The large-scale mixing and the estuarine circulation in the Skagerrak; calculations from observations of the salinity and velocity fields

Abstract

The flow in the estuarine circulation and the large-scale mixing in the Skagerrak are calculated from repeated observations of the salinity and velocity fields at two sections. The calculations are performed with salinity and time as independent variables and improved by the use of volume and salt conservation. The estimated magnitude of the upwelling of deep water associated with the estuarine circulation in the Skagerrak is 4×10⁵ m³ s^-1. This corresponds to a horizontally-averaged entrainment velocity of 2 mday^-1. The lateral mixing of salt from the open sea into the low-salinity water along the Swedish and Norwegian coasts is calculated to be about 1.3 kg s^-1 m^-1. The results of this paper can be used to calculate transports of other constituents in the sea water.