THE IMPACT OF BAROCLINICITY ON SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN A REGION OF FRESHWATER INFLUENCE

Alejandro Jose Souza, CINVESTAV-IPN, Marine Resources, Merida, Mexico, Julie Pietrzak, Delft University of Technology, Environmental Fluid Mechanics, Delft, Netherlands, Alex R Horner-Devine, University of Washington Seattle Campus, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Seattle, United States, Sabine Rijnsburger, TU Delft, Delft, Netherlands and Raul Flores Audibert, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Department of Civil Engineering, Valparaíso, Chile
Abstract:
This work will describe the mechanisms by which the fresh water from the sediment transport along the. We will present observations from the STRAINS (STRAtification Impacts on Nearshore Sediment) set experiment, to investigate the role of baroclinic processes on sediment transport. The measurements included periods of persistent stratification, periods when tidal straining is important and a period in which there was no stratification when the freshwater was forced well offshore by northeasterly winds. We suggest that the effect of tidal straining and frontal passage generate cross-shore velocity due to tidal, which drives sediment offshore at depth.