Abstract
Observational evidence is presented that corroborates the hypothesis that estuarine circulation represents a generic process in the Wadden Sea, independent of (the amount of) river runoff. Long-term current velocity data from three locations in the Wadden Sea, taken on moored acoustical current meters, onboard anchored ships and across-channel ship-of-opportunity platforms show in all cases features concurring with the predictions of the theory: a tidally residual outflow of Wadden Sea waters in the upper part and a residual inflow of seawater in the lower part of the water column. This may be regarded as a further confirmation for a generic process to import suspended sediments from the German Bight / North Sea into the Wadden Sea against the prevailing concentration gradient.
DOI Link to Publication