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The estuarine character of the Gulf of Nicoya,an embayment on the Pacific coast of Central America
Authors:Arthur D Voorhis  C E Epifanio  Don Maurer  Ana I Dittel  Jose A Vargas
Institution:1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 02543, Woods Hole, MA, USA
2. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 19958, Lewes, DE, USA
3. Southern California Ocean Studies Consortium, California State University, 90840, Long Beach, CA, USA
4. Centro en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San Jose, Costa Rica, A S
Abstract:Hydrography and exchange processes in a tropical estuary, the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, are described from data collected in 1979 and 1980. The measurements and analyses were made in both the dry season and wet season and include temperature, salinity, and density at twenty locations in the gulf and currents (over a semi-diurnal tidal cycle) at five locations. These new results enlarge on the early study by Peterson (1958). Circulation in the lower gulf shows a marked east-west asymmetry due to the predominant runoff along its eastern shore from Rio Barranca and Tarcoles. The freshened surface water from the upper gulf combines with the runoff from these rivers and flows southward along the eastern side of the lower gulf. This flow is compensated by a northward flow of more saline water on the western side at all depths and on the eastern side along the bottom. The boundary between the southward and northward surface flow is marked by a strong salinity front in the rainy season. There is a rapid increase in tidal energy density toward the shoaling northern reaches of the lower gulf, between San Lucas Island and Puntarenas Peninsula. Enhanced mixing must accompany this increase, and direct measurements in the constriction between San Lucas and Puntaneras show that tidal mixing is dominant in transporting salt into the upper gulf against the freshwater runoff.
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