| This dissertation examines tidal, subtidal, and mean properties in the Delaware Estuary and C&D Canal. Least-squares harmonic analysis is used to estimate sea level and current tidal amplitudes and phases at semi-diurnal, diurnal, and nonlinearly generated tidal frequencies. Tidal mean currents are estimated to be a significant portion of the total mean flow.; The total mean currents flow landward near the bottom and seaward near the surface over most of the deep navigation channel, but in shallow areas the means are weak and variable. At the middle of the mouth, a strong mean cross-flow directs water from New Jersey toward Delaware. The mean longitudinal salinity gradient is linear.; Subtidal sea level fluctuations are 25 percent of the M{dollar}sb2{dollar} amplitudes. Coastal forcing generates a slightly larger response than upbay wind in the upper estuary, as estimated by coherence analysis. Freshwater discharge influence on sea level is high in the upper bay but decreases downstream.; Subtidal current fluctuations are barotropic in the upper bay and outside the mouth of the estuary, where the coastal current forms. Coherence analysis reveals that the response to coastal forcing increases with frequency, and is of the same order of magnitude as upbay wind forcing. At the mouth, fluctuations are out of phase vertically on the two sides. In the middle of the mouth, fluctuations are directed across the bay.; Subtidal salinity variance is largest near the upstream end of the salinity distribution, decreasing seaward. At the mouth, variance is largest on the New Jersey side, opposite the coastal current source region.; Currents in the C&D Canal are in hydraulic balance. Canal fluxes, which are extrapolated from a series of coherence and linear regression analyses, are the same order as barotropic flux in the Delaware Estuary upstream of the canal entrance. The presence of the canal reduces the effect of the lower Delaware Estuary on the upper estuary, by diverting some of the flow.; At all time scales, current and salinity distributions displayed lateral structure similar in magnitude to the vertical variability. The length scale of lateral variability appears to be shorter than the scale of longitudinal variability. |
