Determining the age of water and long-term transport timescale of the Chesapeake Bay

Abstract

The concept of age of water (AW) is applied to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate the long-term transport properties for dissolved substances. A real-time calibrated hydrodynamic Chesapeake Bay model in 3 Dimensions (CH3D), employing a boundary-fitted curvilinear grid, is used for the study. The long-term transport properties, represented by AW, are investigated under the conditions of low river inflow of 1995 and high river inflow of 1996, as well as for constant mean inflows. The influences of freshwater, density-induced circulation, and wind-induced transport on age distribution have been investigated. Model results show that river inflows, wind stress, and density-induced circulation play important roles in controlling the long-term transport in the Bay. The model results shows that it requires 120–300 days for a marked change in the characteristics of the pollutant source discharged into the Bay from the Susquehanna River to affect significantly the conditions near the mouth under different hydrodynamic conditions. An increase of river discharge results in increases of downstream residual current and gravitational circulation, and thus reduces AW. The density-induced circulation contributes to the transport substantially. The dissolved substances discharged into the Bay are transported out of the Bay more rapidly when the estuary becomes more stratified. Southeasterly and southwesterly winds have strong impacts on the transport compared to the northeasterly and northwesterly winds. The former increases lateral and vertical mixing significantly. Consequently, the gravitational circulation is reduced and the transport time is increased by 50%. The model results provide useful information for understanding the long-term transport processes in the Bay.