Estimates of entrainment in the Fraser river plume, British Columbia

Abstract Estimates of the entrainment rate of salt water into the Fraser River plume have been made using two independent methods. A value of k = 2 × 10 ‐4 is obtained for he entrainment coefficient relating the vertical to the horizontal velocity from salt conservation arguments at a series of profiles along the plume and from calculations of surface divergence, as measured by drifting drogues. It is also found that entrainment contributes significantly to the deceleration of the river plume after it issues into the Strait of Georgia.