Physical features of the Connecticut River outflow during high discharge

The outflow of the Connecticut River into eastern Long Island Sound was studied during periods of high discharge. Surface measurements as well as aerial photography were employed to determine the primary physical characteristics of the outflow and its path within Long Island Sound. The structure of the outflow at the mouth was found to approach that of the salt wedge class. Within the sound the outflow formed a buoyant plume of a few meters depth whose horizontal location was subject to great variation. Tidal phase and freshwater volume discharge were found to control much but not all of the variations observed, and winds very little. The offshore boundary of the plume was formed by a front where surface currents were highly convergent and fluid properties nearly discontinuous. The lack of symmetry between the outflow paths for low and high slack water was consistent with residual surface southerly drift in the eastern sound reported by other investigators.