On the relative importance of the remote and local wind effects to the subtidal variability in a coastal plain estuary

A set of month‐long sea level and current measurements is used to examine the subtidal variability in the Delaware estuary and assess the relative importance of remote and local wind effects on the observed subtidal variability. The evidence indicates that the remote wind effect, through the impingement of coastal sea level at the mouth of the estuary, is more important than the local wind effect in producing the subtidal sea level fluctuations in the interior of the estuary. On the other hand, the local wind effect dominates over the remote wind effect in producing the observed subtidal current fluctuations at the mooring site. It appears that the remote wind effect is important to the sectionally averaged subtidal transport into or out of the estuary. However, the local wind effect may be more important than the remote wind effect in producing the subtidal currents at any given point along the estuary's cross section. The spatial structure associated with the local wind‐induced circulation is very important to the long term transport and distribution of waterborne material.