Salinity Change in Alligator Harbor and Ochlockonee Bay, Florida

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Abstract
The hydrographic data of two shallow bays on the northern Gulf coast of Florida are analyzed with emphasis on salinity variation. Alligator Harbor, a neutral bay, has an almost uniform vertical salinity distribution. The highest salinity was observed in the early flood stage at the inner end, while salinity variation is irregular at the mouth and in the central part of the bay. In Ochlocknee Bay, on the other hand, the surface salinity changes by more than 20‰, during one tidal cycle. In flood stages particularly, a salt wedge is formed in a deep channel.Some theoretical models about advective change of salinity due to variable currents are proposed in order to explain the observed data. Vertical stability of water in these bays is also discussed.

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