Vertical Mixing in Stratified Tidal Flows

Abstract

A set of mixing length functions based on an adaption of the theories of Prandtl, Rossby, Montgomery, and Ellison are presented as a means of calculating the internal shear stresses and vertical flux of solutes in gradually varying turbulent stratified tidal flows. Field observations, made in a straight canalized reach of an estuary, were used to determine the best-fit values of empirical coefficients in generalized relationships between the mixing lengths and gradient Richardson Number. The main purpose of the research was to improve the representation of vertical exchange processes in mathematical models of estuaries.