Estuaries Vol. 13, No. 2, p.

125-132 June 1990

Tidal Straining, Density Currents, and

Stirring in the Control of
Estuarine Stratification

J. H. S IMPSON
J. BROWN
J. MATTHEWS
G. ALLEN
School of Ocean Sciences UCNW
Marine Science Laboratories
Menai Bridge
Gwynedd
United Kingdom

ABSTRACT: Buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters.
Predicting the development and breakdown of such stratification is an inherently more difficult problem than that
involved in the analogous case of stratification induced by surface heating because the buoyancy input originates
at the lateral boundaries. In the approach adopted here, we have adapted the energy considerations used in the
surface heating problem to describe the competition between the stabilizing effect of fresh water and the vertical
mixing brought about by tidal and wind stirring. Freshwater input induces horizontal gradients which drive the
estuarine circulation in which lighter fluid at the surface is moved seaward over heavier fluid moving landward
below. This contribution to stratification is expected to vary in time as the level of turbulence varies over the tidal
cycle. The density gradient also interacts directly with the vertical shear in the tidal current to induce a periodic
input to stratification which is positive on the ebb phase of the tide. Comparison of this input with the available
stirring energy leads to a simple criterion for the existence of strain-induced stratification. Observations in a region
of Liverpool Bay satisfying this criterion confirm the occurrence of a strong semidiurnal variation in stratification
with complete vertical mixing apparent around high water except at neap tides when more permanent stratification
may develop. A simulation of the monthly cycle based on a model including straining, stirring, and the estuarine
circulation is in qualitative agreement with the main features of the observations.

Introduction tion, so the development of stratification depends

Understanding the development and breakdown
of stratification is a key objective of shallow sea and
estuarine oceanography. The level of stratification
in the water column is crucial in controlling the
intensity of vertical mixing and hence the vertical
fluxes of water properties such as heat, salt, mo-
mentum, and the nutrient elements. The latter may
be of critical importance in limiting biological pro-
duction. By inhibiting vertical displacement, strat-
ification also serves to influence the degree of light
exposure experienced by marine organisms. Phy-
toplankton located in a shallow layer above a strong
pycnocline receive a much more generous input of
light energy than in an environment where vertical
mixing is complete and the plankton are regularly
displaced over the full depth.
Stratification is thus a fundamental control on
primary production. Its relationship to vertical
mixing is equally a question of considerable phys-
ical interest and some subtlety since, just as the
level of vertical mixing is controlled by stratifica-
on the vertical fluxes of density which result from
the mixing processes.
In the most basic approach to the problem of
predicting stratification, we assume that the strat-
ifying effect of buoyancy inputs and the mixing
produced through mechanical stirring by winds and
tides act independently. The competition between
these influences determines the existence or ab-
sence of stratification. This approach has achieved
some success for areas of the shelf seas, remote
from estuarine influence, where the only stratify-
ing agency is the input of heat at the surface. Models
incorporating surface heating together with stir-
ring by tidal currents and wind stress give a satis-
factory first-order account of the partitioning of
the European and other shelf sea areas into well-
mixed and stratified regimes separated by transi-
tional frontal zones (Simpson et al. 1978; Simpson
198 1). The positions of these fronts are satisfac-
torily predicted by the h/u3 criterion which is based
on the simplest model in which only heating and

Q 1990 Estuarine Research Federation 125 0160-8347/90/020125-06$01 SO/O

126 J. H. Simpson et al.
tidal stirring are considered (Simpson and Hunter
1974). More elaborate models include the effect of
wind stirring and allow the surface heat flux to be
influenced by sea-surface temperature so that the
seasonal cycles of temperature structure and heat
storage can be predicted (Simpson and Bowers
1984). These models have also been adapted to
allow for the fact that the efficiency of stirring is
not constant but is dependent on the level of strat-
ification (Simpson and Bowers 1981).
By contrast with these developments for the
heating-stirring problem, we do not yet have useful
models capable of predicting the onset and break-
down of stratification for regions where there is a
significant input of buoyancy in the form of fresh
water. The fundamental difficulty is that, unlike
buoyancy input by surface heating which is more
or less spatially uniform over large areas of the
ocean, freshwater buoyancy is mainly input from
one or more discrete sources at the lateral bound-
aries. This form of input effectively precludes the
straightforward use of local exchange models like
those employed in the heating-stirring problem.
In this paper we aim to address the question of
freshwater-induced stratification from a viewpoint
stimulated by some recent experiments on the in-
teraction of density currents and vertical mixing
(Linden and Simpson 1986) and a time-series of
salinity stratification obtained from a mooring in
Liverpool Bay. We shall develop a model of the
growth and decay of stratification based on energy
considerations and including local contributions to
stratification from the estuarine circulation and the
interaction of the tidal shear with the horizontal
density gradient. The important role played by the
latter in inducing short-term periodic stratification
is then explored in a simulation of the springs-
neaps cycle.
Model Framework
Following the approach used in previous models
of the heating-stirring competition (e.g., Simpson
and Bowers 198 l), we consider the processes mod-
ifying the stratification which is specified by the
scalar parameter 4:
,G=; _’ p dz
s h
where p (z) is the density profile over the water
column of depth h. C$(units Jmms) is the work re-
quired to bring about complete mixing. When only
heating and stirring are important, we can describe
the time development of 4 by
%Q
d4 --
-= & ckp$ - bkspsF
dt 25
The first term on the right represents the increase
in stratification due to surface heating at a rate Q,
while the second and third terms are due to stirring
by a tidal current of amplitude ui and wind of
speed W, respectively. E and 6 are the correspond-
ing efficiencies of mixing and k and k, are the ef-
fective drag coefficients for bottom and surface
stresses. (Y and cr. are the thermal expansion coef-
ficient and specific heat of seawater and p, is the
density of air.
This formulation is readily extended to situa-
tions where buoyancy is also input by fresh water
if we can regard this additional buoyancy source
as being uniformly distributed over the surface as
we assume for the Q input. Freshwater input as
rain may approximately fulfil this condition so that,
for a precipitation rate I) (m s-i), we can write the
combined buoyancy source term as
(gh=;($+hp)
where Ap is the density difference between sea water
and fresh water.
In areas within and adjacent to estuaries, how-
ever, the main input of freshwater buoyancy is from
river discharge (R) which enters from sources at
the lateral boundaries. In this case, the buoyancy
is distributed in the horizontal by the local current
system which will be at least partly buoyancy-driv-
en. It is not therefore generally possible to make
any simple assumption about the local input of
buoyancy in terms of the total river discharge.
Nonetheless, attempts have been made to relate
the distributions of stratification and the tidal stir-
ring intensity in areas of freshwater influence,
sometimes with a fair degree of success (e.g., Bow-
man and Essaias 1981). Such correlation of the
distributions suggests that the flow regime acts to
distribute the buoyancy in a more or less uniform
way over the stratified area. If generally true, this
would seem to open the way to application of the
model with a freshwater buoyancy input corre-
sponding to R/A where A is the stratified area.
We should note, however, that A is itself a function
of the freshwater input R and the stirring and is
part of the solution rather than a fixed input pa-
rameter (see Fig. 1).
It would seem, therefore, that there is no simple
way to deal with the problem of freshwater input
as specified by the discharge rate R, and we proceed
to explore an alternative viewpoint.
Stratification Induced by the
Estuarine Circulation
The freshwater input from rivers induces sub-
stantial horizontal gradients of density in estuaries
and the surrounding waters. These density gradi-
 Estuarine Stratification 127

-p_
--- A__

(ESTURRY)
(OCEAN) UC3
P
+- \

Fig. 1. Schematic of a stratified region maintained by freshwater input in competition with bottom stirring. The estuarine
circulation u(z) moves light water offshore at the surface and heavier water onshore in the lower layers thus increasing stratification.

ents drive a shear flow circulation with low density Substituting in (1)
water flowing offshore at the surface and higher
density water moving shoreward at the bottom (Fig.
I)*
We can determine the contribution of such a
shear flow to 4 as follows: the derivative of 4 with i.e.,
respect to time is
(2)
Alternative forms of u(z) based on different bot-
where we have neglected the periodic change in 4 tom boundary conditions lead to closely analogous
due to the tidal variation in h. For horizontal flow results with the difference only in the numerical
in the x direction the density advection equation factor. A result similar to eqn. 2 was obtained by
is just Bowden (198 1) and estimates of this stratifying term
ap ap in the equation were made by Czitrom (198 1) on
the basis of measured profiles of velocity and den-
dt= -“ax
sity.
ap If estuarine circulation is the only stabilizing in-
which, if - is independent of z, implies
ax fluence and is opposed only by tidal stirring, then
we may write as the condition for the maintenance
a;
-= _u- ap of stratification:
at ax
a@ 4E 9
so that
0 dt,
z-kkps
37r h

(u - tYi)zdz
-~1 g2h4 0 -ap * z-kkps
(I) 4E 3
320 N,p dx 3~ h
a result which allows us to calculate the input to 4
for any known form of the velocity profile u(z). or
To represent the velocity shear due to estuarine
circulation, we use the well-known steady state flow CkN
L 136; X constant (3)
in which the pressure gradient is balanced by fric-
g2
tional forces. With a no-slip condition at the bot-
tom boundary, the velocity profile is given by (e.g., This result, equivalent forms of which have been
Officer 1976, p. 118) derived for other velocity profiles (Bowden 198 1;
Van Aken 1986; Nunes and Lennon 1987) is
somewhat akin to the much-used ah/u3 criterion
for the heating-stirring case. It differs from the
128 J. H. Simpson et al.
Fig. 2. Schematic of tidal straining: (a) isolines vertical at start
of ebb (b) stratification induced by shear on the ebb modified
by top and bottom mixing.
latter in that it depends on the local horizontal
density gradient, which is determined by the over-
all advection-diffusion balance, rather than the
source strength R for freshwater input which is the
ap
equivalent of a. Since z is not readily obtained
except by reference to observation, the criterion
represented by eqn. 3 is less fundamental and more
difficult to apply than the heating-stirring condi-
tion.
It should also be remembered that the eddy vis-
cosity, N,, cannot properly be treated as a constant
because of the very large changes in the tidal cur-
rent and, hence, the intensity of turbulence and
vertical mixing over the tidal cycle. The variation
in N, may be described by the simple form (Bowden
1953):
N, = ylulh
where 1Q 1 is the depth mean speed of the current.
Large values of N,, occurring during the main
flood and ebb when mixing is strong, may effec-
tively suppress the density current and restrict its
stratifying action to times near slackwater. This
alternation of periods of density current flow and
strong vertical mixing has been illuminated in a
recent series of experiments using a lock-exchange
tank equipped with an air bubble system to induce
vertical mixing (Linden and Simpson 1986). The
density current regime set up by the removal of a
barrier between different density fluids is disrupted
by mixing induced by the bubbles. The vertical
structure is largely destroyed and what horizontal
transport there is in response to the horizontal
gradient may be regarded as a shear diffusion pro-
cess. When the mixing is switched-off the density
current regime is rapidly restored with a conse-
quent increase in the horizonital fluxes and the
rapid development of a stratified structure.
Contribution from Tidal Straining
In the real world, the simple picture of alter-
nating periods of high and low mixing is compli-
cated by the influence of the vertical shear in the
tidal current which is not (as yet) represented in
the laboratory experiments.
The shear acts on the horizontal density gradient
to induce vertical structure by the mechanism il-
lustrated in Fig. 2. Isolines of salinity which are
initially vertical at the start of the ebb are distorted
by differential displacement, with the lighter sur-
face water moving faster seaward and overtaking
heavier more saline water in the lower layers and
thus generating a stable structure. Vertical mixing
by wind stress near the surface and tidal stress at
the bottom will tend to transform the structure
into a two-layer profile with a sharp halocline.
Knowing the velocity profile we can readily es-
timate the contribution to C$of the shear process.
A widely used form of u(z) is that given by Bowden
and Fairbairn (1952) which can be written in the
simple form:
~(0 = ti(a - b {*)
a = 1.15; b = 0.425
Substituting into eqn. 1, the rate of increase of 4
due to tidal straining is
Hence
(4)
0x
a4
St
= 0.031ghCi$x
On the flood the process will be reversed and, even
in the absence of mixing, the stratification induced
on the ebb will be eliminated by the end of the
flood so that there will be a periodic fluctuation in
stability. Tidal stirring will oppose the develop-
ment of stratification on the ebb and accelerate its
breakdown on the flood. A condition for the oc-
currence of significant Strain-Induced Periodic
Stratification (SIPS) is that the average input over
the ebb half cycle
ap
0 a4 2 x
atst=7r 0.03lghu -
lax
should be greater than the mean tidal stirring pow-
er over the same period
 Estuarine Stratification

5
km. 0

-5

km. O-

AS %.

Fig. 3. Liverpool Bay with contours of ur near the mooring

position which is marked by the diamond symbol. The positions
of CTD stations (marked by ‘&) have been corrected for tidal
displacement to show the equivalent position at mid-tide. The
location of the E-W section of Fig. 6 is shown by the straight
line at latitude 53”35’.

P, = & ek$ s-

o-k”’
that is, 1.0
-5-

-10i
AS %.
(5)

where k = 2.5 x 10m3 and we take 6 = 0.004, a

value determined from the distribution of thermal
stratification in shelf seas (Simpson and Bowers I
16 17
I
18 19
1981). May 1985.

At a chosen location where h and u, are fixed,
this condition determines the minimum horizontal
density gradient parallel to the tidal flow necessary
to produce SIPS. Comparison of this threshold gra-
dient with observed salinity gradients should per-
mit the ready identification of candidate regions
for the occurrence of SIPS.
Observations in Liverpool Bay
To assess the importance of these stratifying
mechanisms and their possible interaction, we have
examined a month-long series of observations of
the vertical salinity, velocity, and temperature
structure obtained as sea-truth data during the 1985
OSCR H.F. radar experiment in Liverpool Bay
(Matthews et al. 1988; Prandle 1988). Current me-
ters with temperature and salinity sensors were lo-
cated at 3, 30, and 35 m above the seabed in water
of mean depth 44.5 m at a position north of the
Great Orme (Fig. 3) where strong E-W gradients
Fig. 4. Salinity difference and displacement data from the
mooring in Liverpool Bay for the period April 24-May 20,
1985. (a) Difference AS between near-surface and near-bottom
salinity. Interval between arrows indicates the time of the CTD
section of Fig. 6. (b) High-pass-filtered eastward (positive) dis-
placement as determined from the near-surface current meter.
(c) High-pass-filtered relative displacement between the surface
and bottom current meters. (d) Low-pass-filtered displacement
for the near-surface and near-bottom current meters (top-bot-
tom). (lower section) Expanded scales plot of AS with relative
and absolute displacements for period May 16-18, 1985. The
displacement data were processed using complementary high-
pass and low-pass filters with a cutoff at a period of 24 hours
and roll-off of 12 db per octave.
of salinity generally prevail (Czitrom 198 1). At the
time of the deployment (April 24-May 2 1, 1985),
observations of the spatial distribution of temper-
ature and salinity indicated that the E-W gradient
in the vicinity of the mooring was given by
I ap
--_-N 3.2 x lop8 m-i
P ax

08
6
04
(ms-11 o formulations
-04
-08
Fig. 5. Model simulation of stratification over one month.
(a) Current velocity based on constituents M,, S,, and N,. (b)
Mean cubed speed which controls the intensity of tidal stirring.
(c) @based on a model incorporating straining and tidal stirring
only. Model parameters: h = 45 m; $2 = 5 x lo-* m-l. (d) 4
based on model including the density current. N, is allowed to
vary with u according to eqn. 4 with y = 3.33 x lo-* and the
condition that N, does not fall below a minimum of 0.15 m* SK’.
which may be compared with the requirement of
eqn. 5 with ui = 0.64 m s-l (MJ and h = 44.5 m
that is,
--1 ap 2==4.5 x 1O-g m-l
P ax
The clear inference is that the straining term will
dominate and produce periodic stratification, a tidal cycle in accordance with eqn. 4.
conclusion confirmed by the time series of the sur-
face-bottom salinity difference plotted in Fig. 4a.
Episodes of significant stratification (AS > 0.4),
lasting for several hours, were found to alternate
with periods of complete vertical mixing, (AS = 0)
at the semidiurnal frequency. The maximum strat-
ification occurs close to low water slack at the limit
of the westward tidal excursion. Comparison of the
phase of the relative displacement between the top
and bottom current meters with that of AS strongly
suggests the operation of the tidal straining mech-
anism (Fig. 4e).
At the same time, there are indications of more
permanent stratification developing at the time of
minimum mixing around neaps. A continuous pe-
riod of stratification of 3 days occurs, for example,
April 2’7-30 and there is a tendency toward similar
behaviour at the following neaps though the effect
is less clear. In both cases there is a weakening of
the semidiurnal signal for a period close to neaps.
The occurrence of episodes of more enduring
stratification near neaps may be attributed to the
direct effect of reduced tidal stirring and also pos-
sibly to enhancement of the density current when
N, is reduced. There is, however, no clear indi-
cation of the latter effect in the plots of low-pass-
filtered displacements of the top and bottom layers
shown in Fig. 4d. Flow in the bottom layer is gen-
erally onshore at a speed 3 cm s-l while in the upper
layer it is rather variable with a mean offshore
movement - 1 cm s-’ over the period of observa-
tion.
Simulation of the Springs-Neaps Cycle
On the assumption that the contributions to
stratification by tidal straining and the estuarine
circulation are independent, we may combine the
of sections 3 and 4 and, providing
wind stirring is negligible, write
$!=($).+($-ekpy
g2h4 dp * _ tkplw
= O.OSlghD$ + 0.0031- - -
N,P 0 ax h
To introduce the main features of the springs-neaps
cycle, we represent u by the three largest semi-
diurnal constituents (M2, S2, N2) that is,
3
Q = C a,cos(qt + Xi)
1
where wi is the constituent frequency and the am-
plitude (a,) and phase (Xi) are determined from the
data by the standard least squares procedure. N,
may be held constant or allowed to vary over the
With these assumptions and taking $ from ob-
servation, we may integrate eqn. 5 forward in time
from an initial condition of 4 = 0 at highwater
springs tides. Results of such computations, with
and without the estuarine circulation included, are
shown in Fig. 5. Including only tidal stirring and
straining results in semidiurnal ‘pulses’ of stratifi-
cation separated by short periods of complete mix-
ing. The semidiurnal signal is strongest at springs
and weakest at neaps in accord with the trend noted
in the observations.
Adding the estuarine circulation (Fig. 5d) intro-
duces periods of more permanent stratification at
neaps, again in qualitative agreement with the ob-
servations. In the example shown, N, varies with

u according to eqn. 4 with y = 3.3 x lo-* but is
not allowed to fall below a minimum value of N,
= 0.15 m* S-r. This value of y, which is about an
order of magnitude higher than normally used, is
necessary to avoid the development of runaway
stratification. Rather similar results are obtained
if the value of N, is fixed at a constant value of N,
= 0.28 m* s-l, which corresponds to the value of
N, at peak Q with y = 8 x lo-+. The numerical
values of 4 may be roughly converted to an equiv-
alent AS by assuming a two-layer structure for which
the potential energy anomaly is just
g@Ashh,
’ = 2(h, + h2)
where h, and h, are the upper and lower layer
depths, respectively, and /3= *. With h, = 15 m
and h, = 30 m ell
C
AS = 0.0254
so the maximum AS N 0.18, which is rather less
than the observed values.
Discussion
The clear implication of our observations and
the model simulations is that the main controls on
stratification in this area of Liverpool Bay are (i)
tidal straining, (ii) tidal mixing, and (iii) estuarine
circulation. Other processes such as surface heat-
ing and wind stirring will also be important at times
and would need to be included in more realistic
simulations of the time evolution of stratification,
but the known persistence of large horizontal gra-
dients in the region ensures that there will usually
be strong inputs from mechanisms (i) and (iii).
Our results highlight the particular contribution
of mechanism (i), tidal straining, in producing rel-
atively large semidiurnal episodes of haline strati-
fication in a way which has not been previously
emphasized in the literature, although it is clearly
apparent in many earlier observations. We would
expect similar behaviour to occur wherever hori-
zontal gradients are strong enough to satisfy our
criterion (eqn. 5).
We have assumed in the model that the hori-
zontal density gradient is spatially uniform and in-
variant in time. Trials suggest that a better fit to
the observed AS variation would be obtained using
an E-W density change which includes a quadratic
dP
term so that z varies with x. We have not pursued
this approach here, principally because our aim has
been to demonstrate the essential mechanisms with
the simplest model but also because we have no
Estuarine Stratification 131
3’5O’W. 3’2O’W.
<
o-
10 -
E’
.
f zo-
D
m -
&l
G 30-
3
40 -
c
La‘
34.0
50
Fig. 6. E-W section on 53”35’N (see Fig. 3). CTD stations
were worked between 2217 h May 6, 1985 and 0015 h May 7,
1985. High water time = 0027 h May 7.
sound basis for estimating the nonlinear term in
PM.
It is important to recognize that the observed
variation in AS is a time-dependent-effect occurring
over a large area of Liverpool Bay and not a local
effect due to the tidal advection of a stratified struc-
ture past the point of observation. This interpre-
tation is confirmed by E-W sections of density taken
near high water like that shown in Fig. 6 which
has virtually complete mixing over the whole sec-
tion during periods when AS at the mooring po-
sition was very close to zero for a period of -4
hours (see Fig. 4a).
We might expect such periods of intense mixing
at the end of the flood, especially as the tidal range
increases toward springs, when the tidal straining
acts to produce vertical instability which will drive
convective mixing. In this respect straining, which
is otherwise reversible, can lead to the irreversible
transfer of salt through the water column and hence
contribute to the landward salt flux.
For the levels of mixing observed in Liverpool
Bay, the magnitude of SIPS is greatest at springs.
This is, however, not always the case. With in-
creasing tidal stream amplitude, simulations show
that the us tidal stirring term in eqn. 5 becomes
progressively more significant and eventually dom-
inates, so that complete mixing occurs over almost
the entire semidiurnal cycle for a period around
springs and the maximum SIPS occurs near neaps.
At some intermediate level of stirring, the maxi-
mum SIPS occurs between neaps and springs.
The operation of the density current mechanism
is evident in the generation of periods of more
permanent stratification near neaps when stirring
is reduced. The modulation of the density current
132 J. H. Simpson et al.
on the time scale of the semidiurnal tidal and fort-
nightly cycles is less clearly defined in the obser-
vations. Enhancement of the density-driven flow
around low water slack when N, is reduced should
result in a delay in the time of maximum stratifi-
cation to some time after the maximum relative
displacement. Such a phase lag is not readily in-
ferred from the AS record which exhibits signifi-
cant short-period variability during each episode
of stratification (see Fig. 4e).
There may, however, be indications of the pref-
erential action of the density current during the
latter part of ebb in the asymmetric waveform of
the relative displacement which shows westward
movement for - 7.5 hours of the semidiurnal cycle.
The maximum relative westward displacement is
delayed - 1.5 hours after slackwater at the surface
while at high water, when the column is vertically
mixed, the two turning points are virtually coin-
cident. This asymmetry between ebb and flood may
reflect the interaction of tidal straining and the
density current, that is, stratification produced by
straining on the ebb will reduce N, and hence fa-
cilitate the density current which will reach a max-
imum around slack water of the barotropic tidal
current.
Conclusions
1) Freshwater buoyancy inputs operate to induce
stratification in coastal waters by driving a density
current flow which will be modulated by tidal vari-
ations in vertical mixing.
2) Tidal straining acts on the horizontal density
gradient in a way which tends to produce periodic
stratification with stability increasing on the ebb
and decreasing on the flood.
3) Both these stratifying mechanisms are op-
posed by tidal stirring. Comparison of the stirring
intensity with each of the stratification inputs leads
to criteria for enduring and periodic stratification.
4) A first-order linear simulation of the compe-
tition between these processes with a fixed hori-
zontal density gradient reproduces the principal
features of a time-series record of haline stratifi-
cation in Liverpool Bay over two spring-neap cycles.
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Received for consideration, March 4, 1988
Accepted for publication, June 8, 1988