DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18661822
title: Dataset from Reese et al.: "The role of the shoal - salt mixing mechanisms in a partially mixed tidal estuary with channel-shoal geometry" - PART 1

description: Model data from the numerical setup of the tidal Elbe presented in Reese et al. (2026): "The role of the shoal - salt mixing mechanisms in a partially mixed tidal estuary with channel-shoal geometry" [1]

PART 1

Each file contains data for a full month, as given through the file naming convention: description.YYYYMMDD.nc4

The numerical model uses adaptive vertical coordinates, with the number of each vertical grid layer given in the output coordinate "level". level=1 corresponds to the bottommost layer, level=40 is the surface layer. Certain variables are given in salinity class bins of dimension salt_s instead of vertical coordinates as listed below.

Explanation of each data set:



20240416_2D_elv__allvars.nc4: 



Spatially resolved simulated surface elevation (m) at model grid location of station Cuxhaven FerryBox from 2024-04-16 00:00:00 to 2024-05-01 00:00:00

5 min snapshots

Fig. 3



20240416_DiaMixing_Mean__allvars.nc4:



Salt mixing in salinity space: local physical (hpmS_s_mean) and numerical (hnmS_s_mean) mixing per salinity class salt_s from 2024-04-16 00:00:00 to 2024-04-30 11:40:00

44700s temporal resolution (M2 tidal period); averaged over each period

Fig. 3



20240416_LongMean__allvars.*.nc4:



Salt mixing in Euclidean space: local physical (phymix_Sv) and numerical (nummix_Sv) vertical salt mixing and salinity (salt) from 2024-04-16 00:00:00 to 2024-05-01 00:00:00 

1h temporal resolution; averaged over each hour

Due to the large file size, the dateset was split into subsets covering one day each

Fig. 3, 4, S1 (Supplemental Material)



20240428_Basic__allvars.nc4:



Model output at the grid location corresponding to our measurements, covering the time period when the measurements took place, i.e., 2024-04-28 00:00:00 to 2024-04-29 00:00:00

5 min snapshots

Fig. 2



riverinfo.dat:



river and tributary freshwater input grid locations as grid cell indices



rivers.2024.nc4:



freshwater forcing used in the setup from Jan 2024 to May 2024, contains discharge at Neu Darchau (multiplied by a factor 1.3) vs. time. Data retrieved from [2].

day-mean values

Fig. 3



topo_v112x3.nc4:



setup topography and curvilinear grid. Topography created from datasets [3-6].

Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8



observations.zip



raw and processed observational data (ADCP and MSS); for details see provided README_observations.txt in zipped directory

Fig. 1, 2, 4 (RG_2024-04-28_0_000_24-04-28_042719_PROCESSED.mat)

Fig. 2 (L2405_mss_processed.mat)




Further documentation, including all provided variables, their respective meaning and physical dimensions, can be found in the header of each netcdf file.

Python scripts (py_scripts.zip):



Fig_1_topography.py: Fig. 1



Note that this script uses some shapefiles for the coastal outlines and land that cannot be shared for copyright reasons; however, the remainder of the script is operational.



Fig_2_validation.py: Fig. 2

Fig_3_mixing_timeseries.py: Fig. 3; Fig. S3 (Supplemental Material)

Fig_4_vertically_integrated_mixing_map.py: Fig. 4

Fig_5_Fig_6_horizontal_VSV.py: Fig. 5, 6

Fig_7_VSV_timeseries.py: Fig. 7

Fig_8_snapshots.py: Fig. 8, Fig. S4-S12, Supplemental Material

S2_mixing_timeseries_Reese-et-al-2024.py: Fig. S2, Supplemental Material

Fig_S1_vertically_integrated_mixing_phy-num.py: Fig. S1, Supplemental Material


 

[1] L. Reese, M. Becker, P. Holtermann, X. Li, H. Burchard, 2026: The role of the shoal - salt mixing mechanisms in a partially mixed tidal estuary with channel-shoal geometry. Cont. Shelf Res., under review.

[2] Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Magdeburg, 2024. Abflussstation Neu Darchau. URL: https://www.kuestendaten.de/DE/Services/Messreihen_Dateien_Download/Download_Zeitreihen_node.html; accessed 18 December 2024.

[3] Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Hamburg, 2024. DGM-W 2022 Außen- und Unterelbe (Digitales Geländemodell des Wasserlaufes – Multifunktionsmodell). URL: https://www.kuestendaten.de/Tideelbe/DE/Service/Kartenthemen/Kartenthemen_node.html; accessed 19 October 2024.

[4] Sievers, J., Malte, R., Milbradt, P., 2020. EasyGSH-DB: Bathymetrie (1996-2016). doi:https://doi.org/10.48437/02.2020.K2.7000.0002; accessed 18 December 2024.

[5] Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Hamburg, 2011. DGM-W 2010 Unter- und Außenelbe (Digitales Geländemodell des Wasserlaufes – Multifunktionsmodell). URL: https://www.kuestendaten.de/Tideelbe/DE/Service/Kartenthemen/Kartenthemen_node.html; accessed 18 December 2024.

[6] Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Weser-Jade-Nordsee, 2023. Digitales Geländemodell des Wasserlaufes (DGM-W) 2016 der Weser (ARGE inphoris GmbH – smile consult GmbH 2018); provided by Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau (BAW).