Oey, L-Y., G. L Mellor, and R. I. Hires, 1985: A three-dimensional simulation of the Hudson-Raritan estuary. Part III: Salt flux analyses. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 15 (12), 1711-1720.
Abstract: Salt fluxes and volume transports in an estuary vary considerably over
subtidal time scales of a few days to weeks in response to wind and neap-spring
tidal forcings. Results from a numerical simulation of the Hudson-Raritan
estuary are used to study subtidal variations of salt fluxes and the physical
mechanisms for salt balance in the estuary. Simulated salt fluxes are compared
with available observations. Observations support the model's finding that
analysis of volume and salt fluxes based on short-length data records (<30 days) can lead to misleading conclusions.
"Tidal trapping" effects due to coastline irregularities contribute most
to the salt balance at the Sandy Hook-Rockaway Point transect and at the
Narrows. A two-week observational record is analyzed to support this finding.
Simulated subtidal variation of the tidal trapping term at the Sandy Hook-Rockaway
Point transect compares well with that observed. In the Raritan Bay, where
tidal currents are weak and effects of winds are significant, contributions
to salt balance from vertical velocity and salinity gradients are comparable
to transverse contributions. This occurs despite the fact that surface-to-bottom
salinity differences during the simulation period-a period of low freshwater
flow-never exceed 0.5% throughout most regions of the bay. A two-dimensional,
depth-integrated xy-t model, in which the horizontal dispersion coefficients are modeled empirically,
may not perform well in this case.