Open AccessFrictional estuarine flow in Juan de Fuca Strait, with implications for secondary circulation
Author(s) -
Ott Michael W.,
Garrett Chris
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/98jc00019
Subject(s) - geology , current (fluid) , oceanography , estuary , current meter , flow (mathematics) , estuarine water circulation , channel (broadcasting) , eddy , pressure gradient , turbulence modeling , secondary circulation , mechanics , turbulence , physics , engineering , electrical engineering
Estuarine flow in Juan de Fuca Strait is highly seasonal in nature and an appreciable along‐channel surface pressure gradient is coincident with the peak Fraser River discharge. An upper layer momentum balance requires the vertical eddy viscosity A v to be of the order of 0.02 m 2 s −1 , slightly larger than implied by conventional empirical formulae and used in current models. Mixing in an estuarine channel and a large vertical eddy viscosity should lead to significant cross‐channel flows. This secondary circulation, which may resemble internal Ekman layers and intrusions of water mixed at the sloping sides of the strait, is much less understood than the basic along‐channel estuarine exchange. Unfortunately, historical current meter data in Juan de Fuca Strait are of insufficient spatial resolution to show the predicted patterns.