Abstract
The concept of water age is applied to calculate the timescales of the transport processes of freshwater in Lianzhou Bay, using a model based on ECOMSED. In this study, water age is defined as the time that has elapsed since the water parcel enters the Nanliu River. The results show that the mean age at a specified position and the runoff of the Nanliu River are well correlated and can be approximately expressed by a natural logarithmic function. During the neap tide, it takes 70, 60 and 40 days in the dry, normal and rainy seasons for water to travel from the mouth of the Nanliu River to the northeast of Lianzhou Bay, respectively, which is not beneficial to water exchange in the bay. Tides significantly influence the model results; it takes five less days for the tracer to be transported from the mouth of the Nanliu River to the north of Guantouling during the spring tide than during the neap tide.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Blumberg A F. 2002. A primer for ECOMSED. Mahwah NJ: Hydro Qual Inc. p.1–194.
Bolin B, Rhode H. 1973. A note on the concepts of age distribution and transit time in natural reservoirs. Tellus, 25(1): 58–62.
Deleersnijder E, Campin J M, DELHEZ E J M. 2001. The concept of age in marine modelling: I. Theory and preliminary model results. Journal of Marine Systems, 28(3): 229–267.
Delhez E J M, Campin J M, Hirst A C. 1999. Toward a general theory of the age in ocean modelling. Ocean Modelling, 1(1): 17–27.
Delhez E J M, Deleersnijder E. 2002. The concept of age in marine modelling: II. Concentration distribution function in the English Channel and the North Sea. Journal of Marine Systems, 31(4): 279–297.
Gourgue O, Deleersnijder E, White L. 2007. Toward a generic method for studying water renewal, with application to the epilimnion of Lake Tanganyika. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 74(4): 628–640.
Gustafsson K E, Bendtsen J. 2007. Elucidating the dynamics and mixing agents of a shallow fjord through age tracer modeling. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 74(4): 641–654.
Kaiser D, Unger D, Qiu G et al. 2013. Natural and human influences on nutrient transport through a small subtropical Chinese estuary. Science of the Total Environment, 450–451: 92–107.
Liu Z, Wang H Y, Guo X Y. 2012. The age of Yellow River water in the Bohai Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research (Oceans), 117(C16): 11006.
Mellor G L, Yamada T. 1982. Development of a turbulence closure model for geophysical fluid problems. Reviews of Geophysics, 20(4): 851–875.
Shen J, Haas L. 2004. Calculating age and residence time in the tidal York River using three-dimensional model experiments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 61(3): 449–461.
Shen J, Lin J. 2006. Modeling study of the influences of tide and stratification on age of water in the tidal James River. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 68(1–2): 101–112.
Shen J, Wang H V. 2007. Determining the age of water and long-term transport timescale of the Chesapeake Bay. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 74(4): 585–598.
Shen Y M, Wang J H, Zheng B H. 2011. Modeling study of residence time and water age in Dahuofang Reservoir in China. Science China Physics, Mechanics and Astronomy, 54(1): 127–142.
Sin Y, Wetzel R L, Anderson I C. 1999. Spatial and temporal characteristics of nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics in the York River estuary, Virginia: analyses of long-term data. Estuaries, 22(2): 260–275.
Smagorinsky J. 1963. General circulation experiments with the primitive equations: I. The basic experiment. Monthly Weather Review, 91(3): 99–164.
Takeoka H. 1984. Fundamental concepts of exchange and transport time scales in a coastal sea. Continental Shelf Research, 3(3): 311–326.
Wang P C, Zhang X Q, Zhao Q. 2013. Numerical study of water age influenced by tide and runoff in Daliaohe Estuary in China. Journal of Hydrodynamics, Ser. B, 25(1): 39–47.
Wang Y, Shen J, He Q. 2010. A numerical model study of the transport timescale and change of estuarine circulation due to waterway constructions in the Changjiang Estuary, China. Journal of Marine Systems, 82(3): 154–170.
White L, Deleersnijder E. 2007. Diagnoses of vertical transport in a three dimensional finite-element model of the tidal circulation around an island. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 74(4): 735–749.
Zimmerman J T F. 1976. Mixing and flushing of tidal embayments in the Western Dutch Wadden Sea, part II: Analysis of mixing processes. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research, 10(4): 397–439.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yu, J., Zhang, X., Liu, J. et al. Numerical study on the influences of Nanliu River runoff and tides on water age in Lianzhou Bay. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 34, 1106–1113 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-5110-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-016-5110-5