The interaction of river flow, tidal mixing, basin morphology and wind produces a different type of river plume in the Pearl River Estuary. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model has been used to study the response of the river plume to different forcings in the Pearl River Estuary. The results indicate that river discharge determines the font size of river plume, while wind greatly affects its shape. Tidal current can restrict diluted water spreading seaward, but contributes little to the net transport of low salinity water. The flushing time can increase by 2 times when considering the Coriolis force, which delays the diluted water flowing out of the flushing area. Southwest winds can greatly decrease the flushing time, while northeast winds can increase it. This rule can also be valid when considering tides.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
January 01 2012
Responses of the river plume to the external forcing in Pearl River Estuary Available to Purchase
D. Wang
D. Wang
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (2012) 15 (1): 62–69.
Citation
L. Luo, W. Zhou, D. Wang; Responses of the river plume to the external forcing in Pearl River Estuary. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 1 January 2012; 15 (1): 62–69. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14634988.2012.655549
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Total Views
58
39
Pageviews
19
PDF Downloads
Since 6/1/2021