1. Puget Sound Oceanography
An introduction by Fritz Stahr & Christian Sarason
Outline
estuary definition
examples - PS, SF Bay, Chesapeake
tides & other cycles (view model runs)
exercise with real data

2. An estuary is... A place where river(s) meets the ocean...
Where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico is not an estuary, though some side drainage is.
San Francisco Bay where the Central Valley rivers meets the Pacific is an estuary.
that has surrounding land and a limited opening...

3. An estuary is...
A place where river(s) meet the ocean that has surrounding land and a limited opening...
and where the fresh and salt water mix.
Puget Sound is an estuary; it is connected to the Pacific ocean through the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

4. U.S. Estuary Examples
Chesapeake Bay

9. Different bathymetry makes for different circulation and mixing
“Standard” deep mouth - e.g., Chesapeake, Tampa & SF Bay
With a sill - “fjord” - e.g., Puget Sound

10. Different river flow makes for different circulation and mixing
High river flow + weak tides = strong salt wedge
Low river flow + stong tides = well mixed

11. A quick reminder on tides in Puget Sound...
Each day there are two high and two low tides here, but they’re unequal...we call it “semi-diurnal mixed.”

12. A quick reminder on tides in Puget Sound...
Every other week, the “phase” or type of tidal range changes between “spring” - large differences between high and low- and “neap” - smaller differences. This plays a role in circulation within the Sound.
Predicitons for Seattle, WA 24 Feb Mar 2004

13. Let’s see some of this in Puget Sound via a numerical model - courtesy of Mitsuhiro Kawase, UW and Christian Sarason, OIP