Hydrology and Circulation Patterns of the Río de la Plata

SIMIONATO, C. G.; GUERRERO, R. A.; PIEDRA CUEVA, I.

Environmental Assessment and Planning of a Trounsboundary Fluvio-Marine Ecosystem: the Río de la Plata and its Maritime Front.

Springer Verlag

Lugar: New York; Año: 2011;

In this chapter we first describe the main forcings of the circulation in the Río de la Plata Estuary -its geometry and bathymetry, runoff, tides and winds- emphasizing, when it applies, in their temporal scales of variability from intra to inter-annual. Then, we discuss the main circulation patterns, synthesizing results derived from modeling and empirical studies. This description is done in two parts, firstly reporting the barotropic (vertically averaged) circulation, which is responsible of the net mass transport and sea surface height variability in the estuary and secondly, discussing what is known about the baroclinic (vertically varying) currents in the frontal zone and their influence on the density structure. Finally, the paths of the plumes of the main tributaries along the estuary are described and the mechanisms that favor retention in the frontal zone are discussed.