Calculating residual flows through a multiple-inlet system: the conundrum of the tidal period
Duran Matute, M.; Gerkema, T. (2015). Calculating residual flows through a multiple-inlet system: the conundrum of the tidal period. Ocean Dynamics 65: :1461–1475. dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0875-1 In: Ocean Dynamics. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg; New York. ISSN 1616-7341; e-ISSN 1616-7228, more |   |
| Author keywords | Tides; Multiple-inlet coastal lagoons; Residual flows |
| Abstract | The concept of residual, i.e., tidally-averaged,flows through a multiple inlet system is reappraised. Theevaluation of the residual through-flow depends on the timeinterval over which is integrated, in other words, on how onedefines the tidal period. It is demonstrated that this definitionis ambiguous and that different definitions (based on,e.g., high waters, slack tides, etc.) yield very different resultsfor the residual, also in terms of their long-term statisticalproperties (median and standard deviation). A basin-wideapplicable method of defining the tidal period, in terms ofenclosed water volume, is analyzed. We compare the differentmethods on the basis of high-resolution model resultsfor the Western Dutch Wadden Sea. The multitude of tidalconstituents together with wind variability creates broad distributionsfor the residuals, with standard deviations muchlarger than the mean or median residual flows. |
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