High-resolution observations of a shear front in a tidal channel

Abstract The characteristics of a shear front system in a tidal channel have been investigated through a field study. High-resolution sampling, including three-dimensional measurements of current, temperature, salinity, and turbidity, was performed on repeated transects across the frontal zone both with fronts apparent and with fronts absent. The density measured using conductivity/temperature/depth sensors provides a field proof that the shear front is present whether a density gradient exists. It is distinguishable from conventional buoyant shear fronts, which require a strong along-channel density gradient. The velocities measured using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and trapping Global Position System (GPS) drifters indicate that shear front evolution has a four-stage dynamic process in a tidal cycle: (1) a directional shear front of shoal-flood and channel-ebb during the slack before flood and early flood, (2) a speed shear front of shoal-quick and channel-slow after the early flood, (3) a directional shear front of shoal-ebb and channel-flood during the slack before ebb and early ebb, and (4) a speed shear front of shoal-slow and channel-quick ebb during the late ebb. Thus, the velocity shear, a variation in the current speed and direction on either side of the front, is the generation mechanism of the observed shear front system. It is caused by the unequal tidal durations between deep channels and shallow shoals in the channel discussed herein. The Coriolis effect is found to be negligible through the momentum balance analysis. The unequal tidal durations can be caused by the following alternative mechanisms, according to the analysis and model simulation: (1) differential friction, owing to the steep bathymetry between the shallow shoal and the deep channel, and (2) circulation, owing to the coastline bend of the shallow shoal.