Collaborative Research: Lagrangian Studies of Mixing and Secondary Circulation in a Stratified Channel

Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Brunswick NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Chant - 0095913 A series of dye studies and associated hydrographic and current measurements are proposed. Dye will be released in the bottom layer of the Hudson River estuary and tracked in order to quantify diapycnal transport processes, secondary circulations, and horizontal transport in a stratified estuary. Of particular interest will be the contributions of secondary circulations to vertical and horizontal exchange and their ultimate influence on the along-estuary momentum balance and dispersion rates. The field study and analysis phases of the program will be complemented by numerical studies. These efforts will test hypotheses concerning the failure of classical theories of estuarine circulation to explain observations.