Top diagrams: velocity and salinity profiles at maximum flood and ebb tides and after averaging over T;

bottom diagram: the relationship between tidal volume V and fresh water volume R.

In principle, V can be determined through the difference between high water and low water. In practice, the tidal phase varies along the estuary, and high and low water do not occur at the same time at all locations. Note that V enters the estuary through the lower layer when only the mean situation is considered; in reality, flow is directed into the estuary during flood tide and changes sign during ebb tide, so all depths contribute to the transport of R and V. The difference between the shaded areas of the mean velocity profile corresponds to R divided by T and by the cross-sectional area A.

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