Abstract
This chapter describes echo-sounding surveys of a number of estuaries in which internal waves have been observed. The waves are typically generated by the interaction of the tidal flow with topography, and may travel either upstream or downstream before breaking and creating internal mixing. Periods of intense internal mixing have been observed on the ebbing tide in the Tees Estuary, preceded by internal wave activity. However, it is shown that the mixing periods were created by a series of closely spaced upstream bridges rather than by the internal waves. Internal waves and bridgelike structures, both commonly occurring in estuaries, produce mixing at different times and locations which may contribute significantly to the general mixing and circulation patterns, and are worthy of further study.
Mixing often appears to be represented by a distinctive interleaved structure in the echo-sounding recordings, and this may be useful in the interpretation of future surveys.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abraham G (1980) On internally generated estuarine turbulence. Delft Hydraulics Laboratory, Publ No. 247
Baines PG (1984) A unified description of two-layer flow over topography. J Fluid Mech 146:127–167
Djordjevic VD, Redekopp LG (1978) The fission and disintegration of internal solitary waves moving over two-dimensional topography. J Phys Oceanogr 8:1016–1024
Dyer KR, New AL (1986) Intermittency in estuarine mixing. In: Wolfe DA (ed) Estuarine variability. Academic Press, Orlando, pp 321–339
Farmer DM, Smith JD (1980) Tidal interaction of stratified flow with a sill in Knight Inlet. Deep-Sea Res 27:239–254
Gardner GB, Smith JD (1978) Turbulent mixing in a salt wedge estuary. In: Nihoul JCJ (ed) Hydrodynamics of estuaries and fjords. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 79–106 (Elsevier Oceanography Series, vol 23)
Lewis RE (1985) Intense mixing periods in an estuary. In: Hunt JCR (ed) Turbulence and diffusion in stable environments. Clarendon, Oxford, pp 315–319
Maxworthy T (1979) A note on the internal solitary waves produced by tidal flow over a three-dimensional ridge. J Geophys Res 84:338–346
Miles JW (1961) On the stability of heterogeneous shear flows. J Fluid Mech 10:496–508
Muller MR, Karlsson SKF (1982) A shear instability induced by a composite internal wave. Phys Fluids 25:1705–1714
New AL, Dyer KR, Lewis RE (1987) Internal waves and intense mixing periods in a partially stratified estuary. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci 24:15–33
Osborn TR (1980) Estimates of the local rate of vertical diffusion from dissipation measurements. J Phys Oceanogr 10:83–89
Partch EN, Smith JD (1978) Time dependent mixing in a salt wedge estuary. Estuarine Coastal Mar Sci 6:3–19
Posmentier ES (1977) The generation of salinity fine structure by vertical diffusion. J Phys Oceanogr 7:298–300
Van Dyke M (1982) An album of fluid motion. Parabolic Press, Stanford, California
Woods JD (1968) Wave-induced shear instability in the summer thermocUne. J Fluid Mech 32:791–800
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
New, A.L., Dyer, K.R. (1988). Internal Waves and Mixing in Stratified Estuarine Flows. In: Dronkers, J., van Leussen, W. (eds) Physical Processes in Estuaries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73691-9_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-73691-9_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-73693-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-73691-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive