Synonyms
Flushing time; Mixing time; Water age
Definition
The residence time is the characteristic time that a parcel of water will remain within a water body. The quantitative definition of “residence time” varies in the literature (Monsen et al., 2002). Generally, it is implied that a complete exchange of the water does not occur in this time. For this reason, the residence time is sometimes defined as the time for some fraction of the water to be exchanged.
The residence time in a partially enclosed water body varies with oceanographic conditions, such as tides, waves and oceanic currents, and depends on the size of the water body and the degree of hydrodynamic connection with adjacent water bodies. Residence time is one of the key parameters controlling the fate of solutes in an enclosed water body such as a coral reef lagoon. A long residence time could, for example, allow accumulation of pollutants. Residence time can also be very important in the (passive) dispersal of larvae.
Th...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Delesalle, B., and Sournia, A., 1992. Residence time of water and phytoplankton biomass in coral reef lagoons. Continental Shelf Research, 12, 939–949.
Hancock, G. J., Webster, I. T., and Stieglitz, T. C., 2006. Horizontal mixing of Great Barrier Reef waters: offshore diffusivity determined from radium isotope distribution. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, C12019.
Kraines, S. B., Yanagi, T., Isobe, M., and Komiyama H., 1998. Wind-wave driven circulation on the coral reef at Bora Bay, Miyako Island. Coral Reefs, 17, 133–143.
Luick, J., Mason, L., Hardy, T., and Furnas, M. J., 2007. Circulation in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon using numerical tracers and in situ data. Continental Shelf Research, 27, 757–778.
Monsen, N. E., Cloern, J. E., Lucas, L. V., and Monismith, S. G., 2002. A comment on the use of flushing time, residence time, and age as transport time scales. Limnology and Oceanography, 47, 1545–1553.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Stieglitz, T., Ridd, P. (2011). Residence Time. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_247
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_247
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2638-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2639-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences