Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Discharge, Tides, and Wind on Lift-Off Turbulence

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Data from three deployments of a 1200 kHz moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) were used to study the factors affecting turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) production in the lift-off zone of a mid-sized river plume (Merrimack River, Newburyport, MA) during the spring freshets of 2007, 2010, and 2011. TKE production was estimated from the ADCP data, during periods of minimal wave activity, using the variance method, with significant variability in plume thickness and TKE production observed between ebbs. Correlations with this observed variability and the primary environmental variables, such as river flow, wind speed/direction, and tidal range, were noted. On the basis of these observations, we quantify the contribution of these forcing mechanisms to the observed TKE production using an empirical approach based on the marginal value of the discharge Froude number (which is scaled from the environmental variables) above a critical value of one. The resulting regression provides a means for estimating TKE production in the lift-off zone as a function of only the environmental variables, and produces results consistent with previous observations from other turbulence measurement techniques in the Merrimack plume. The regression also provides an indication of the relative importance of the various forcing mechanisms, and suggests that onshore (east) winds and river discharge are the most important factors in controlling TKE production in the Merrimack plume, with tidal range of lesser significance.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, E., and K. Stolzenbach. 1977. Analysis of a buoyant surface discharge over a shallow sloping bottom. In Proceedings of the XVII International Association of Hydraulic Research (IAHR) Congress, 363–370.

  • Armi, L., and D. Farmer. 1986. Maximal two-layer exchange through a contraction with barotropic net flow. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 164: 27–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J.F. 1993. Detachment of buoyant surface jets discharged on slope. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 119: 878–894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, F., D.G. MacDonald, and R.D. Hetland. 2009. Lateral spreading of a near-field river plume: observations and numerical simulations. J. Geophys. Res 114: C07013.

  • Chen, S.N., W.R. Geyer, D.K. Ralston, and J.A. Lerczak. 2011. Estuarine exchange flow quantified with isohaline coordinates: contrasting long and short estuaries. Journal of Physical Oceanography 42: 748–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csanady, G. 1978. Wind effects on surface to bottom fronts. Journal of Geophysical Research 83: 4633–4640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, H.B. 1972. Mass transport mechanisms in partially stratified estuaries. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 53: 671–687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fong, D.A., and W.R. Geyer. 2001. Response of a river plume during an upwelling favorable wind event. Journal of Geophysical Research 106: 1067–1084.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fong, D.A., and W.R. Geyer. 2002. The alongshore transport of freshwater in a surface-trapped river plume. Journal of Physical Oceanography 32: 957–972.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geyer, W.R., and J.D. Smith. 1987. Shear instability in a highly stratified estuary. Journal of Physical Oceanography 17: 1668–1679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasselmann, K., T. Barnett, E. Bouws, H. Carlson, D. Cartwright, K. Enke, J. Ewing, H. Gienapp, D. Hasselmann, and P. Kruseman. 1973. Measurements of wind-wave growth and swell decay during the Joint North Sea Wave Project (JONSWAP).

  • Hetland, R.D. 2005. Relating river plume structure to vertical mixing. Journal of Physical Oceanography 35: 1667–1688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hetland, R.D., and D.G. MacDonald. 2008. Spreading in the near-field Merrimack River plume. Ocean Modelling 21: 12–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, B.M., and N.S. Banas. 2003. Oceanography of the US Pacific Northwest coastal ocean and estuaries with application to coastal ecology. Estuaries and Coasts 26: 1010–1031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horner-Devine, A.R., D.A. Jay, P.M. Orton, and E.Y. Spahn. 2009. A conceptual model of the strongly tidal Columbia River plume. Journal of Marine Systems 78: 460–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horner-Devine, A.R., R.D. Hetland, and D.G. MacDonald. 2015. Mixing and transport in coastal river plumes. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 47 (Volume publication date December 2015)

  • Howard, L.N. 1961. Note on a paper of John W. Miles. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 10: 509–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jay, D.A., and J. Smith. 1990. Circulation, density distribution and neap-spring transitions in the Columbia River Estuary. Progress in Oceanography 25: 81–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jirka, G.H., and M. Arita. 1987. Density currents or density wedges: boundary-layer influence and control methods. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 177: 187–206.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jirka, G.H., K.D. Stolzenbach, and E.E. Adams. 1981. Buoyant surface jets. Journal of the Hydraulics Division 107: 1467–1487.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kakoulaki, G., D.G. MacDonald, and A.R. Horner-Devine. 2014. The role of wind in the near- and mid-field of a river plume. Geophysical Research Letters 41: 5132–5138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilcher, L.F., and J.D. Nash. 2010. Structure and dynamics of the Columbia River tidal plume front. Journal of Geophysical Research 115, C05S90.

  • Kilcher, L.F., J.D. Nash, and J.N. Moum. 2012. The role of turbulence stress divergence in decelerating a river plume. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (1978–2012) 117: C05032.

  • Kirincich, A.R., S.J. Lentz, and G.P. Gerbi. 2010. Calculating Reynolds stresses from ADCP measurements in the presence of surface gravity waves using the cospectra-fit method. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 27: 889–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirincich, A.R., and J.H. Rosman. 2011. A comparison of methods for estimating Reynolds stress from ADCP measurements in wavy environments. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 28: 1539–1553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kudela, R.M., and T.D. Peterson. 2009. Influence of a buoyant river plume on phytoplankton nutrient dynamics: What controls standing stocks and productivity? Journal of Geophysical Research 114: C00B11.

  • Lentz, S. 2004. The response of buoyant coastal plumes to upwelling-favorable winds. Journal of Physical Oceanography 34: 2458–2469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lohan, M.C., and K.W. Bruland. 2006. Importance of vertical mixing for additional sources of nitrate and iron to surface waters of the Columbia River plume: implications for biology. Marine Chemistry 98: 260–273.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y., and R.G. Lueck. 1999. Using a broadband ADCP in a tidal channel. Part II: turbulence. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 16: 1568–1579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y., R.G. Lueck, and D. Huang. 2000. Turbulence characteristics in a tidal channel. Journal of Physical Oceanography 30: 855–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacCready, P., and W.R. Geyer. 2010. Advances in estuarine physics. Annual Review of Marine Science 2: 35–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, D.G., J. Carlson, and L. Goodman. 2013. On the heterogeneity of stratified-shear turbulence: observations from a near-field river plume. Journal of Geophysical Research, Oceans 118: 6223–6237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, D.G., and F. Chen. 2012. Enhancement of turbulence through lateral spreading in a stratified-shear flow: development and assessment of a conceptual model. Journal of Geophysical Research 117: C05025.

  • MacDonald, D.G., and W.R. Geyer. 2004. Turbulent energy production and entrainment at a highly stratified estuarine front. J. Geophys. Res 109: C05004.

  • MacDonald, D.G., and W.R. Geyer. 2005. Hydraulic control of a highly stratified estuarine front*. Journal of Physical Oceanography 35: 374–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, D.G., L. Goodman, and R.D. Hetland. 2007. Turbulent dissipation in a near-field river plume: a comparison of control volume and microstructure observations with a numerical model. J. Geophys. Res 112: C07026.

  • McCabe, R.M., P. MacCready, and B.M. Hickey. 2009. Ebb-tide dynamics and spreading of a large river plume*. Journal of Physical Oceanography 39: 2839–2856.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miles, J.W. 1961. On the stability of heterogeneous shear flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 10: 496–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nash, J.D., L.F. Kilcher, and J.N. Moum. 2009. Structure and composition of a strongly stratified, tidally pulsed river plume. Journal of Geophysical Research 114: C00B12.

  • Orton, P.M., and M. Visbeck. 2009. Variability of internally generated turbulence in an estuary, from 100 days of continuous observations. Continental Shelf Research 29: 61–77.

  • Orton, P.M., C.J. Zappa, and W.R. McGillis. 2010. Tidal and atmospheric influences on near-surface turbulence in an estuary. Journal of Geophysical Research 115: C12029.

  • Pierson Jr., W.J., and L. Moskowitz. 1964. A proposed spectral form for fully developed wind seas based on the similarity theory of SA Kitaigorodskii. Journal of Geophysical Research 69: 5181–5190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rippeth, T.P., J.H. Simpson, E. Williams, and M.E. Inall. 2003. Measurement of the rates of production and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy in an energetic tidal flow: Red Wharf Bay revisited. Journal of Physical Oceanography 33: 1889–1901.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scully, M.E., C. Friedrichs, and J. Brubaker. 2005. Control of estuarine stratification and mixing by wind-induced straining of the estuarine density field. Estuaries and Coasts 28: 321–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, J.H., J. Brown, J. Matthews, and G. Allen. 1990. Tidal straining, density currents, and stirring in the control of estuarine stratification. Estuaries 13: 125–132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, J.H., H. Burchard, N.R. Fisher, and T.P. Rippeth. 2002. The semi-diurnal cycle of dissipation in a ROFI: model-measurement comparisons. Continental Shelf Research 22: 1615–1628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stacey, M.T., S.G. Monismith, and J.R. Burau. 1999. Measurements of Reynolds stress profiles in unstratified tidal flow. Journal of Geophysical Research 104: 10933–10949.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Terray, E., M. Donelan, Y. Agrawal, W. Drennan, K. Kahma, A. Williams, P. Hwang, and S. Kitaigorodskii. 1996. Estimates of kinetic energy dissipation under breaking waves. Journal of Physical Oceanography 26: 792–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, D.-P. 1979. Wind-driven circulation in the Chesapeake Bay, Winter, 1975. Journal of Physical Oceanography 9: 564–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, E., and J.H. Simpson. 2004. Uncertainties in estimates of Reynolds stress and TKE production rate using the ADCP variance method. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 21: 347–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, L., and J.M. Coleman. 1971. Effluent expansion and interfacial mixing in the presence of a salt wedge, Mississippi River delta. Journal of Geophysical Research 76: 8649–8661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yankovsky, A.E., and D.C. Chapman. 1997. A simple theory for the fate of buoyant coastal discharges*. Journal of Physical Oceanography 27: 1386–1401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, Y., and A.R. Horner-Devine. 2013. Laboratory investigation of the impact of lateral spreading on buoyancy flux in a river plume. Journal of Physical Oceanography 43: 2588–2610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank G. Kakoulaki for her efforts in the field, and R. Hetland and A. Horner-Devine for useful discussions on this topic. This work was funded by National Science Foundation grants OCE-0550096 and OCE-0850948. J. Wang has been supported by NSFC- Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (grant no. U1406401) and the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. XDA11020301). This manuscript is contribution 15-0201 in the SMAST Contribution Series, School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong, China

    Jianfeng Wang

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, USA

    Daniel G. MacDonald

  3. Davidson Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA

    Philip M. Orton

  4. Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Kelly Cole

  5. Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, Shandong, China

    Jianfeng Wang & Jian Lan

Authors
  1. Jianfeng Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniel G. MacDonald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Philip M. Orton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kelly Cole
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jian Lan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianfeng Wang.

Additional information

Communicated by Charles Simenstad

Submitted to Estuaries and Coasts: 23 December 2014

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, J., MacDonald, D.G., Orton, P.M. et al. The Effect of Discharge, Tides, and Wind on Lift-Off Turbulence. Estuaries and Coasts 38, 2117–2131 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-9958-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-9958-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation