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Full-Text Articles in Environmental Engineering

Vertical Boil Propagation From A Submerged Estuarine Sill, C. Chris Chickadel, Alexander R. Horner-Devine, Stefan A. Talke, Andrew T. Jessup May 2009

Vertical Boil Propagation From A Submerged Estuarine Sill, C. Chris Chickadel, Alexander R. Horner-Devine, Stefan A. Talke, Andrew T. Jessup

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Surface disruptions by boils during strong tidal flows over a rocky sill were observed in thermal infrared imagery collected at the Snohomish River estuary in Washington State. Locations of boil disruptions and boil diameters at the surface were quantified and are used to test an idealized model of vertical boil propagation. The model is developed as a two-dimensional approximation of a three-dimensional vortex loop, and boil vorticity is derived from the flow shear over the sill. Predictions of boil disruption locations were determined from the modeled vertical velocity, the sill depth, and the over-sill velocity. Predictions by the vertical velocity …


An Idealized Model And Systematic Process Study Of Oxygen Depletion In Highly Turbid Estuaries, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, Victor De Jonge Jan 2009

An Idealized Model And Systematic Process Study Of Oxygen Depletion In Highly Turbid Estuaries, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, Victor De Jonge

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sensitivity of oxygen depletion in turbid estuaries to parameters like freshwater discharge, depth, and sediment availability is investigated using an idealized model. The model describes tidally averaged circulation and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), which are input into an advection–diffusion sink module of dissolved oxygen (DO). Based on the analysis of field data collected in the Ems estuary, the modeled oxygen depletion rates are proportional to SSC. The model is calibrated to the observed variation of DO with SSC and temperature. Modeled DO closely tracks changes to the estuarine turbidity zone (ETZ): increased channel depth, decreased freshwater discharge, and decreased …


Feedback Between Residual Circulations And Sediment Distribution In Highly Turbid Estuaries: An Analytical Model, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, H. M. Schuttelaars Jan 2009

Feedback Between Residual Circulations And Sediment Distribution In Highly Turbid Estuaries: An Analytical Model, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, H. M. Schuttelaars

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Motivated by field studies of the Ems estuary which show longitudinal gradients in bottom sediment concentration as high as O(0.01 kg/m4), we develop an analytical model for estuarine residual circulation based on currents from salinity gradients, turbidity gradients, and freshwater discharge. Salinity is assumed to be vertically well mixed, while the vertical concentration profile is assumed to result from a balance between a constant settling velocity and turbulent diffusive flux. Width and depth of the model estuary are held constant. Model results show that turbidity gradients enhance tidally averaged circulation upstream of the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM), …