Modeling of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Baltimore Harbor

Shen, Jian; Hong, Bo; Schugam, Leonard; Zhao, Yuan; White, Jeff J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.05.025

Cited by 12 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Even though there is a high potential of material released from the tributaries in the lower Bay and the coastal ocean to be transported to the upper Bay, the movement toward the upper Bay in the bottom layers is very slow. The mean bottom inflow is with a magnitude of 1~2 cm/s, and thus, a water parcel at the mouth needs 100–200 days to reach the upper Bay (Hong & Shen, ; Shen et al, ). Transport of material released at the lower estuary is more sensitive to the coastal dynamics, such as upwelling, dispersion of the river plume, and shelf currents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Five major rivers (i.e., Susquehanna River, Potomac River, Rappahannock River, York River, and James River) contribute about 90% of the total freshwater discharge to the Chesapeake Bay (Guo & Valle‐Levinson, ; Hargis, ). The Susquehanna River, located at the north end of the Bay, is widely known to exert a dominant control on a variety of aspects in the middle‐upper Bay, significantly affecting the stratification, sedimentation, nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen, and contaminants in this region (Ko & Baker, ; Schubel & Pritchard, ; Shen et al, ). Meanwhile, materials discharged from the main tributaries (e.g., Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers) have the potential to be transported to the middle‐upper Bay through the bottom layers by the persistent gravitational circulation (Goodrich & Blumberg, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transport of Riverine Material From Multiple Rivers in the Chesapeake Bay: Important Control of Estuarine Circulation on the Material Distribution

Shen

2017

JGR Biogeosciences

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Driven by estuarine circulation, material released from lower Chesapeake Bay tributaries has the potential to be transported to the upper Bay. How far and what fraction of the material from tributaries can be carried to the upper estuary have not been quantitatively investigated. For an estuary system with multiple tributaries, the relative contribution from each tributary can provide valuable information for source assessment and fate prediction for riverine materials and passive moving organisms. We conducted long‐term numerical simulations using multiple passive tracers that are independently released in the headwater of five main rivers (i.e., Susquehanna, Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James Rivers) and calculated the relative contribution of each river to the total material in the mainstem. The results show that discharge from Susquehanna River exerts the dominant control on the riverine material throughout the entire mainstem. Despite the smaller contribution from the lower‐middle Bay tributaries to the total materials in the mainstem, materials released from these rivers have a high potential to be transported to the middle‐upper Bay through the bottom inflow by the persistent estuarine circulation. The fraction of the tributary material transported to the upper Bay depends on the location of the tributary. Materials released near the mouth are subject to a rapid flushing process, small retention time, and strong shelf current. Our results reveal three distinct spatial patterns for materials released from the main river, tributary, and coastal oceans. This study highlights the important control of estuarine circulation over horizontal and vertical distributions of materials in the mainstem.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%