Estuaries are near shore bodies of water that influence many aspects of coastal communities. CCPO is part of an international group that is using surface radars to measure the surface circulation from several radar stations. Observations and model studies are applied to wind forcing and turbulent mixing and their effects on circulation and oxygen content of bottom water. Tides are an important process in these shallow, confined coastal systems. Tidal flushing and circulation is being analyzed through numerical models with wetting and drying.

CODAR Project
Surface Current Mapping in the Lower Chesapeake Bay