Fresh Water Transport Determination from the Heat Budget with Applications to British Columbia Inlets

Abstract

Fresh water entering British Columbia inlets moves seaward, mixing with and entraining salt water from below. A new method, based on a heat budget analysis, is developed to determine the mean seaward movement of the brackish layer. The method is also applied to gain information on the mixing process and to determine the depth from which salt water is entrained into the surface layer.The values of mean transport calculated in this way are found to be in good agreement with those derived from other methods. The method offers some distinct advantages over direct methods for determining fresh water inflow and circulation, since results can be obtained quickly, with little effort, and without the necessity for anchoring a ship.