A note on the comparative turbidity of some estuaries of the Americas

R.J. Uncles; R. E. Smith

doi:10.2112/016-nis.1

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A note on the comparative turbidity of some estuaries of the Americas

R.J. Uncles·R. E. Smith

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Abstract

Field data from 27 estuaries of the Americas are used to show that, in broad terms, there is a large difference in turbidity between the analyzed east and west-coast estuaries and that tidal range and tidal length have an important influence on that turbidity. Generic, numerical sediment-transport modeling is used to illustrate this influence, which exists over a range of space scales from, e.g., the Rogue River Estuary (few km, few mg l-1) to the Bay of Fundy (hundreds of km, few g l-1). The difference in Pacific and Atlantic seaboard estuarine turbidity for the analyzed estuaries is ultimately related to the broad-scale geomorphology of the two continents.

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R.J. Uncles, R. E. Smith. 2005. A note on the comparative turbidity of some estuaries of the Americas. https://doi.org/10.2112/016-nis.1

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