The accumulation of river water over the continental shelf between Cape Cod and Chesapeake Bay
Ketchum, B.H.; Keen, D.J. (1955). The accumulation of river water over the continental shelf between Cape Cod and Chesapeake Bay, in: Papers in Marine Biology and Oceanography. Dedicated to Henry Bryant Bigelow, By His Former Students and Associates on the occasion of The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 1955. Deep-Sea Research (1953), 3(Supplement): pp. 346-357
In: (1955). Papers in Marine Biology and Oceanography. Dedicated to Henry Bryant Bigelow, By His Former Students and Associates on the occasion of The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Founding of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 1955. Deep-Sea Research (1953), 3(Supplement). Pergamon Press: London & New York. 498 pp., more
In: Deep-Sea Research (1953). Pergamon: Oxford; New York. ISSN 0146-6291; e-ISSN 1878-2485, more
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| Abstract |
The depth mean salinities for the waters of the continental shelf between Cape Cod and Chesapeake Bay show a seasonal variation in the concentration of river water. The spring and the winter accumulations are about the same, but about 25% more river water is present in the summer. The total volume of fresh water in spring and winter is equivalent to that produced by the rivers in about one and a half years. The extra accumulation in summer is equal to half a year's flow, and reflects, in part, the fact that the high spring flows of two successive years are present on the shelf at this time. There is a decrease in the average content of river water in the direction of the flow of the coastal current, in spite of the addition of river water along its course. It is concluded that considerable transport of river water and of salt normal to the coast is necessary. The horizontal mixing coefficients normal to the coast are computed from the seasonal changes in salinity. They range from 0.58 to 4.96 X 106 cm²/sec, with the values for the decrease in salinity from spring to summer being smaller than those for the increase from summer to winter conditions. At both times, the values decrease with increasing depth and distance from shore. |
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