E33A:
The Dynamics of Estuaries and Coastal Buoyancy-Driven Flows II


Session ID#: 36835

Session Description:
Estuaries and coastal buoyant plumes are ubiquitous and diverse features along continental margins that exist at the confluence of terrestrial and oceanic waters, ranging from small tropical lagoons to glacial meltwater plumes in high-latitude fjords. The dynamics of these systems cover a wide spectrum of spatial and temporal scales, spanning stratified turbulence to frontal instabilities to shelf-wide circulation scales.  Estuarine and coastal buoyancy-driven flows are influenced by numerous factors including tides, freshwater discharge, wind, surface and internal waves, frontal processes, and flow-topography interactions.  These factors ultimately influence the turbulence and mixing processes in the system, serving as a link between the terrestrial and oceanic domains.  Hydrodynamics in these systems profoundly impact the regional-scale ecological and biogeochemical processes in addition to various physical processes such as sediment transport and ocean-cryosphere interactions.  Consequently, understanding the processes governing the coupling of the estuary-coastal ocean system is vital to advancing the knowledge of the system-wide response to climate change and anthropogenic activities.  We welcome submissions examining the complex, multi-scale nature of estuarine and coastal buoyancy-driven flow dynamics using observational, numerical, theoretical, and/or laboratory methods.
Primary Chair:  Joseph T Jurisa, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, United States
Co-chairs:  Sarah N Giddings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States, Piero F Mazzini, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, United States and Rebecca H Jackson, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
Moderators:  Piero F Mazzini, Estuary & Ocean Science Center, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA, United States and Rebecca H Jackson, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison:  Sarah N Giddings, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States
Index Terms:

4217 Coastal processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4235 Estuarine processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL]
4528 Fronts and jets [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes [OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL]
Cross-Topics:
  • CD - Coastal Dynamics
  • OM - Ocean Modeling
  • PS - Physical Oceanography: Mesoscale and Smaller
  • PO - Physical Oceanography: Other

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

Turbulent plume dynamics at the ocean-glacier interface: buoyancy forcing from subglacial discharge versus submarine melt (309363)
Rebecca H Jackson, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States, Jonathan D Nash, Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, OR, United States, David Sutherland, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States, Jason M Amundson, University of Alaska Southeast, Department of Natural Sciences, Juneau, AK, United States, Christian Kienholz, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, United States, Eric D Skyllingstad, Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, United States and Roman J Motyka, Univ Alaska-Geophysical Inst, Juneau, AK, United States
Structure and variability of a buoyant river plume driven by a highly variable flow (308125)
Rebecca Adam McPherson, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, Craig L Stevens, Earth Sciences New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand, Joe O'Callaghan, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand, Drew J. Lucas, University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, United States and Jonathan D Nash, Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, OR, United States
The Role of Periodically Varying Discharge on River Plume Structure and Transport (324935)
Yeping Yuan, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and Alex R Horner-Devine, University of Washington Seattle Campus, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, United States

See more of: Estuarine Processes