![]() If the tidal prism forms a large proportion of the water in an estuary at high tide, then when the tide ebbs, it will take with it the majority of the water (this occurs in shallow estuaries) and any pollutants or sediments suspended in that water. If it is known how much water is exported compared to how much of the estuarine water remains, it can be determined how long pollutants reside in that estuary. The size of an estuary's tidal prism is dependent on the basin of that estuary, the tidal range and other frictional forces.Ĭalculations of tidal prism are useful in determining the residence time of water (and pollutants) in an estuary. Simple tidal prism models stated the relationship of river discharge and inflowing ocean water as Prism=Volume of ocean water coming into an estuary on the flood tide + Volume of river discharge mixing with that ocean water however, there is some controversy as to whether traditional prism models are accurate. It can also be thought of as the volume of the incoming tide plus the river discharge. The inter-tidal prism volume can be expressed by the relationship: P=H A, where H is the average tidal range and A is the average surface area of the basin. Volume of water in an estuary or inlet between mean high tide and mean low tideĪ tidal prism is the volume of water in an estuary or inlet between mean high tide and mean low tide, or the volume of water leaving an estuary at ebb tide.
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