Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T09:15:34.998Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - Flows Driven by Density Gradients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2022

Arnoldo Valle-Levinson
Arnoldo Valle-Levinson
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Get access

Summary

This chapter describes residual flows driven exclusively by density gradients. Chapter 6, in contrast, presented residual flows forced only by winds, and Chapter 5 treated residual flows from tides. This chapter begins with a qualitative description of the flow arising from density gradients established by freshwater input to a semienclosed basin, that is, the density-driven exchange flow or gravitational circulation. It then goes into a dynamical description, grounded in fundamental physics. The dynamical description first considers lateral homogeneity and then allows for lateral variations caused by Earth’s rotation. It follows by considering lateral changes in bathymetry and of the relative contribution of frictional effects versus Earth’s rotation effects. The chapter concludes by exploring the influence of basins' width on the gravitational circulation. Along-basin variations in residual flow are considered in Chapter 8.

Keywords

gravitational circulationsalinity profilelateral dynamicslateral variability
Type
Chapter
Information
Introduction to Estuarine Hydrodynamics , pp. 98 - 123
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Additional Sources

Burchard, H., Hetland, R.D., Schulz, E., and Schuttelaars, H.M. (2011) Drivers of residual estuarine circulation in tidally energetic estuaries: Straight and irrotational channels with parabolic cross section. J. Phys. Ocean. 41: 548–570.Google Scholar
Huntley, H.S., and Ryan, P. (2018) Wind effects on flow patterns and net fluxes in density‐driven high‐latitude channel flow. J. Geophys. Res. 123: 305–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasai, A., Hill, A.E., Fujiwara, T., and Simpson, J.H. (2000). Effect of the Earth’s rotation on the circulation in regions of freshwater influence. J. Geophys. Res. 105(16): 961–969.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valle‐Levinson, A. (2008) Density‐driven exchange flow in terms of the Kelvin and Ekman numbers. J. Geophys. Res. 113: C04001.Google Scholar
Whitney, M.M., and Jia, Y. (2020) Solutions for subtidal flow in channels and estuaries under different integral constraints. J. Geophys. Res.: Oceans 125: e2020JC016076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×