COMPUTER-SIMULATIONS OF THE FRASER-RIVER PLUME

Instruments sampling the engine cooling water on two British Columbia ferries were used to monitor the temporal and spatial variations of the Fraser River Plume, in the central Strait of Georgia (British Columbia, Canada) for nearly two years. A numerical model, previously developed to examine the effect of tidal forcing on the plume, was modified to include as inputs the hourly wind and daily discharge data. Average model salinities along the ferry section were computed and compared to the observed ferry data. Good agreement was reached after manipulating the entrainment velocity and the momentum transfer from the wind to the plume. Refs.