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Generation of overtides and compound tides in Amazon estuary

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Abstract

Tidal propagation in estuaries is affected by friction and fresh water discharge, besides changes in the depth and morphology of the channel. Main distortions imply variations in the mean water level and asymmetry. Tidal asymmetry can be important as a mechanism for sediment accumulation and turbidity maximum formation in estuaries, while mean water level changes can affect navigation depths. Data from several gauges stations from the Amazon estuary and the adjacent coast were analyzed and a 2DH hydrodynamic model was configured in a domain covering the continental shelf up to the last section of the river where the tidal signature is observed. Based on data, theoretical and numerical results, the various influences in the generation of estuarine harmonics are presented, including that of fresh water discharge. It is shown that the main overtide, M4, derived from the most important astronomic component in the Amazon estuary, M2, is responsible for the tidal wave asymmetry. This harmonic has its maximum amplitude at the mouth, where minimum depths are found, and then decreases while tide propagates inside the estuary. Also, the numerical results show that the discharge does not affect water level asymmetry; however, the Amazon river discharge plays an important role in the behavior of the horizontal tide. The main compound tide in Amazon estuary, Msf, generated from the combination of the M2 and S2, can be strong enough to provoke neap low waters lower than spring ones. The results show this component increasing while going upstream in the estuary, reaching a maximum and then slightly decaying.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the DHN (Brazilian Navy/Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation) and the HiBAm Project (Hydrology and Geochemistry of the Amazon Basin) for the tide data analyzed in this work and to Adriana Dantas Medeiros and Mariela Gabioux for their help with the model implementation. The first author was supported by a scholarship from CAPES Foundation (Ministry of Education).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal and Oceanographic Engineering Area, Ocean Engineering Program/COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, CT C203 Cx Po 68508, 21945-970, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

    Marcos Nicolás Gallo & Susana Beatriz Vinzon

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  1. Marcos Nicolás Gallo
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  2. Susana Beatriz Vinzon
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Correspondence to Marcos Nicolás Gallo.

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Responsible Editor: Alejandro Souza

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Gallo, M.N., Vinzon, S.B. Generation of overtides and compound tides in Amazon estuary. Ocean Dynamics 55, 441–448 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0003-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0003-8

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