Dynamics of the buoyant plume off the Pearl River Estuary in summer |
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Authors: | Suying Ou Hong Zhang Dong-xiao Wang |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Harbour and Coastal Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Hua Shan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China |
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Abstract: | Field measurements of salinity, wind and river discharge and numerical simulations of hydrodynamics from 1978 to 1984 are
used to investigate the dynamics of the buoyant plume off the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China during summer. The studies
have shown that there are four major horizontal buoyant plume types in summer: Offshore Bulge Spreading (Type I), West Alongshore
Spreading (Type II), East Offshore Spreading (Type III), and Symmetrical Alongshore Spreading (Type IV). River mouth conditions,
winds and ambient coastal currents have inter-influences to the transport processes of the buoyant plume. It is found that
all of the four types are surface-advected plumes by analysing the vertical characteristic of the plumes, and the monthly
variations of the river discharge affect the plume size dominantly. The correlation coefficient between the PRE plume size
and the river discharge reaches 0.85 during the high river discharge season. A wind strength index has been introduced to
examine the wind effect. It is confirmed that winds play a significant role in forming the plume morphology. The alongshore
wind stress and the coastal currents determine the alongshore plume spreading. The impact of the ambient currents such as
Dongsha Current and South China Sea (SCS) Warm Current on the plume off the shelf has also assessed. The present study has
demonstrated that both the river discharge and wind conditions affect the plume evolution. |
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