotropic tidal currents and energy fluxes at five sites ranging in depth from 350 to 71 m. The tidal currents in this area were mixed, with the diurnal O1 and K1 currents dominant over the upper slope and the semidiurnal M2 current dominant over the shelf. The semidiurnal S2 current also increased onshelf (northward), but was always weaker than O1 and K1. The tidal currents were elliptical at all sites, with clockwise turning with time. The O1 and K1 transports decreased monotonically northward by a factor of 2 onto the shelf, with energy fluxes directed roughly westward over the slope and eastward over the shelf. The M2 and S2 current ellipses turned clockwise and increased in amplitude northward onto the shelf. The M2 and S2 transport ellipses also exhibited clockwise veering but little change in amplitude, suggesting roughly nondivergent flow in the direction of major axis orientation. The M2 energy flux was generally aligned with the transport major axis with little phase lag between high water and maximum transport. These barotropic energy fluxes are compared with the locally generated diurnal internal tide and high-frequency internal solitary-type waves generated by the M2 flow through the Luzon Strait.     

Tidal exchange through Naruto,Akashi and Kitan Straits

In order to re-evaluate the water volume exchange through Naruto Strait, we have performed a numerical experiment (nonlinear barotropic model including the actual depth of water and the details of shoreline) where trajectories of a number of labeled particles are calculated during a full cycle of the M₂ tidal current. The ratio of water volume exchanged through Naruto Strait to that through Akashi Strait is found to be twice as large as the previously estimated value. The calculated water exchange rate is 104 % for Naruto Strait, 52 % for Akashi Strait and 28 % for Kitan Strait. In the case where the tide-induced residual current is excluded from the calculated velocity field (i.e. considering only the M₂ current), the calculated exchange rate maintains the level of 68 % for Naruto Strait, 18 % for Akashi Strait and 11 % for Kitan Strait, respectively. The mechanism of tidal exchange through these three straits is discussed, and it is shown that a suitable exchange rate is obtained by starting the calculation of trajectories of labeled particles at the time of either a maximum ebb- or flood-current.     

Water transport at subtidal frequencies in the Marsdiep inlet

Long-term time series of subtidal water transport in the 4-km wide Marsdiep tidal inlet in the western Dutch Wadden Sea have been analysed. Velocity data were obtained between 1998 and the end of 2002 with an acoustic Doppler current profiler that was mounted under the hull of the ferry ‘Schulpengat’. Velocities were integrated over the cross-section and low-pass filtered to yield subtidal water transport. A simple analytical model of the connected Marsdiep and Vlie tidal basins was extended to include wind stress and water-level and density gradients and applied to the time series of subtidal water transport. In accordance with the observations, the model calculates a mean throughflow from the Vlie to the Marsdiep basin. The mean water transport through the Marsdiep inlet consists of an export due to tidal stresses and freshwater discharge and an import due to southwesterly winds. In contrast, the variability in the subtidal water transport is mainly governed by wind stress. In particular, southwesterly winds that blow along the main axis of the Marsdiep basin force a throughflow from the Marsdiep to the Vlie basin, whereas northwesterly winds that blow along the main axis of the Vlie basin force a smaller mean water transport in the opposite direction. The contribution of remote sea-level change to the water transport, or coastal sea-level pumping, has been found to be much smaller than the contribution of local wind stress.     

Year-to-year change in water exchange characteristics in a semi-enclosed bya,Lake Hamana

The year-to-year change in characteristics of water exchange between Lake Hamana, a semi-enclosed bya, and the adjacent open sea is investigated.The destruction of the bay mouth by a typhoon in 1953 and subsequent stabilization work on the bay mouth from 1954 to 1973 resulted in an increase in the tidal prism volume of the bay (Mazda, 1983). In the present paper, a simple model has been constructed in which the magnitude of water exchange depends on the tidal prism, and using this model, the year-to-year increase in salinity of the bay water after 1953 can be well explained. Consequently, it can be said that the salinity increase after 1953 is a result of a progressive increase in water exchange caused by successive changes in topography of the bay mouth.The extent of water exchange in Lake Hamana, which varies seasonally, has increased gradually since 1953, and became stable after about 1967. For instance, at present the turnover time of the bay for exchange with open sea water reaches a maximum (2.9 months) in January and a minimum (0.9 month) in October, while in 1955 it is estimated to have been about 2.5 times that at the present time.     

Spatial and long-term temporal variation of meiobenthic-hyperbenthic copepods in Lake Pontchartrain,Louisiana

The distribution and abundance of the meiobenthic-hyperbenthic copepods of Lake Pontchartrain (a large, 1630 km², shallow, mean depth of 3·7m, brackish, 0·3–5‰, lake in Southeastern Louisiana) were characterized monthly from August 1978 to August 1979. Ten stations, all with water depth > 2m, were established and sampled quantitatively by removing four benthic subsamples (containing as much as 25 cm overlying water) from replicated box cores. Averaged across stations over time, total copepod densities ranged from 31–89 × 10 cm^?2. A total of only 15 copepod species were identified from benthic samples; 8 harpacticoids, 4 cyclopoids and 3 calanoids. The copepod assemblage in Pontchartrain differs from all other known benthic assemblages in that the species composition is dominated by species which are often associated with the water column; true infaunal species are rare or found in reduced abundance. Four species comprised 90% of all individuals collected. All four are epibenthic or commonly collected as zooplankton and include Scottolana canadensis which comprised 47% of all individuals collected, Halicyclops fosteri which dominated fall collections, Acartia tonsa and Pseudobradya sp. Burrowing species were largely restricted to the more saline eastern stations. The rarity of burrowing species might be related to low salinity, however the highly unstable bottom in Pontchartrain with silty-clayey sediments commonly resuspended into the water column, may also influence burrowers. Cluster analysis reveals diffuse seasonal grouping of stations for all seasons except fall, with spatial groupings from the central and western sides. Physical processes appear to dictate the community structure of benthic-hyperbenthic copepods in Lake Pontchartrain.     

南海北部陆架坡折带潮流和低频流特征分析

利用旋转谱分析、调和分析和低通滤波的方法,对1987年8月至1988年1月南海北部东沙附近陆架坡折带处定点海流观测资料进行分析,研究了该区域定常余流、潮流和低频流的特征。各观测层次定常余流基本为西向流,垂向呈现较强的正压性。潮流以日分潮和半日分潮为主,呈顺时针方向旋转,全日潮流椭圆长轴普遍大于半日潮流,冬季K1分潮振幅在近底层明显增大,海流在中间层存在明显的惯性振荡。从能量角度分析,剩余流占海流总能量比例较大,定常余流能量主要存在于沿岸线方向,而垂直于岸线方向的能量主要由潮流和剩余流构成。低频流存在显著的季节变化,1988年1月呈现明显的顺时针旋转形态。冬季海表面风应力与次表层低频流有较强的相关性。结合OFES(Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator)模拟结果,利用动量平衡分析的方法探究了动量方程中各项对低频流的贡献以及1988年1月次表层出现北向流的动力机制。冬季低频流具有较强的地转流特征,垂向分布受海水层化影响;东北风松弛和反气旋涡的联合作用是次表层出现偏北向流动的主要原因。     

基于船载ADCP观测的红沿河核电站周边海域潮流–余流的分离计算

基于红沿河核电站取水口周边海域3个不同断面的船载ADCP短期重复走航观测资料,采用传统调和分析方法和L曲线方法对该资料进行潮流–余流分离计算,并通过对比潮流特征、分析水团运动和余流流向的关系,以及对分离后的潮流与余流进行回报,验证L曲线方法对观测时间较短、重复次数不多的走航ADCP资料进行潮流分离的合理性与有效性。结果表明:(1)应用L曲线方法分离的潮流特征与以往的观测结果较为一致,该方法可有效分离半日潮流与全日潮流,但本文采用的数据长度小于1个典型全日潮周期长度,故整个全日潮族以及区内流场动力方面的分析结果尚存不合理之处,还需采用观测时间较长、重复次数较多的走航观测资料改进;(2)分离后的余流近岸向南、离岸向北的分布,符合观测海域的温盐要素分布,余流结果具有合理性;(3) L曲线方法的回归值与实测瞬时流速线性拟合的相关程度较高,均方根误差为6 cm/s左右,相对误差百分比约为10%。该方法可拓展并推广到近海其他关键断面走航流速观测的潮流分离中,以获得流速特征与物质输运通量等重要信息。     

Tidal effect on nutrient exchange in Xiangshan Bay, China

Xiangshan Bay is an estuary in China which borders on the East China Sea. The circulation in the estuary is driven by tidal movement, residual current, the internal density distribution, and synoptic wind forcing; however, the last three are not the main dynamic factors affecting nutrient transport. Because the estuary tends to be eutrophic, a synoptic study was carried out to assess the influence of tidal movement on the nutrient distribution patterns within the estuary and to estimate the fluxes of nutrient transport between the estuary and the sea. Nitrate and ammonium are found to be exported from the estuarine water to the coastal water under usual tidal conditions, except for storm tides which result in large amounts being imported because of the extremely high concentrations in the coastal bottom water. Exports of phosphate and silicate are shown to be consistent during spring tides and neap tides in all seasons. However, the usual tidal regimes resulted in only minor nutrient exchange except during abnormal events.     

Swash zone sediment fluxes: Field observations

This paper describes newly obtained, high-frequency observations of beach face morphological change over numerous tidal cycles on a macrotidal sandy beach made using a large array of ultrasonic altimeters. These measurements enable the net cross-shore sediment fluxes associated with many thousands of individual swash events to be quantified. It is revealed that regardless of the direction of net morphological change on a tidal time scale, measured net fluxes per event are essentially normally distributed, with nearly equal numbers of onshore and offshore-directed events. The majority of swash events cause net cross-shore sediment fluxes smaller than ± 50 kg m^− 1 and the mean sediment flux per swash event is only O(± 1 kg m^− 1) leading to limited overall morphological change. However, much larger events which deposit or remove hundreds of kilograms of sand per meter width of beach occur at irregular intervals throughout the course of a tide. It was found that swash–swash interactions tend to increase the transport potential of a swash event and the majority of the swash events that cause these larger values of sediment flux include one or more interactions. The majority of the larger sediment fluxes were therefore measured in the lower swash zone, close to the surf/swash boundary where swash–swash interactions are most common. Despite the existence of individual swash events that can cause fluxes of sediment that are comparable to those observed on a tidal time scale, frequent reversals in transport direction act to limit net transport such that the beach face volume remains in a state of dynamic equilibrium and does not rapidly erode or accrete.     

Vertical two-dimensional mechanism of tidal exchange in a bay with a sill-entrance

For a vertical two-dimensional field with a sill at a bay entrance, the tidal exchange mechanism is discussed.The schematic model is proposed as follows. The tidal trapping effect which is detected at the entrance section,i. e., the material transport due to the phase difference between the tidal periodic constituent of material concentration and tidal current at the entrance section, results because the oscillatory tidal flow at the sill entrance induces a gravitational flow along the sill slope inside the entrance. Accordingly, the tidal trapping effect depends largely upon the difference in water density between the bay and open sea and the density stratification in the bay.This model is supported by the observations at Kabira Cove (Okinawa Pref.) and Lake Hamana (Shizuoka Pref.) in 1976 through 1984. In addition, based on this model, in the case of Lake Hamana, the activity of the tidal exchange is inferred to change seasonally.     

杭州湾口南汇咀近岸水域水沙特征与通量

南汇咀近岸水域是长江口与杭州湾交汇以及近岸水沙交换的重要地带。根据杭州湾口北部南汇咀-崎岖列岛断面上6个测站1999年1～2月大、中、小潮海流与悬沙含量的现场同步观测资料,阐述了该断面上潮流和悬沙浓度的分布变化特征,并通过断面进出潮通量和悬沙通量的计算,得出该断面以出水出沙为主要特征,与余流方向一致。分析表明,长江口与杭州湾的水沙交换是复杂的,而间接交换是其主要的方式。     

南海中部深水海盆的潮流垂直结构

南海季风实验(SCSMEX)期间,由台湾大学在南海中部深海盆投放了3个定点ATLAS浮标,用来观测长时间序列的水温、海流和气象数据。利用调和分析和EOF方法对1998年10月至1999年4月3个站点近6个月的流速观测资料进行分析,研究了观测海区的潮流空间结构特征。调和分析结果表明,该海区以全日潮流为主,潮流椭圆随深度旋转,且潮流以顺时针旋转为主,潮流振幅存在显著的垂向变化。对实测海流进行10~30 h的带通滤波保留潮周期部分,滤波后的潮流进行EOF分解得到潮流存在不同的垂向模态,证明南海深水海盆潮流具有较强的斜压性。     

Estimates of subtidal volume flux in mid-Chesapeake Bay

Utilizing 20 days of current meter and sea level elevation records taken in two cross-sections in mid-Chesapeake Bay an objective interpolation procedure was devised to allow the computation of vertical profiles of the laterally integrated subtidal volume fluxes at each section, at 3-h intervals over the period of the experiment. The presence of a classical mean estuarine circulation was observed; however, departures from this gravitational circulation were revealed on a shorter time scale, reaching the value of 20 000 m³ s^?1 over a day, and featuring behaviors of reverse estuarine, storage and discharge modes.The volume flux computations through each cross-section based on the measured current velocities, the freshwater inflow and the calculated Stokes transport were in agreement with each other. A two-layered box model of the mean subtidal circulation in the segment of the estuary bound by the two cross-sections is offered.A comparison was made between the computations of net volume flux into and out of the Bay above these sections using two independent methods: (1) the accounting of volume continuity based upon direct measurements of volume flux through the sections; and (2) the direct calculation of the time rate of change of volume of the upper Bay obtained from tide gauge records. The agreement between the two results was found to be very good. Further evidence is provided for the upward phase propagation of the oscillations in the residual motion of estuarine waters.     

The concept of tidal exchange and the tidal exchange ratio

The principal character of the tidal exchange process is neither diffusion nor advection, but a third category of transport, “Massenaustausch”, which appears in the space/time averaged transport. The exchange process can be divided into four fluxes: the flux of standing eddies, the flux of tidal exchange, the flux of tidal eddies and the flux of local eddies. The results of observations at the entrance channel of Kumihama-Bay show a typical example of transport dominated by tidal exchange. The tidal exchange ratio defined by Parkeret al. (1972) applies to the process of exchange between the outflowing watermass and the surrounding watermass outside of the bay mouth, but this should also be considered as being coupled with the ratio for the process of exchange between the inflowing watermass and the surrounding watermass inside of the bay mouth. These two exchange ratios can be combined into a single exchange ratio which describes the exchange process between the outer watermass and the bay water.     

Estimating ocean transports with dynamic height moorings: An application in the Atlantic Deep Western Boundary Current at 26°N

Efficient monitoring of large-scale current systems for climate research requires the development of new techniques to estimate ocean transports. Here, a methodology for continuous estimation of dynamic height profiles and geostrophic currents from moored temperature sensors is presented. The technique is applied to moorings deployed in the Atlantic Deep Western Boundary Current at 26.5°N, off Abaco, the Bahamas (WOCE ACM-1 array). Relative geostrophic currents are referenced using bottom pressure sensors and available shipboard direct velocity (lowered-ADCP) sections over the period of the deployment, to obtain a time series of absolute volume transport. Comparison with direct velocity measurements from a complete array of current meters shows good agreement for the mean transport and its variablity on time scales longer than 10 days, but larger variability in the current meter derived transport at time scales shorter than 10 days. A rigorous error analysis assesses the contributions of various error sources in the geostrophic as well as direct transport estimates. Low-frequency drift of the bottom pressure sensors is found to be the largest error source in the geostrophic transport estimates and recommendations for improvement of the technique and related measurement technologies are made.     

广西近海潮汐和海流的观测分析与数值研究——Ⅰ.观测与分析

1992 - 1 996年 ,对广西近海水深浅于 2 0 m的整个海域 ,利用 2 8个锚碇浮标和 2 3个周日连续观测站 ,对水位和海流进行了观测。根据观测结果 ,对该海域的潮汐性质 ,潮流特征和余流分布进行了分析 ,并对潮汐与潮流性质差异的动因和影响余流变化的主要因子进行初步探讨。结果表明 :广西近海的潮汐性质属于正规日潮。潮流性质大部分属于不正规半日潮或不正规日潮。余流主要由潮余流和风海流组成。潮流大小潮变化和风的变化是导致余流变化的主要原因。潮流绕海角运动 ,流速增强 ,并能诱导经向离岸流     

河口波流相互作用的数学模型

基于Navier-Stokes方程，考虑波流相互作用，本文提出了河水水动力数学模型，本模型考虑：（1）河水径流、相对波浪和潮流，可作为时不变的流动问题，一般作为潮流计算的部分边界条件；（2）波浪，主要是涌，其周期相对潮流可小几个数量阶，波长50－250m；（3）潮流，周期性的，时间尺度是半天到1d，波长以几十公里计；（4）地形是缓变的，其特征尺度远大于波浪长度。