Cyclonic Spirals in Tidally Accelerating Bottom Boundary Layers in the Zhujiang (Pearl River) Estuary

Abstract

Abstract A velocity spiral in the tidally accelerating bottom boundary layer (BBL) was defined as a directional shear of the prevailing flow with the elevation and the tidal phase. However, so far there is no information on the spiral for the oscillatory BBL flows or a valid explanation for its origin, life history, and persistence. To investigate this rotating current in the tidally accelerating BBL flow, the authors performed instrumented tripod observations in the tidally energetic Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary. The tidal BBL flows may fall into three distinct regimes: (i) the quasi-steady phase in the peak tide; (ii) the accelerating–decelerating phase at the slack tide; and (iii) the transition between (i) and (ii), when a cyclonic spiral occurs only in the early–late ebb. The subcritical spiral, defined by a Froude number of the oscillatory BBL flow, may be analytically examined by unsteady linearized turbulent BBL equations. The spiral is formed under the momentum balance between local acceleration and bottom friction, independent of stratification conditions. The spiral consists of the “diffusive” and oscillatory boundary layers in the streamwise and spanwise direction, respectively. The streamwise spiral presents an exponential degradation (growth) in the decelerating (accelerating) ebb, indicating its limited life history over a tidal cycle. The transient in bottom stresses induced by the growth or the degradation of the spiral may be the mechanism for sediment trapping in the very little bed friction in the tidal estuary.