Upstream Propagating Long-Wave Modes at a Microtidal River Mouth

We illustrate recent findings on the upriver propagation of long waves entering the mouth of the Misa River (Senigallia, Italy). Such a microtidal environment has been recently studied to understand river–sea interactions: it has been found that the river forcing dominates over the marine actions in winter, especially during storms. However, upriver wave propagation is not negligible with low-frequency waves propagating upriver for distances of the order of kilometers. With the aim to better understand the behavior of low-frequency waves propagating upriver, the analysis of the present work builds on field data collected by instruments installed close to the mouth and along the final reach of the Misa River: a tide gauge, two hydrometers and an acoustic Doppler sensor. It has been here observed that the tidal forcing (periods of the order of hours/days) is significantly strong at a distance of more than one kilometer from the river mouth, while shorter waves, like seiches (periods of some hours), are less important and are supposed to largely dissipate at the estuary, although their role could be of importance during relatively short events (e.g., floods).