Temporal Variation in Water Column Structure in Southampton Water during a Partial Tidal Cycle

This research investigates the temporal variation
in the water column structure during a partial tidal cycle in
the Western Solent at a location just off the mouth of the
Beaulieu River. The data were collected using the Acoustic

Doppler Current Profiler, the Conductivity-Temperature-
Depth instrument, and the Autonomous Benthic Recorder.

The properties of the water column structure investigated
were temperature, salinity, flow velocity, and turbidity at
different depths during the partial tidal cycle. It will be
shown that these identified properties of the water column
vary temporally and spatially in the vertical during the
partial tidal cycle. Relationships will be demonstrated
among these properties to show that their variations are
caused mainly by the ebb and flow of the tidal cycle which
dynamically influences the structure of the water column in
time and space.