Influence of morphology changes on flow and water exchange in the Odra Estuary

Knowledge of the hydrodynamic conditions and the exchange of water in estuaries is important for ecological, navigational and water management reasons. The morpho-logy, river flow, sea level and local winds constitute important factors that influence the water currents and rate and extent of the mixing of salt and fresh water. The influence of the morphology changes on flow conditions, on the penetration of salt into the estuary and on the water exchange in the estuaries in this paper are analysed on the example of the Odra Estuary. The morphology of the Odra Estuary, and specially the Świna Strait, has changed immensely since the beginning of the XVIII century. The analyses were performed on the basis of data from in situ measure-ments and results of calculations. For the calculation the three-dimensional model ESTURO was used, because of the complexity of the hydrodynamic regimes and their three-dimensional character. The calculations were performed for the three different hydro-meteorological conditions for each of the five analysed morphological situations of the Odra Estuary. Some results of calculations have been presented.