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An empirical model for salinity intrusion in alluvial estuaries

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Abstract

The main parameters that affect the salinity intrusion in estuaries are their geometric, hydrologic and hydrodynamic characteristics. The recognition of effective parameters and understanding their roles in the salinity intrusion are required for estuarine water management. In this study, the governing equations of the salinity intrusion processes were scaled to derive the effective dimensionless parameters. Then, a previously verified model, CE-QUAL-W2, was utilized as a virtual laboratory to investigate the effects of different governing parameters on the salinity intrusion. Analysis of the results showed that logarithmic functions can be used to describe the effect of dimensionless parameters obtained by scaling of governing equations. Finally, a formula was suggested to predict the salinity intrusion length based on geometrical and hydrodynamic characteristics of alluvial estuaries.

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Acknowledgement

We greatly appreciate the discussions and constructive comments provided by Prof. H.H.G. Savenije and Dr. E. Jabbari on an early version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Shahr-e-Ghods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, P.O. Box 16756-163, Iran

    Javad Parsa

  2. School of Civil Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, P.O. Box 16756-163, Iran

    Amir Etemad-Shahidi

Authors
  1. Javad Parsa
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  2. Amir Etemad-Shahidi
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Correspondence to Javad Parsa.

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Responsible Editor: Chari Pattiaratchi

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas 2010

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Parsa, J., Etemad-Shahidi, A. An empirical model for salinity intrusion in alluvial estuaries. Ocean Dynamics 61, 1619–1628 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-011-0457-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-011-0457-9

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