Geology topics

Shizuo Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Shizuo Feng.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2010

On tide-induced Lagrangian residual current and residual transport: 1. Lagrangian residual current

Residual currents in tidal estuaries and coastal embayments have been recognized as fundamental factors which affect the long-term transport processes. It has been pointed out by previous studies that it is more relevant to use a Lagrangian mean velocity than an Eulerian mean velocity to determine the movements of water masses. Under weakly nonlinear approximation, the parameter k , which is the ratio of the net displacement of a labeled water mass in one tidal cycle to the tidal excursion, is assumed to be small. Solutions for tides, tidal current, and residual current have been considered for two-dimensional, barotropic estuaries and coastal seas. Particular attention has been paid to the distinction between the Lagrangian and Eulerian residual currents. When k is small, the first-order Lagrangian residual is shown to be the sum of the Eulerian residual current and the Stokes drift. The Lagrangian residual drift velocity or the second-order Lagrangian residual current has been shown to be dependent on the phase of tidal current. The Lagrangian drift velocity is induced by nonlinear interactions between tides, tidal currents, and the first-order residual currents, and it takes the form of an ellipse on a hodograph plane. Several examples are given to further demonstrate the unique properties of the Lagrangian residual current.

Water Resources Research↗

USGS2010

On tide-induced Lagrangian residual current and residual transport: 2. Residual transport with application in south San Francisco Bay, California

The transports of solutes and other tracers are fundamental to estuarine processes. The apparent transport mechanisms are convection by tidal current and current-induced shear effect dispersion for processes which take place in a time period of the order of a tidal cycle. However, as emphasis is shifted toward the effects of intertidal processes, the net transport is mainly determined by tide-induced residual circulation and by residual circulation due to other processes. The commonly used intertidal conservation equation takes the form of a convection-dispersion equation in which the convective velocity is the Eulerian residual current, and the dispersion terms are often referred to as the phase effect dispersion or, sometimes, as the “tidal dispersion.” The presence of these dispersion terms is merely the result of a Fickian type hypothesis. Since the actual processes are not Fickian, thus a Fickian hypothesis obscures the physical significance of this equation. Recent research results on residual circulation have suggested that long-term transport phenomena are closely related to the Lagrangian residual current or the Lagrangian residual transport. In this paper a new formulation of an intertidal conservation equation is presented and examined in detail. In a weakly nonlinear tidal estuary the resultant intertidal transport equation also takes the form of a convection-dispersion equation without the ad hoc introduction of phase effect dispersion in a form of dispersion tensor. The convective velocity in the resultant equation is the first-order Lagrangian residual current (the sum of the Eulerian residual current and the Stokes drift). The remaining dispersion terms are important only in higher-order solutions; they are due to shear effect dispersion and turbulent mixing. There exists a dispersion boundary layer adjacent to shoreline boundaries. An order of magnitude estimate of the properties in the dispersion boundary layer is given. The present treatment of intertidal transport processes is illustrated by an analytical solution for an amphidromic system and by a numerical application in South San Francisco Bay, California. The present formulation reveals that the mechanism for long-term transport of solutes is mainly convection due to the Lagrangian residual current in the interior of a tidal estuary. This result also points out the weakness in the tidal dispersion formulation, and explains the large variability of the observed values for tidal dispersion coefficients. Further research on properties of the dispersion boundary layer is needed.

California↗

USGS1989

On inter-tidal transport equation

The transports of solutes, sediments, nutrients, and other tracers are fundamental to the interactive physical, chemical, and biological processes in estuaries. The characteristic time scales for most estuarine biological and chemical processes are on the order of several tidal cycles or longer. To address the long-term transport mechanism meaningfully, the formulation of an inter-tidal conservation equation is the main subject of this paper. The commonly used inter-tidal conservation equation takes the form of a convection-dispersion equation in which the convection is represented by the Eulerian residual current, and the dispersion terms are due to the introduction of a Fickian hypothesis, unfortunately, the physical significance of this equation is not clear, and the introduction of a Fickian hypothesis is at best an ad hoc approximation. Some recent research results on the Lagrangian residual current suggest that the long-term transport problem is more closely related to the Lagrangian residual current than to the Eulerian residual current. With the aid of additional insight of residual current, the inter-tidal transport equation has been reformulated in this paper using a small perturbation method for a weakly nonlinear tidal system. When tidal flows can be represented by an M 2 system, the new intertidal transport equation also takes the form of a convective-dispersion equation without the introduction of a Fickian hypothesis. The convective velocity turns out to be the first order Lagrangian residual current (the sum of the Eulerian residual current and the Stokes’ drift), and the correlation terms take the form of convection with the Stokes’ drift as the convective velocity. The remaining dispersion terms are perturbations of lower order solution to higher order solutions due to shear effect and turbulent mixing.

Book chapter↗