Hydrodynamic Modeling of First-Order Transport Timescales in the St. Louis Bay Estuary, Mississippi
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 3
Abstract
The transport timescales residence time, exposure time, and age of water are evaluated for the St. Louis Bay estuary, Mississippi, to investigate the impacts of freshwater inflows and tidal dynamics from Mississippi Sound on the estuary’s transport characteristics. The timescales are explicitly defined and computed using a hydrodynamic model and tracer experiments for a set of 11 hydrologic scenarios designed to represent permanent low, average, and high flow conditions. Results indicate that (1) the estuary’s residence time can vary between 2.0 and 134.5 days during high and low flow conditions, respectively; (2) under low flow conditions dispersive processes caused by the tidal dynamics at the estuary’s open boundary may be dominant, and the returning flows can increase the exposure times up to 30% in relation to the residence times; (3) during high flow conditions advective transport caused by the freshwater flows may be dominant resulting in exposure times similar to the residence times; and, (4) there are important spatial variations in the estuary's flushing characteristics as evaluated by the age of water.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The authors also express appreciation for the valuable comments of the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor during the review process of the manuscript.
References
Arega, F., Armstrong, S., and Badr, A. W. (2008). “Modeling of residence time in the East Scott Creek Estuary, South Carolina, USA.” J. Hydro-Environ. Res., 2(2), 99–108.
Basu, B. K., and Pick, F. R. (1996). “Factors regulating phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass in temperate rivers.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 41(7), 1572–1577.
Bolin, B., and Rodhe, H. (1973). “A note on the concepts of age distribution and transit time in natural reservoirs.” Tellus, 25(1), 58–62.
Bricelj, M. V., and Lonsdale, D. J. (1997). “Aureococcus anophageflerens: Causes and ecological consequences of brown tides in U.S. mid-Atlantic coastal waters.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 42(5 Part 2), 1023–1038.
Bricker, S. B., Ferreira, J. G., and Simas, T. (2003). “An integrated methodology for assessment of estuarine trophic status.” Ecol. Modell., 169(1), 39–60.
Choi, K. W., and Lee, J. H. W. (2004). “Numerical determination of flushing time for stratified water bodies.” J. Mar. Syst., 50(3–4), 263–281.
Cole, T. M., and Wells, S. A. (2011). CE-QUAL-W2: A two-dimensional, laterally averaged, hydrodynamic and water quality model, version 3.7, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC.
De Brauwere, A., de Brye, B., Blaise, S., and Deleersnijder, E. (2011). “Residence time, exposure time and connectivity in the Scheldt Estuary.” J. Mar. Syst., 84(3–4), 85–95.
De Brye, B., de Brauwere, A., Gourge, O., Delhez, E. J. M., and Deleersnijder, E. (2012). “Water renewal timescales in the Sheldt Estuary.” J. Mar. Syst., 94(1), 74–86.
Deleersnijder, E., Campin, J. M., and Delhez, E. J. M. (2001). “The concept of age in marine modelling: I. Theory and preliminary model results.” J. Mar. Syst., 28(3–4), 229–267.
Delhez, E. J., Campin, J. M., Hirst, A. C., and Deleersnijder, E. (1999). “Toward a general theory of the age in ocean modelling.” Ocean Model., 1(1), 17–27.
Delhez, E. J. M., Heemink, A. W., and Deleersnijder, E. (2004). “Residence time in a semi-enclosed domain for the solution of an adjoint problem.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 61(4), 691–702.
England, M. H. (1995). “The age of water and ventilation timescales in a global ocean model.” J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25(11), 2756–2777.
Gong, W., Shen, J., and Hong, B. (2009). “The influence of wind on the water age in the tidal Rappahannock River.” Mar. Environ. Res., 68(4), 203–216.
Hamrick, J. M. (1992). A three-dimensional environmental fluid dynamics computer code: Theoretical and computational aspects, College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Williamsburg, VA.
Huang, W., Liu, X., Chen, X., and Flannery, M. (2010). “Estimating river flow effects on water ages by hydrodynamic modeling in Little Manatee River estuary, Florida, USA.” Environ. Fluid Mech., 10(1), 197–211.
Huang, W., Liu, X., Chen, X., and Flannery, M. (2011). “Critical flow for water management in a shallow tidal river based on estuarine residence time.” Water Resour. Manage., 25(10), 2367–2385.
Huang, W., and Spaulding, M. L. (1995). “Modeling of CSO-induced pollutant transport in Mt. Hope Bay.” J. Environ. Eng., 121(7), 492–498.
Huddleston, D. H., Kingery, W. L., Kieffer, J. M., Alacron, V., and Chen, W. (2003). Development of a comprehensive water quality model of the St. Louis Bay estuary and watershed, Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality, Jackson, MS.
Huddleston, D. H., Shindala, A., Zitta, V. L., and Hashim, N. B. (2001). Mathematical modeling for development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for fecal coliform bacteria in the St. Louis Bay watershed, Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, MS, 218.
Li, Y., Acharya, K., Chen, D., and Stone, M. (2010). “Modeling water ages and thermal structure of Lake Mead under changing water levels.” Lake Reservoir Manage., 26(4), 258–272.
Liu, W. C., Chen, W. B., and Hsu, M. H. (2011). “Using a three-dimensional particle-tracking model to estimate the residence time and age of water in a tidal estuary.” Comput. Geosci., 37(8), 1148–1161.
Liu, W. C., Chen, W. B., Kuo, J. T., and Wu, C. (2008a). “Numerical determination of residence time and age in a partially mixed estuary using three-dimensional hydrodynamic model.” Cont. Shelf. Res., 28(8), 1068–1088.
Liu, Z., Hashim, N. B., Kingery, W. L., and Huddleston, D. H. (2010). “Fecal coliform modeling under two flow scenarios in St. Louis Bay of Mississippi.” J. Environ. Sci. Heal. A, 45(3), 282–291.
Liu, Z., Hashim, N. B., Kingery, W. L., Huddleston, D. H., and Xia, M. (2008b). “Hydrodynamic modeling of St. Louis Bay estuary and watershed using EFDC and HSPF.” J. Coast. Res., Special Issue 52: Surface Water Modeling, 107–116.
Lowe, E. F., and Battoe, L. E. (2009). Alternative water supply cumulative impact assessment interim report, St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, FL.
Lucas, L. V. (2010). “Implications of estuarine transport for water quality.” Contemporary issues in estuarine physics, A. Valle-Levinson, ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 273–306.
Luketina, D. (1998). “Simple tidal prism models revisited.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 46(1), 77–84.
Martin, J. L., and Cole, T. M. (2000). Water quality modeling of J. Percy Priest reservoir using CE-QUAL-W2, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville, TN, 106.
Martin, J. L., and McCutcheon, S. C. (1999). Hydrodynamics and transport for water quality modeling, CRC, Boca Raton, FL.
Miller, R. L., and McPherson, B. F. (1991). “Estimating estuarine flushing and residence times in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, via salt balance and a box model.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 36(3), 602–612.
Monsen, N. E., Cloern, J. E., Lucas, L. V., and Monismith, S. G. (2002). “A comment on the use of flushing time, residence time, and age as transport time scales.” Limnol Oceanogr., 47(5), 1545–1553.
Nelson, A. W., and Lerseth, R. J. (1972). A study of dispersion capability of San Francisco Bay-Delta waters, California Dept. of Water Resources, Sacramento, CA.
Runkel, R. L. (1998). “One-dimensional transport with inflow and storage (OTIS): A solute transport model for streams and rivers.”, USGS, Reston, VA, 1–73.
Sanford, L. P., Boicourt, W. C., and Rives, S. R. (1992). “Model for estimating tidal flushing of small embayments.” J. Waterway Port Coastal Ocean Eng., 118(6), 635–654.
Shen, J., and Haas, L. (2004). “Calculating age and residence time in the tidal York River using three-dimensional model experiments.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 61(3), 449–461.
Shen, J., and Wang, H. V. (2007). “Determining the age of water and long-term transport timescale of the Chesapeake Bay.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 74(4), 585–598.
Sucsy, P., et al. (2010). A hydrodynamic model of the lower and middle St. Johns River in support of the water supply impact study: Hydrodynamic model results, St. Johns River Water Management District, Palatka, FL.
Takeoka, H. (1984). “Fundamental concepts of exchange and transport time scales in a coastal sea.” Cont. Shelf Res., 3(3), 311–326.
Thiele, G., and Sarmiento, J. L. (1990). “Tracer dating and ocean ventilation.” J. Geophys. Res., 95(C6), 9377–9391.
Valiela, I. J., McClelland, J., Hauxwell, P. J., Behrn, P. J., Hersh, D., and Foreman, K. (1997). “Macroalgal blooms in shallow estuaries: Controls and ecophysiological and ecosystem consequences.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 42(5_part_2), 1105–1118.
Vollenweider, R. A. (1976). “Advances in defining critical loading levels for phosphorous in lake eutrophication.” Mem. Ist. Ital. Idrobiol., 33, 53–86.
Wang, C. F., Hsu, M. H., and Kuo, A. Y. (2004). “Residence time of the Danshuei River estuary, Taiwan.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 60(3), 381–393.
Wool, A. T., Ambrose, R. B., Martin, J. L., and Corner, E. A. (2003). Water quality analysis simulation program (WASP), version 6: Draft users manual, Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA.
Yuan, D., Lin, B., and Falconer, R. A. (2007). “A modelling study of residence time in a macro-tidal estuary.” Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci., 71(3–4), 401–411.
Zhang, W. G., Wilkin, J. L., and Schofield, O. M. E. (2010). “Simulation of water age and residence time in the New York Bight.” J. Phys. Oceanogr., 40(5), 965–982.
Zimmerman, J. T. F. (1976). “Mixing and flushing of tidal embayments in the western Dutch Wadden Sea. Part 1: Distribution of salinity and calculation of mixing time scales.” Neth. J. Sea Res., 10(2), 149–191.
Zimmerman, J. T. F. (1988). “Estuarine residence times.” Hydrodynamics of estuaries, Vol. 1: Estuarine physics, B. Kjerfve, ed., CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 75–84.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 3 • March 2013
Pages: 317 - 331
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 12, 2012
Accepted: Sep 6, 2012
Published online: Sep 8, 2012
Published in print: Mar 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.