Tidal Currents and Mixing in the Lake Maracaibo Estuarine System*
SCI. MAR., 65 (S@. 1): 155-166 SCIENTLAMARINA 2001 AN INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEW OF THE OCEAN. J.L PUEGR~;1. ALONSO and J. ARÍSTEGUI (d.) Tidal currents and mixing in the Lake Maracaibo estuarine system* 'Dcpanamemo & Físia Facultad & Cimcias del Mar, Univasidad de Las Pllmas & Gran Canaria, CampusUnivasitwo~Tafw.35017LasPalmas&GranCanana,Spain. 3NTEVEP S. A.. Centro de investigaci6n y Apoyo Tecnológico, Fide F'cm5leos & Vcnaue1a S. A., Los Tcqua, EscadoMirandavenezaela SUMMARY: The Lake Maracaibo cstuarinc systcm is a cooscilIating coupled ocean-lakc systern connected through a par- tialiy mixed estuay. In this paper we examine thc low frcsuency movcmam (o< 0.1 cyclcs/day) in uie differmt water bod- ies within thi system. The harmonic and rorary specaal analyscs of velocity data indicatcs the importante of tidai forcing within thc whole system and its intaauion with winds and fresh warcr discbarge. ln particular, the nsults indicate thc exis- te~of dominant semi-mdy osciUarions in iak Maracáibo. kely of non-iincar tidal origin, and suggest thai vertical smififaetion plays an important dein coí~troiiingthe three-dimcnsional strucnire of tidal cmu. Key words: estuarine sysrcm, tidal forcing, non-linear phenomena, stdfication. mixing, Caribbean Sea. and current distributions with limited data sets. The existing stratification, on the other hand, wili shape Any dynamicd study of an estuarine system has the instantaneous and mean cunrents. Stratification to include both current and density distributions, will enhance lateral advection but reduce vertical simply because rhey are deeply inte~co~e~ted.The exchange. Wíth strong vertical stratificatian, for relative forcing of river discharge and tidal range, exarnpie, the upper and lower layers may be rather togefher with the effect of winds, waves, and the uncoupled, the tidal wave having quite different geomorphology of the basin, will determine the amplitudes and phases.
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