Abstract
A zone of marked local gradient in the regional suspended solids field has been located along the axis of the Severn Estuary. This front occupies virtually the same position on ebb and flood and on spring and neap tides, although the amplitude of the gradient fluctuates. Thermohaline fronts have been described in coastal waters1,2 suspended sediment fronts associated with the discharge of major rivers into the sea are common3–5 whilst fronts caused by convergence of secondary circulations within estuaries have also been reported6,7. The previous work describes features with significant differences in the salinity or temperature fields in which any suspended sediment contrasts present are incidental and do not, of themselves, produce large horizontal density variations. In contrast, in the Severn, strong thermo-haline gradients in the vicinity of the suspended solids front have not been detected. The mechanisms for the formation and maintenance of the front are not yet known.
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Kirby, R., Parker, W. A suspended sediment front in the Severn Estuary. Nature 295, 396–399 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/295396a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/295396a0
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