Estimation of Bottom Stress and Roughness in Lower Chesapeake Bay by the Inertial Dissipation Method

Authors

  • J. P. Xu
  • L. D. Wright
  • J. D. Boon

Keywords:

Chesapeake Bay, estuaries, boundary layer, Kolmogorov spectrum, shear stress

Abstract

Shear velocities and associated hydraulic roughness lengths, z0 and drag coefficients CD (100) were estimated for the bay-stem plains environment of lower Chesapeake Bay (depth 11-12 m) under calm conditions during winter. A modified inertial dissipation method was applied to field data obtained from an array of electromagnetic current meters supported by a bottom-mounted tripod. A wave-current boundary layer model (GRANT and MADSEN, 1986) was applied to the same set of data. The results show that wen wave activity is minimal, the bed is dominated by biologic roughness with z0 and CD (100) values of about 0.05 cm and 2.7 X 10-3 respectively.

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Published

1994-04-20

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 2 (1994): Journal of Coastal Research

Section

Articles

License

Authorization for personal use is granted by the Coastal Education and Research Foundation [CERF]. By submitting a manuscript, the authors agree that the copyright for their article is transferred to the publisher if the article is accepted for publication. Assignment of copyright is not required, however, from authors who work for organizations which do not permit such assignment, The copyright covers the exclusive rights to reprduce and distribute the article, inclduing reprints, photographic reproductions, microform, or any other reproductions of a similar nature, and translations.