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Thedynamicsassociatedwithlateralcirculationinatidallydrivenestuarinechannelisanalyzedonthebasis of streamwise vorticity. Without rotational effects, differential advection and diffusive boundary mixing produce two counterrotating vortices (in the cross-channel section) whose strength and sense of circulation may change during a tidal cycle. The streamwise vorticity equation is determined by a balance between baroclinic forcing and turbulent diffusion, which explains the flood‐ebb asymmetry of the lateral circulation. Analysis of the lateral salinitygradient showsthat differential advectionis the maindriver of lateralflows, but boundary mixing can also be an important contributor in stratified estuaries. The strength of lateral circulationdecreaseswith increasing stratification.With rotationaleffects, thelateral Ekmanforcingin the bottom boundary layer drives a one-cell lateral circulation that switches its sense of rotation over the tidal cycle. The vorticity budget analysis reveals a three-way balance among the tilting of planetary vorticity by the vertical shearinthealong-channelcurrent,baroclinicforcing,andturbulentdiffusion.Thestructureandmagnitudeof the lateralcirculation changewiththewidthof theestuary,expressed nondimensionallyastheKelvinnumber Ke. This lateral circulation features two counterrotating vortices in narrow estuaries, one vortex filling up the entire cross section in estuaries of intermediate widths and one vortex confined to the left side (looking into the estuary) in wide estuaries. The magnitude of the streamwise vorticity increases rapidly with Ke, reaches a maximum at Ke’0:5, and decreases slightly in wide estuaries subject to strong rotational control.

Analysis of Vortex Dynamics of Lateral Circulation in a Straight Tidal Estuary*