Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The influence of river variability on the circulation, chemistry, and microbiology of the Delaware Estuary

Estuaries Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gravitational circulation of the Delaware Estuary is dominated by a single river, the Delaware River. The seasonal variation in river discharge is large. Consequently, the water column varies between vertically homogenous conditions found during most of the year and strongly stratified conditions found during the high flow of the spring freshet. Both the variation in river discharge and the extent of stratification affect chemical distributions and biological processes in the estuary. With a simple advection-diffusion model, we show that the apparent nonconservative behavior of nitrate in the Delaware Estuary can result from varying endmember concentration and varying river discharge. In addition, we illustrate the relationship between water column stratification, phytoplankton production, and concurrent bacterial activity. Finally, as an indirect chemical response to phytoplankton growth during high river discharge, we show strongly nonconservative patterns for ammonium, phosphate, and silicate in the estuary.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price includes VAT (Canada)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Literature Cited

  • Biggs, R. B. 1978. Coastal bays, p. 69–99.In R. A. Davis (ed.), Coastal Sedimentary Environments. Springer-Verlag, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cloern, J. E. 1984. Temporal dynamics and ecological significance of salinity stratification in an estuary (South San Francisco Bay, USA).Oceanol. Acta 7: 137–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coffin, R. B. 1986. Bacterial dynamics on response to phytoplankton, heterotrophic microflagellates and amino acid pools in the Delaware Estuary. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Delaware. 264 p.

  • Crank, K. 1975. The Mathematics of Diffusion. Clarendon Press, Oxford, England. 441 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haas, L. W. 1977. The effect of the spring-neap tidal cycle on the vertical salinity structure of the James, York, and Rappahannock rivers, Virginia, USA.Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 5: 485–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helder, W., andP. Ruardij. 1982. A one-dimensional mixing and flushing model of the Ems-Dollard Estuary: Calculation of time scale at different river discharges.Neth. J. Sea Res., 15: 293–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henn, D. S. 1983. A numerical tidal model of Delaware Bay. M.S. Thesis, Princeton Univ. 172 p.

  • Hires, R. I., G. L. Mellor, L. Y. Oey, and R. W. Garvine. 1983. Circulation of the estuary, p. 27–48.In J. H. Sharp (ed.), The Delaware Estuary: Research as Background for Estuarine Management and Development. Univ. of Delaware and New Jersey Marine Science Consortium.

  • Hobbie, J. E., R. J. Daley, andS. Jasper. 1977. Use of nuclepore filters for counting bacteria by fluorescence microscopy.Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 33:1225–1228.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaul, L. W., andP. N. Froelich. 1984. Modeling estuarine nutrient geochemistry in a simple system.Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 48: 1417–1433.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ketchum, B. H. 1952. The Distribution of Salinity in the Estuary of the Delaware River. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. 38 p.

  • Liss, P. S. 1976. Conservative and non-conservative behavior of dissolved constituents during estuarine mixing, p. 93–130.In J. D. Burton and P. S. Liss (eds.), Estuarine Chemistry. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loder, T. C., andR. P. Reichard. 1981. The dynamics of conservative mixing in estuaries.Estuaries 4: 64–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 1980–1983. Tidal Current Tables. Atlantic Coast of North America. U.S. Dep. Commerce.

  • Officer, C. B., andD. R. Lynch. 1981. Dynamics of mixing in estuaries.Estuarine Coastal Mar. Sci. 12: 525–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pape, E. H., andR. W. Garvine. 1982. The subtidal circulation in Delaware Bay and adjacent shelf waters.J. Geophys. Res. 87: 7955–7970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennock, J. R. 1983. Regulation of phytoplankton carbon and nitrogen production in the Delaware Estuary. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. of Delaware. 289 p.

  • Pennock, J. R. 1985. Chlorophyll distribution in the Delaware Estuary: Regulation by light-limitation.Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci. 21: 711–725.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, D. H. 1979. Sources and sinks of biologically reactive oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and silica in Northern San Francisco Bay, p. 175–193.In T. J. Conomos (ed.), San Francisco Bay, The Urbanized Estuary. Allen Press, Lawrence, KS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, J. H. 1983. Introduction to science chapters, p. 1–7.In J. H. Sharp (ed.), The Delaware Estuary: Research as Background for Estuarine Management and Development. Univ. of Delaware and New Jersey Marine Science Consortium.

  • Sharp, J. H., C. H. Culberson, andT. M. Church. 1982. The chemistry of the Delaware Estuary: General consideration.Limnol. Oceanogr. 27: 1015–1028.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, J. H., J. R. Pennock, T. M. Church, J. M. Tramontano, and L. A. Cifuentes. 1984. The estuarine interaction of nutrients, organics, and metals: A case study in the Delaware Estuary, p. 241–258.In V. S. Kennedy (ed.), The Estuary as a Filter. Academic Press.

  • Smullen, J. T., J. H. Sharp, R. W. Garvine, and H. H. Haskin. 1983. River flow and salinity, p. 9–26.In J. H. Sharp (ed.), The Delaware Estuary: Research as Background for Estuarine Management and Development. Univ. of Delaware and New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.

  • Stommel, H. 1953. Computation of pollution in a vertically mixed estuary.Sewage Ind. Wastes 25: 1065–1071.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thatcher, M. L., and D. R. F. Harleman. 1978. Development and application of a deterministic time-varying salinity intrusion model of the Delaware Estuary. Report prepared for the Delaware River Basin Commission, Trenton, NJ. 232p.

  • Tiedemann, R. B. 1977. A study of nitrification in the Delaware River Estuary. M.S. Thesis, Rutgers University. 193 p.

  • Wofsy, S., M. B. McElroy, andJ. W. Wilkins. 1981. Transformation of nitrogen in a polluted estuary: Nonlinearities in the demand for oxygen at low flow.Science 213: 754–757.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, K-C., andR. W. Garvine. 1984. Observations of wind-induced, subtidal variability in the Delaware Estuary.J. Geophys. Res. 89: 10589–10597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 19958, Lewes, Delaware

    Jonathan H. Sharp, Luis A. Cifuentes, Richard B. Coffin & Jonathan R. Pennock

  2. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 19716, Newark, Delaware

    Kuo-Chuin Wong

Authors
  1. Jonathan H. Sharp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Luis A. Cifuentes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard B. Coffin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jonathan R. Pennock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kuo-Chuin Wong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sharp, J.H., Cifuentes, L.A., Coffin, R.B. et al. The influence of river variability on the circulation, chemistry, and microbiology of the Delaware Estuary. Estuaries 9, 261–269 (1986). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352098

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352098

Keywords

Search

Navigation