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The hydrography of Irvine Bay and its relation to the Clyde Sea Area

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

R. E. Lewis
R. E. Lewis
Affiliation:
ICI pic, Brixham Laboratory, Freshwater Quarry, Brixham, Devon, U.K.
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Synopsis

Over the period 1973–75, detailed studies were made of the water density structure and circulation of Irvine Bay. Observations showed that offshore waters were influenced by water originating in the Clyde Estuary and the inshore waters were affected by brackish outflow from the Irvine-Garnock Estuary. Long period current records indicated that the movement of water in Irvine Bay and the eastern Clyde Sea Area was particularly responsive to meteorological forcing. Based on data for 1974, the estimated annual mean longshore drift was about 5·0cm/s and directed towards the northwest. Studies of a tracer dye patch over a 1·5 day period showed that horizontal dispersion was influenced by vertical shears in the mean current and that vertical mixing was inhibited by a density interface at less than 4 m depth. The average longitudinal and transverse dispersion coefficients were 2·17m2/s and 0·25 m2/s respectively.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 90: The Environment of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde , 1986 , pp. 117 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

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