DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2015.v03i01.010

Pages: 46-51

A 25 hours study was conducted in a polluted Estuary, Gizri Creek in order to investigate how current speed, salinity and water temperature stratification behaves under the influence of a polluted freshwater source. Vertically lunar hourly profiles of salinity, water temperature and current speed were obtained and the results indicate that the estuary is forced by semi-diurnal tides. The profiles of current intensity indicates that the flood currents slightly higher than the ebb ones, with maximum values of about 33.45 and 31.51 cms-1, respectively. The major flooding velocity was enhanced by the strong tidal currents. The lunar hourly variations of salinity and water temperature reveal that during the ebb, the vertical stratification increases, decreasing during the flood period. The salinity ranges between 28 and 41 ppt (parts per thousand) and the water temperature between 30.2 and 33.7 ºC. At surface and near the bed the salinity and water temperature increases during the flood periods, decreasing during the ebb. From the 25 hours observation of water column stratification or salinity vertical structure on the basis (Pritchard, 1955; Cameron and Pritchard, 1963) theory revealing that the estuary can be considered weakly stratified or vertically mixed.