A numerical simulation of circulation in the Columbia River estuary and plume during the summer of 2004 is used to explore the mixing involved as river water is transformed into shelf water. The model is forced with realistic river flow, tides, wind stress, surface heat flux, and ocean boundary conditions. Simulated currents and water properties on the shelf near the mouth are compared with rec...

The salinity budget in a 3-D numerical model of an estuary is analyzed using isohaline surfaces to define the volume of integration. Such surfaces move with the currents, and as a result of turbulent mixing. The isohaline analysis allows us to clarify the processes which create and destroy water in different salinity classes in the estuary. We find that the estuary naturally divides into three ...

The adjustment of estuarine circulation and density to changes in river flow and tidal mixing is investigated using analytical and numerical models. Tidally averaged momentum and salinity equations in a rectangular estuary are vertically averaged over two levels, resulting in equations that are analytically tractable while retaining a broad range of time-dependent behavior. It is found that bot...

The interactions of circulation and growth processes in determining the horizontal distribution of eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) larvae in the Delaware Bay estuary were investigated with a coupled circulation-individual-based larvae model that used environmental conditions from the spawning seasons (mid-June to mid-September) of 1984, 1985, 1986, 2000, and 2001. Particles, representing...

Assessment of the ecological quality of theMinho estuary (Northwest Iberian Peninsula) based on metal concentrations in sediments and in Corbicula fluminea The concentrations of metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn) in sediments and the soft tissues of Corbicula fluminea from the Minho estuary (Northwest Iberian Peninsula) were determined to assess the spatial variation of metal bioavailabilit...

Physicochemical variability in estuarine systems plays an important role in estuarine processes and in the lifecycles of estuarine organisms. In particular, seasonality of freshwater inflow to estuaries may be important in various aspects of fish lifecycles. This study aimed to further understand these relationships by studying the movements of a top-level estuarine predator in response to phys...

The objective of this study was to determine the liver oxidative stress status of grey mullets living in heavy-metal-rich polluted Ennore estuary compared with unpolluted Kovalam estuary. Fish were collected from both estuaries during the monsoon and summer seasons from October 2004 to September 2006. Fish liver homogenate (N = 20 per group) was prepared for evaluating oxidative stress paramete...

The influence of anthropogenic loading on the distribution of soft bottom benthic organisms of a tropical estuary (Cochin backwaters) was examined. The industrial activities were found to be high in the northern and central part of the estuary, where dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN > 210 μM) and phosphorus (DIP > 6.5 μM) have caused high abundance of chlorophyll a (up to 73 mg m(-3)) and accu...

Migratory salmon transit estuary habitats on their way out to the ocean but this phase of their life cycle is more poorly understood than other phases. The estuaries of large river systems in particular may support many populations and several species of salmon that originate from throughout the upstream river. The Skeena River of British Columbia, Canada, is a large river system with high salm...

The temporal response of the length of a partially-mixed estuary to changes in freshwater discharge, Qf , and tidal amplitude, UT , is studied using a 108 day time series collected along the length of the Hudson River estuary in the spring and summer of 2004 and a long-term (13.4 year) record of Qf , UT , and near-surface salinity. When Qf was moderately high, the tidally-averaged length of the...