TIDAL EXCHANGE AT GOLDEN GATE

Tidal exchange can be a powerful mechanism for flushing pollutants from bays and estuaries. Tidal exchange is defined by a ratio describing the portion of the flooding tide which is ocean water entering the bay for the first time. An interagency program, headed by Brown and Caldwell and the State of California Department of Water Resources, was organized to undertake the measurement of tide exchange ratio at the mouth of the Golden Gate. A theory was developed which allowed tidal exchange to be derived from measurements of a naturally occurring tracer, chloride. Field measurements of the tracer were made on two occasions for an ebb tide and a following flood tide, and for background ocean conditons. An exact description of flow through the ocean-bay interface is not required. Tidal exchange during the dry weather period of low fresh water inflow to the estuary was found to correlate with flood tide range and to average 24%.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Order paper number 8810.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  345 East 47th Street
  New York, NY  United States  10017-2398
• Authors:
  • PARKER, D
  • NORRIS, D
  • Nelson, A
• Publication Date: 1972-4

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 305-323
• Serial:
  • Journal of Sanitary Engineering Division
  • Volume: 98
  • Issue Number: SA2
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Estuaries; Oil spills; Sanitary engineering; Water pollution; Water quality management
• Old TRIS Terms: Estuarine pollution; Oil spill behavior
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00034787
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: American Society of Civil Engineers
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 29 1973 12:00AM