Residence Time of Freshwater in Boston's Inner Harbor
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 124, Issue 2
Abstract
Two field tracer studies and some numerical model experiments were used to analyze the residence time of freshwater in Boston's inner harbor, and thereby help evaluate water quality impacts of combined sewer overflows. An exponential filter was used to modify the freshwater fraction approach for variable freshwater inflow and to reanalyze data from Bumpus et al. (1953). Results showed an inverse relationship between residence time and inflow rate, with times ranging from 2 to 10 d. An instantaneous dye study gave a residence time of 3.75 d, consistent with the freshwater measurements for conditions of summertime low flow. A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model applied to a schematized domain was able to reproduce trends observed in both the freshwater and dye studies.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 124 • Issue 2 • March 1998
Pages: 82 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Mar 1, 1998
Published in print: Mar 1998
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