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Still of an animated illustration depicting river coastal output.

Still of an animated illustration depicting river coastal output.
Still of an animated illustration depicting river coastal output.
Still of an animated illustration depicting river coastal output.
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445062
Renier, Natalie
Still of an animated illustration depicting river coastal output.
Illustration
03/28/2017
Coastal_Rivers_Sea_Level_Rise.jpg
Image Of the Day caption:
Sea level in coastal areas can be affected by a number of factors: tides, winds, waves, and even barometric pressure. New research led by WHOI physical oceanographer Chris Piecuch suggests that river outflow also could play a role in changing sea level. Since freshwater is naturally less dense than saltwater, river water flowing out into the ocean floats on the oceans surface. The Earths rotation then forces the freshwater to turn sharply along the coast, where it forms a current that pushes water up against the shoreline and raises local sea level in the process.
Caption from WHOI news release dated 07/09/2018:
Increased fresh river outflow enters the coastal environment, where it mixes with ambient salty ocean water. Under the influence of the Earth's rotation, this plume of fresher water "turns to the right" (in the northern hemisphere), flowing downstream as an alongshore current "trapped" to the coast. These fresher waters "piled up" along the shore result in an increase in sea level at the coast.
Illustration by Natalie Renier
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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