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Measurement of the longitudinal dispersion coefficient near a junction in a tidal river
Author(s) -
Steele J. G.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/91wr00115
Subject(s) - tributary , dispersion (optics) , tidal river , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , salinity , tidal current , coefficient of variation , geology , estuary , oceanography , geotechnical engineering , physics , mathematics , statistics , geography , optics , cartography
A new method of measuring the longitudinal dispersion coefficient is described, based on the decay of a step function in a water quality profile near the junction of a tributary with a tidal river. The method requires frequent data during a tidal cycle, so that the slope of the profile at different times can be estimated and compared with the theoretical slope at the same stage of the cycle. Applications to two tributaries of the Brisbane River are described, in which salinity and dissolved‐oxygen data are utilized. In the larger tributary the coefficient was about 27 m 2 s −1 averaged over the tidal cycle. In the smaller tributary the coefficient was about 10 m 2 s −1 , and a variation in the coefficient during the tidal cycle was indicated.