Tidal flushing refers to the systematic replacement of water in a bay or estuary as a result of tidal flow. The ocean is assumed to be a sink for water discharged during the ebb and a source of new water carried in by the flood. Ketchum (1951a) broadly defined tidal flushing in terms of an exchange ratio (r) representing the fraction of water in a specified location that is replaced during a tidal cycle. The exchange ratio, also called the flushing rate or water renewal rate is construed as r = P/P + V, where P equals the intertidal volume or tidal prism , which is the difference between the volumes of water occupying the location at high and low tide; and V equals the low tide volume. In estuaries, the tidal prism is composed of a mixture of river-contributed water and more saline water introduced by the flood tide. The expression assumes that complete mixing occurs within the specified water body and that none of the water discharged on the ebb returns on the flood.
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References
Ketchum, B. H., 1951a. The exchanges of fresh and salt waters in tidal estuaries, Jour. Marine Research 10, 19–38.
Ketchum, B. H., 1951b. The flushing of tidal estuaries, Sewage and Industrial Wastes 27, 1288–1295.
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© 1982 Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company
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Cook, D.O. (1982). Tidal flushing . In: Beaches and Coastal Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_463
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30843-1_463
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