Characteristics of a Shallow River Plume: Observations from the Saco River Coastal Observing System

Interest in the coastal dynamics of river plumes has mainly focused on large rivers, but plumes from the more numerous smaller rivers have important local consequences and may, in aggregate, be significant contributors to coastal circulation. We studied the dynamics of the plume from the Saco River in Saco Bay, Gulf of Maine, over a 3-year period. The transport and salinity in the region are governed by river discharge, tides, winds, and interaction with the Western Maine Coastal Current. The dynamics of the flow field vary with location within the plume and discharge. The far-field dynamics of the Saco River plume are dominated by inertial processes (hence qualifying it as a small-scale river plume), during times of low discharge, with low salinity water present both up and downstream of the river mouth, but are dominated by rotational processes during times of high discharge (thus qualifying it as a large-scale river plume), with buoyant water primarily advected downshelf. Near-field dynamics are governed by weak, subcritical flow during low discharge but strongly inertial, supercritical flow during high discharge. Offshore movement of the plume is not governed by Ekman dynamics but is instead a result of discharge, wind-induced vertical mixing, and the geography of the coastline and adjacent islands.     

Seasonal Variability and Estuary–Shelf Interactions in Circulation Dynamics of a River-dominated Estuary

The long-term response of circulation processes to external forcing has been quantified for the Columbia River estuary using in situ data from an existing coastal observatory. Circulation patterns were determined from four Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADP) and several conductivity–temperature sensors placed in the two main channels. Because of the very strong river discharge, baroclinic processes play a crucial role in the circulation dynamics, and the interaction of the tidal and subtidal baroclinic pressure gradients plays a major role in structuring the velocity field. The input of river flow and the resulting low-frequency flow dynamics in the two channels are quite distinct. Current and salinity data were analyzed on two time scales—subtidal (or residual) and tidal (both diurnal and semidiurnal components). The residual currents in both channels usually showed a classical two-layer baroclinic circulation system with inflow at the bottom and outflow near the surface. However, this two-layer system is transient and breaks down under strong discharge and tidal conditions because of enhanced vertical mixing. Influence of shelf winds on estuarine processes was also observed via the interactions with upwelling and downwelling processes and coastal plume transport. The transient nature of residual inflow affects the long-term transport characteristics of the estuary. Effects of vertical mixing could also be seen at the tidal time scale. Tidal velocities were separated into their diurnal and semidiurnal components using continuous wavelet transforms to account for the nonstationary nature of velocity amplitudes. The vertical structure of velocity amplitudes were considerably altered by baroclinic gradients. This was particularly true for the diurnal components, where tidal asymmetry led to stronger tidal velocities near the bottom.     

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.     

Observations of currents and density structure across a buoyant plume front

Observations of the Mobile Bay, Alabama, plume during a flood event in April 1991 reveal significant differences in the current field on either side of a front associated with the buoyant plume. During a strong southeasterly wind, turbid, low salinity water from Mobile Bay was pushed through an opening in the west side of the ebb-tidal delta and moved parallel to the coast. A stable front developed between the low salinity water of the buoyant plume (11‰) and the high salinity coastal water (>23‰) that was being forced landward by the prevailing winds. Despite the shallow water depth of 6 m, measurements of currents, temperature, and salinity show large shears and density gradients in both the vertical and the horizontal directions. At a station outside of the buoyant plume, currents at 0.5 m and 1.5 m below the surface were in the same direction as the wind. Inside the plume, however, currents at 0.5 m below the surface were parallel to the coast, 45°, off the direction of the wind and the magnitude was 45% larger than the magnitude of the surface currents outside the plume. Beneath the level of the plume, the currents were identical to the wind-driven currents in the ambient water south of the front. Our observations suggest that the wind-driven surface currents of the ambient water converged with the buoyant plume at the front and were subducted beneath the plume. The motion of the ambient coastal surface water was in the direction of the local wind stress, however, the motion of the plume had no northerly component of motion. The plume also did not show any flow toward the front, suggesting a balance between the northerly component of wind stress and the southerly component of buoyant spreading. In addition, the motion of the plume did not appear to affect the motion of the underlying ambient water, suggesting a lack of mixing between the two waters.     

Dispersion and recruitment of crab larvae in the Chesapeake Bay plume: Physical and biological controls

As part of the Microbial Exchanges and Coupling in Coastal Atlantic Systems (MECCAS) Project, crab larvae were collected in the shelf waters off Chesapeake Bay in June and August 1985 and April 1986. We conducted hydrographic (temperature, salinity, nutrients) and biological (chlorophyll, copepods) mapping in conjunction with Eulerian and Lagrangian time studies of the vertical distribution of crab larvae in the Chesapeake Bay plume. These abundance estimates are used with current meter records and drifter trajectories to infer mechanisms of larval crab dispersion to the shelf waters and recruitment back into Chesapeake Bay. The highest numbers of crab larvae were usually associated with the Chesapeake Bay plume, suggesting that it was the dominant source of crab larvae to shelf waters. Patches of crab larvae also were found in the higher salinity shelf waters, and possibly were remnants of previous plume discharge events. The distribution of crab larvae in the shelf waters changed on 1–2 d time scales as a consequence of both variations in the discharge rate of the Chesapeake Bay plume and local wind-driven currents. Downwelling-favorable winds (NW) intensified the coastal jet and confined the plume and crab larvae along the coast. In April during a downwelling event (when northwesterly winds predominated), crab zoeae were transported southward along the coast at speeds that at times exceeded 168 km d⁻¹. During June and August the upwelling-favorable winds (S, SW) opposed the anticyclonic turn of the plume and, via Ekman circulation, forced the plume and crab larvae to spread seaward. Plume velocities during these conditions generally were less than 48 km d⁻¹. The recruitment of crab larvae to Chesapeake Bay is facilitated in late summer by the dominance of southerly winds, which can reverse the southward flow of shelf waters. Periodic downwelling-favorable winds can result in surface waters and crab larvae moving toward the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. Approximately 27% of the larval crabs spend at least part of the day in bottom waters, which have a residual drift toward the bay mouth. There appears to be a variety of physical transport mechanisms that can enhance the recruitment of crab larvae into Chesapeake Bay.     

Growth patterns of the acheloos and evinos deltas,Western Greece

The coastal plain complex on the north side of the Gulf of Patras has been built by the overlapping Acheloos and small Evinos deltas. Upstream river channels are braided; on the lower part of the delta they are meandering. Classical writings indicate that the present Acheloos channel has been occupied for at least 2300 years; air photographs show three former major distributary channels. The present annual sediment discharge (suspended: 3–4 million tons; bedload: 2 million tons) is sufficient to build all the modern delta plain by progradation of these four distributaries in the last 5000–7000 years of relatively stable sea level.Old maps and air photographs show that river mouths prograde by periodic plugging of sub-distributaries within 1 km of the mouth. Where the river progrades into deep water (> 20 m) a steep sandy pro-delta slope forms and a shoal mouth bar is developed by wave reworking. The freshwater muddy plume of the Acheloos extends up to 15 km offshore. Analysis of about 30 bottom samples shows that very silty sediment settles within a few kilometers of the river mouth, becoming progressively more clayey offshore. Marine reworking of abandoned distributaries takes place rapidly (0.5 km in the first ten years, and a further 0.5 km in the next 30 years). Sand is redistributed to form parallel accretionary spits and barrier beaches. A shallow pro-delta platform up to 2 km wide has formed by such reworking along the southern margin of both deltas. Gradual subsidence (less than 0.5 mm/year) leads to flooding of shallow lagoons behind barrier beach systems.Subaerial delta facies have been mapped in the field, and extensively sampled in artificial channel cuts. Normal tidal range is only 16 cm, but storm tides up to 1 m high flood low supratidal flats that locally extend several kilometres inland.Broad immediately subtidal silt flats are found on the inner part of the western Evinos pro-delta platform. Silt is drifted in suspension by strong winter easterly winds from the Evinos mouth, and the pro-delta platform is sufficiently wide and shallow to damp down most large waves that would subsequently remove the silt.Where sand supply is limited, the coastline is marked by a sandy low-tide terrace, and a berm or storm ridge built of variable proportions of sand and reeds. Only near delta mouths is sand supply sufficient for broad barrier beach-dune systems to form.     

Plumes and coastal currents near large river mouths

Theory and observations of river plumes are reviewed. The importance of the Kelvin number in characterizing anticipated plume behavior is stressed. In the absence of strong external forcing, a northern hemisphere plume will turn anticyclonically and attach to the coast, where it then merges into a coastal current. Observations and theory of such coastal currents are also reviewed, with emphasis on flows over shallow continental shelves. Major unresolved questions involve the processes controlling mixing of coastal current waters with ambient shelf waters and the dynamics of the plume in the region where it attaches to the coast.     

A particle conveyor belt process in the Columbia River estuary: Evidence from chlorophyll<Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> and particulate organic carbon

Using both the photosynthetically active chlorophylla (chla) content of the organic carbon fraction of suspended particulate matter (chla/POC) and the percentage of photosynthetically, active chla in fluorometrically measured chla plus pheophytina (% chla), we determined that under specified hydrodynamic conditions, neap-spring tidal differentiation in particle dynamics could be observed in the Columbia River estuary. During summer time neap tides, when river discharge was moderate, bottom chla/POC remained relatively unchanged from riverine chla/POC over the full 0–30 psu salinity range, suggesting a benign trapping environment. During summertime spring tides, bottom chla/POC decreased at mid range salinities indicating resuspension of chla-poor POC during flood-ebb transitions. Bottom % chla during neap tides tended to average higher than that during spring tides, suggesting that neap particles were more recently hydrodynamically trapped than those on the spring tides. Such differentiation supported the possibility of operation of a particle conveyor belt process, a process in which low-amplitude neap tides favor selective particle trapping in estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM)., while high-amplitude spring tides favor particle resuspension from the ETM. Untrapped river-derived particles at the surface would continue through the estuary to the coastal ocean on the neap tide; during spring tide some particles eroded from the ETM would combine with unsettled riverine particles in transit toward the ocean. Because in tensified biogeochemical activity is associated with ETM, these neap-spring differences may be critical to maintenance and renewal of populations and processes in the estuary. Very high river discharge (15, 000 m³ s⁻¹) tended to overwhelm neap-spring differences, and significant oceanic input during very low river discharge (5,000 m³ s⁻¹) tended to do the same in the estuarine channel most exposed to ocean input. During heavy springtime phytoplankton blooms, development of a thick bottom fluff layer rich in chla also appeared to negate neapspring differentiation because spring tides apparently acted to resuspend the same rich bottom material that was laid down during neap tides. When photosynthetic assimilation numbers [μgC (μgchl,a)⁻¹h⁻¹] were measured across, the full salinity range, no neap-spring differences and no river discharge effects occurred, indicating that within our suite of measurements the compositional distinction of suspended particulate material was mainly a function of chla/POC, and to a lesser extent % chla. Even though these measurements suggest the existence of a conveyor belt process, proof of actual operation of this phenomenon requires scalar flux measurements of chla properties in and out of the ETM on both neap and spring tides.     

A Model Study on the Summertime Distribution of River Waters in Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound (LIS), a large urban estuary in the northeastern USA, receives freshwater from many rivers along its northern shore. The size of these rivers varies widely in terms of basin area and discharge. The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) was applied with conservative passive tracers to identify the distribution, mixing, freshwater residence times, and storm response for all of LIS’s river systems during the summer of 2013. A watershed model was applied to overcome the lack of adequate river discharge observations for coastal watersheds. The Connecticut River was the largest contributor to riverine freshwater throughout the estuary despite its entry point near the mouth. The Connecticut River strengthened bulk stratification in the eastern LIS the most but acted to weaken stratification near the mouths of other rivers and in far western LIS by freshening waters at depth. The Housatonic and Hudson Rivers had the strongest influence on stratification in central and western LIS, respectively. Smaller coastal rivers were the most influential in strengthening stratification near the southwestern Connecticut shoreline. The influence of small coastal rivers was amplified after a major storm due to shorter storm response times relative to the larger rivers. Overall, river water was close to a well-mixed state throughout LIS, but more stratified near river mouths. Freshwater residence time estimates, meanwhile, indicated monthly to multi-seasonal time scales (43 to 180 days) and grew longer with greater distance from the LIS mouth.     

The application of a segmented tidal mixing model to the Great Bay Estuary,N.H.

Measurements show that in general salt is vertically well-mixed everywhere in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire except near the river entrances at the head of the estuary. Dyer and Taylor’s (1973) modified version of Ketchum’s segmented tidal prism model has been applied to the Great Bay Estuarine System in order to predict high and low water salinity distribution for a specified river flow. The theory has been modified here to account for the mixing which occurs at the junction of two branches of an estuary. The mixing parameter, which in this model is related to the tidal excursion of water in the estuary, has been determined for different segments in the estuary on the basis of a comparison between predictions and a comprehensive data set obtained for a low river flow period. Using a mixing parameter distribution based on the low river flow calibration procedure the salinity distribution has been predicted for high river flow. The resulting salinity distribution compares favorably with observations for most of the estuary. The corresponding flushing times for water parcels entering at the head of the estuary during periods of low and high river flow is 54.5 and 45.9 tidal cycles respectively.     

Tidal sediment transport versus freshwater flood events in the Konkouré Estuary, Republic of Guinea

In comparison to their temperate counterparts, sediment processes in tropical estuaries are poorly known and especially in African ones. The hydrodynamics of such environments is controlled by a combination of multiple processes including morphology, salinity, mangrove vegetation, tidal processes, river discharge, settling and erosion of mud and by physico-chemical processes as well as sediment dynamics.The aim of this study is to understand the sediment processes in this transitional stage of the estuary when the balance between river discharges and marine processes is reversing. Studying the hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of the Konkouré Estuary has recently been made possible thanks to new data on bathymetry, sedimentary cover, salinity, water elevations, and current velocities. The Lower Konkouré is a shallow, funnel shaped, mesotidal mangrove-fringed, tide-dominated estuary, well mixed during low river discharge and stratified during high river discharge. The Konkouré Estuary is turbid despite the small amount of terrestrial input and its residual velocity at the mouth during low river discharges, landwards for two of the three branches, suggests a landward migration by tidal pumping of the suspended particulate matter. A Turbidity Maximum Zone (TMZ) is identified for typical states of the estuary with regard to fluvial and tidal components. Suspended sediment transport during a transitional stage between the rainy and dry seasons is known thanks to current velocity and Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) measurements taken in November 2003. The Richardson layered number calculation assesses that turbulence is the major mixing process in the water column, at least during the flood and ebb stages, whereas stratification occurs during the slack water periods. Tidal currents generate bottom erosion, and turbulence mixes the suspended sediment throughout the water column. As a result, a net sediment input is calculated from the western Konkouré outlet for two consecutive tidal cycles. Despite the net water export, almost 300 tons per tide reach the estuary through this outlet, for a moderate river flow.     

Spatial and temporal variabilities of hypoxia in the Rappahannock River,Virginia

Hypoxia/anoxia in bottom waters of the Rappahannock River, a tributary estuary of Chesapeake Bay, was observed to persist throughout the summer in the deep basin near the river mouth; periodic reoxygenation of bottom water occurred on the shallower sill at the river mouth. The reoxygenation events were closely related to spring tide mixing. The dissolved oxygen (DO) in surface waters was always near or at the saturation level, while that of bottom waters exhibited a characteristic spatial pattern. The bottom DO decreased upriver from river mouth, reaching a minimum upriver of the deepest point of the river and increasing as the water becaume shallower further upriver. A model was formulated to describe the longitudinal distribution of DO in bottom waters. The model is based on Lagrangian concept—following a water parcel as it travels upriver along the estuarine bottom. The model successfully describes the characteristic distribution of DO and also explains the shifting of the minimum DO location in response to spring-neap cycling. A diagnostic study with the model provided insight into relationships between the bottom DO and the competing factors that contribute to the DO budget of bottom waters. The study reveals that both oxygen demand, either benthic or water column demand, and vertical mixing have a promounced effect on the severity of hypoxia in bottom waters of an estary. However, it is the vertical mixing which controls the longitudinal location of the minimum DO. The strength of gravitational circulation is also shown to affect the occurrence of hypoxia. An estuary with stronger circulation tends to have less chance for hypoxia to occur. The initial DO deficit of bottom water entering an estuary has a strong effect on DO concentration near the river mouth, but its effect diminishes in the upriver direction.     

Numerical simulation of the influence of a Red River flood on circulation and contaminant dispersion in Lake Winnipeg

The Red River valley experienced one of the worst floods in 1997 because of above average snow accumulation, a blizzard during the snowmelt period and high soil moisture conditions. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling system is used to study the impact of the flood on the circulation and contaminant dispersion in Lake Winnipeg. To assess the model performance, we first simulate the circulation and temperature distribution of the lake in 2007 and compare the model results with the observations made in the lake during this period. The model showed considerable skill in reproducing the thermal structure, currents and water levels. The accuracy of these simulations suggests that the model is capable of describing flow and transport of material required for detailed water quality simulations during the flood. During the flood event, Red River plume movement is primarily controlled by the wind-driven currents. The winds from the north confined the plume to a small area near the river mouth.     

Climate Forcing and Salinity Variability in Chesapeake Bay,USA

Salinity is a critical factor in understanding and predicting physical and biogeochemical processes in the coastal ocean where it varies considerably in time and space. In this paper, we introduce a Chesapeake Bay community implementation of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ChesROMS) and use it to investigate the interannual variability of salinity in Chesapeake Bay. The ChesROMS implementation was evaluated by quantitatively comparing the model solutions with the observed variations in the Bay for a 15-year period (1991 to 2005). Temperature fields were most consistently well predicted, with a correlation of 0.99 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.5°C for the period, with modeled salinity following closely with a correlation of 0.94 and RMSE of 2.5. Variability of salinity anomalies from climatology based on modeled salinity was examined using empirical orthogonal function analysis, which indicates the salinity distribution in the Bay is principally driven by river forcing. Wind forcing and tidal mixing were also important factors in determining the salinity stratification in the water column, especially during low flow conditions. The fairly strong correlation between river discharge anomaly in this region and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation suggests that the long-term salinity variability in the Bay is affected by large-scale climate patterns. The detailed analyses of the role and importance of different forcing, including river runoff, atmospheric fluxes, and open ocean boundary conditions, are discussed in the context of the observed and modeled interannual variability.     

The Effects of Wind,Runoff and Tides on Salinity in a Strongly Tidal Sub-estuary

Measurements over an annual cycle of longitudinal and vertical salinity distributions in a small sub-estuary, the Tavy Estuary, UK, are used to illustrate the dependence of salt intrusion and stratification on environmental variables. The interpretations are aided by vertical profiling and near-bed data recorded in the main channel and on the mudflats. Generally, high water (HW) salt intrusion at the bed is close to the tidal limit and is dominated by runoff and winds, with decreasing salt intrusion associated with increasing runoff and increasing up-estuary winds (or vice versa). Tidal effects are not statistically significant because of two compensating processes: the long tidal excursion, which is comparable with the sub-estuary length for all but the smallest neap tides, and the enhanced, near-bed, buoyancy-driven salt transport that occurs at small neap tides close to the limit of saline intrusion. The effect of wind on HW surface salt intrusion in the main channel is not statistically significant, partly because it is obscured by the opposing local and estuary-wide effects of an up-estuary or down-estuary wind stress. These processes are investigated using a simple tidal model that incorporates lateral, channel–mudflat bathymetry and reproduces, approximately, observed channel and mudflat velocities. Surface salinity at HW increases with tidal range because of enhanced spring-tide vertical mixing—a process that also reduces salinity stratification. Stratification increases with runoff because of increased buoyancy inputs and decreases with up-estuary winds because of reduced near-bed salt intrusion. Stratification and plume formation are interpreted in terms of the bulk and estuarine Richardson Numbers, and processes at the confluence of the sub-estuary and main estuary are described.     

On the hydrographic distribution in the source region of the Delaware coastal current

The buoyant discharge from Delaware Bay forms two separate branches of residual outflow near the bay mouth, one along each shore. Upon exiting the bay, the branch along the Delaware shore turns right to form the southward flowing Delaware coastal current along the inner continental shelf off the Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia coasts. CTD and thermosalinograph, data collected at the mouth of Delaware Bay over two semidiurnal tidal cycles are used to examine the hydrographic distribution at the source region of the Delaware coastal current. In this region the buoyant source water of the coastal current, is largely detached from the shoreline and confined to the top 15 m of the water column over much of the tidal cycles. The core of the coastal current's source water, as defined by the point of salinity minimum, is located over the deep channel well offshore of the Delaware coast. The separation between this buoyant water and the more saline waters right along the Delaware coast and that in the central part of the bay mouth are marked by regions of high horizontal salinity gradients. The horizontal salinity gradients around the inshore and offshore boundaries of the source water of the coastal current are intensified during the flood tide, and clearly defined fronts (with a change of 3‰ over a distance of 150 m) are present at the offshore boundary near the end of the flood tide. The structure of the mean flow and the distribution of the brackish coastal current on the inner continental shelf contribute to the persistence of stratification in the source region off the Delaware shore throughout the ebb and flood tides. In contrast, the ebb-induced stratification in the region off the New Jersey shore is quickly destroyed with the onset of the flood current.     

Modeling diagnosis of suspended sediment transport in tidal estuarine system

A three-dimensional, time-dependent hydrodynamic and suspended sediment transport model was performed and applied to the Danshuei River estuarine system and adjacent coastal sea in northern Taiwan. The model was validated with observed time-series salinity in 2001, and with salinity and suspended sediment distributions in 2002. The predicted results quantitatively agreed with the measured data. A local turbidity maximum was found in the bottom water of the Kuan-Du station. The validated model then was conducted with no salinity gradient, no sediment supply from the sediment bed, wind stress, and different freshwater discharges from upstream boundaries to comprehend the influences on suspended sediment dynamics in the Danshuei River estuarine system. The results reveal that concentrations of the turbidity maximum simulated without salinity gradient are higher than those of the turbidity maximum simulated with salinity gradient at the Kuan-Du station. Without bottom resuspension process, the estuarine turbidity maximum zone at the Kuan-Du station vanishes. This suggests that bottom sediment resuspension is a very important sediment source to the formation of estuarine turbidity maximum. The wind stress with northeast and southwest directions may contribute to decrease the suspended sediment concentration. When the freshwater discharges increase at the upstream boundaries, the limits of salt intrusion pushes downriver toward river mouth. Suspended sediment concentrations increase at the upriver reaches in the Danshuei River to Tahan Stream, while decrease at Kuan-Du station.     

Comparison of nutrient and trace element distributions in the delta and shelf outflow regions of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers

Nutrient and trace element distributions were determined in the outflow region of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers during high river discharge. This outflow region can be divided into two physiographic areas: the broad, shallow Louisiana Shelf off the Atchafalaya River and the narrow shelf off the Mississippi Delta. The physiographic differences between these two areas lead to observable differences in the chemical distributions. During high discharge conditions, nutrient depletion occurs at lower salinities on the Louisiana Shelf, relative to the delta outflow plume, and significant uptake of nickel and cadmium is apparent in these shelf waters, too. Important factors that appear to connect the physiographic to the chemical include the fate of the fluvial suspended load, rates of mixing, and the extent of productivity supported by recycled nutrients. The results suggest that the Mississippi-Atchafalaya outflow region may provide a natural laboratory for examining the possible effects of sea-level change on the biogeochemistry of estuarine and coastal environments.     

Oceanic and Hydrologic Influences on Flow and Water Properties in the St. Jones River Estuary,Delaware

Influences of tides, freshwater discharge, and winds on water properties in the St. Jones River estuary (USA), a Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, were investigated using multiyear records of sea level, salinity, and turbidity, supplemented by a current profiler time series in 2007. Results demonstrate that instantaneous properties fluctuate with semidiurnal tides and resonant overtides, whereas tidal mean variations are forced by seasonal freshwater inflow and offshore winds. Mean sea level and salinity are highest in summer and vary with seasonal water temperature and rainfall, whereas sea level variability and turbidity are highest in winter on account of storm effects. Salinity and discharge modeling suggest that much (43–65%) of the freshwater resident in the estuary is derived from non-point sources below the head of tide. This diffuse freshwater inflow produces a seaward surface slope and weak mean current, which temporarily reverses under the influence of storm–wind setup within Delaware Bay.     

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.