Circulation Studies in Barnegat Bay
Qizhong Guo, Norbert P. Psuty, George Lordi, and Chih-Sheng Tsai
Proceedings of Barnegat Bay Ecosystem Workshop, Toms
River, NJ
November 14, 1996.
Abstract
Through an analysis of limited hydrographic field data in Barnegat Bay, we have obtained
the following initial results: 1) Average flushing time for January 1995 was 27 days;
2) Averaged over the month of January 1995, only 25 percent of the ocean water entering
on the flood tide was "new" ocean water; 3) Average total freshwater input to Barnegat Bay
was 71 million cubic feet per day in January 1995; 4) Average volume of direct groundwater seepage to the Bay in January 1995 appeared to be small
relative to the average total volume of freshwater input; 5) The bay appeared to be
vertically well-mixed, but not horizontally well-mixed; 6) Subtidal currents were strong
relative to tidal currents in the northern reach of the bay; and 7) Wind appeared to
play an important role in the estuarine circulation pattern. To identify the critical
combination of natural and human-caused hydrographic conditions that will lead to the
maximum pollutant loading and the minimum pollutant flushing, a numerical circulation
model must be developed. The collected field data can be used to select, drive,
calibrate, and verify an appropriate circulation model.
