Turbulent mixing in a small estuary: Detailed measurements

Between 2003 and 2007, a series of field studies were performed in a typical small coastal plain type estuary (Eprapah Creek) located on the Southeast coast of Australia. The aim of these field studies was to investigate the turbulence and turbulent mixing properties in the estuarine zone. During these studies, high frequency turbulence and physio-chemistry data were collected continuously over a relatively long duration (up to 50 h). This article provides a summary of the key outcomes of these studies, highlighting the implications that these findings have on the modelling of small estuaries. The studies showed that the response of the turbulence and water quality properties were distinct under spring and neap tidal forcing and behaved differently in the middle and upper estuarine zones. The behaviour of turbulence properties to spring tidal forcing differed from that observed in larger estuaries and seemed unique to small estuarine systems. An investigation of several key turbulence parameters used in the modelling of estuarine mixing showed that many assumptions used in larger estuaries must be applied with caution or are simply untrue in small estuaries. For example the assumption that the mixing coefficient parameters are constant over the tidal cycle in a small estuary is simply untrue. These distinctions between the turbulence and mixing properties in small and large estuarine systems highlight the need for the continued study of small estuaries, so this type of system can be properly understood.