Determination of flushing characteristics of the Irish Sea : a 1 spatial approach 2 3

9 The Authors devised a novel generic approach to assessing the flushing of the Irish 10 Sea through the determination of spatially distributed residence times and the 11 development of flushing homogeneity curves. Results indicate that flushing of the 12 Irish Sea is both spatially and temporally highly variable. Average residence times 13 of the material introduced in winter may be up to 28% higher than the material 14 introduced in summer, and the aerial flushing deviation index may reach up to 470 15 days. The spatial approach to flushing is an extremely useful complement to 16 classical flushing analysis considering significant implications for management of 17 water quality. 18 19