Regularities of hydrological processes in the Chesapeake Bay (USA): Case study of a classical estuary

The main regularities of hydrological and hydrological-environmental processes occurring within the complex estuary, the Chesapeake Bay and the mouths of its tributaries, are discussed. The peculiarities of the estuary morphological structure, including the structures of tidal and net currents, salinity and water turbidity fields and their variability, the environmental conditions, and their human-induced changes. Using the Chesapeake Bay as an example, it became possible to reveal the basic features of classical estuaries subject to a considerable impact of river runoff and featuring mixing of river and sea water and moderate stratification of the water mass. It is shown that the regularities of hydrological processes in the Chesapeake Bay are typical of many mouth water bodies of estuarine type (inlets, drowned river valleys, lagoons, and tidal estuaries proper).