Author(s): Matias Duran-Matute; Jeancarlo M. Fajardo-Urbina; Mart Giesbergen; Gert Vankan; Ulf Grawe; Herman J. H. Clercx; Theo Gerkema
Linked Author(s): Matias Duran Matute
Keywords: Dispersion; Chaotic stirring; Coastal intertidal systems; Long-term variability
Abstract: In tidal areas, rapid water exchange and material dispersal occurs due to a mechanism known as chaotic stirring or chaotic advection. This is a consequence of chaotic Lagrangian trajectories of water parcels in the deterministic time-dependent tidal velocity field (Ridderinkhof and Zimmerman, 1992). In the present work, we study the transport and mixing of passive Lagrangian tracers in a system of intertidal basins: the Dutch Wadden Sea. This system is meso-tidal, but the variability is highly driven by the wind both in the scale of episodic events and at a seasonal scale. Our aim is to quantify the inter and intra-annual variability of the displacement and dispersal of passive Lagrangian tracers, and to relate this variability to the relevant forcing mechanisms.
Year: 2024