Intratidal and Subtidal Circulation in a Tropical Estuary during Wet Season: The Maroni, French Guiana
Type | Article | ||||||||
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Date | 2019-12 | ||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||
Author(s) | Ross Lauren1, Sottolichio Aldo2, Maury Tanguy3, Lesourd Sandric4, Gardel Antoine3 | ||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA 2 : CNRS EPOC Laboratory, University of Bordeaux, 33615 Pessac, France 3 : USR LEEISA, CNRS, Ifremer, University of Guyane, 97300 Cayenne, French Guiana 4 : UMR 6143 M2C, University of Caen-Normandie, 14000 Caen, France |
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Source | Journal Of Marine Science And Engineering (2077-1312) (MDPI AG), 2019-12 , Vol. 7 , N. 12 , P. 433 (23p.) | ||||||||
DOI | 10.3390/jmse7120433 | ||||||||
WOS© Times Cited | 5 | ||||||||
Note | This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydro-Morphodynamics of Coastal Areas | ||||||||
Keyword(s) | tropical estuary, subtidal flow, wet season, wind-driven flow, channel curvature | ||||||||
Abstract | Observations of water level, current velocity, river discharge, wind and salinity were collected in the Maroni estuary, on the border of French Guiana and Suriname during the wet season of 2018 to explore subtidal circulation patterns. Measurements are complimented by the application of analytical models with an aim to diagnose forcing mechanisms responsible for producing subtidal flows during the day of data collection and to extrapolate these findings to other time periods with variable wind and river forcing. Subtidal along-channel flows were found to be dominated by river discharge, with seaward directed velocities found throughout the channel section reaching 40 cm s −1 . This pattern was altered with strong southwesterly winds, which produced and inverse gravitational circulation pattern despite the elevated river discharge. Secondary, or cross-channel flows, displayed a three-layer vertical structure in the main channel due to a combination of channel curvature and tidal asymmetry in the lateral baroclinic pressure gradient. The pressure gradient was produced by a salinity intrusion front that only manifested in the channel during flood tide. This is the first comprehensive study of tidal and subtidal flow dynamics in the Maroni estuary. |
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