Print Email Facebook Twitter Analytical approach for predicting fresh water discharge in an estuary based on tidal water level observations Title Analytical approach for predicting fresh water discharge in an estuary based on tidal water level observations Author Cai, H. Savenije, H.H.G. Jiang, C. Faculty Civil Engineering and Geosciences Department Water Management Date 2014-06-27 Abstract As the tidal wave propagates into an estuary, the tidally averaged water level tends to rise in landward direction due to the density difference between saline and fresh water and the asymmetry of the friction. The effect of friction on the residual slope is even more remarkable when accounting for fresh water discharge. In this study, we investigate the influence of river discharge on tidal wave propagation in the Yangtze estuary with specific attention to residual water level slope. This is done by using a onedimensional analytical model for tidal hydrodynamics accounting for the residual water level. We demonstrate the importance of the residual slope on tidal dynamics and use it to improve the prediction of the tidal propagation in estuaries (i.e., tidal damping, velocity amplitude, wave celerity and phase lag), especially when the influence of river discharge is significant. Finally, we develop a new inverse analytical approach for estimating fresh water discharge on the basis of tidal water level observations along the estuary, which can be used as a tool to obtain information on the river discharge that is otherwise difficult to measure in the tidal region. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:1345475a-16ed-4ff5-aeb0-17aeab798138 DOI https://doi.org/10.5194/hessd-11-7053-2014 Publisher European Geosciences Union ISSN 1812-2108 Source Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 11, 2014 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2014 The Author(s) 2014CC Attribution 3.0 License Files PDF Cai_2014.pdf 2.65 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:1345475a-16ed-4ff5-aeb0-17aeab798138/datastream/OBJ/view