Cross-shore transport of larvae, pollutants, and sediment between the surf zone and the inner shelf is important for coastal water quality and ecosystems. Rip currents are known to be a dominant pathway for exchange, but the effects of horizontal temperature and salinity gradients are not well understood. Airborne visible and infrared imaging performed on the California coast shows warm and cool plumes driven by rip currents in the surf zone and extending onto the shelf, with temperature differences of approximately 1°C. The airborne imagery and modeled temperatures and tracers indicate that warm plumes exhibit more lateral spreading and transport material in a buoyant near-surface layer, whereas cool plumes move offshore in a subsurface layer. The average cross-shore extent of warm plumes at the surface is approximately one surfzone width larger than for cool plumes. Future work may explore the sensitivity of nearshore plumes to density patterns, wave forcing, and bathymetry.

中文翻译：

---

温暖而凉爽的近岸羽状物将冲浪区连接到内层搁板

在冲浪区和内陆架之间的幼体，污染物和沉积物的跨岸运输对于沿海水质和生态系统至关重要。众所周知，纹波电流是交换的主要途径，但是对水平温度和盐度梯度的影响却知之甚少。在加利福尼亚海岸进行的机载可见光和红外成像显示，在冲浪区中，裂谷电流驱动着温暖而凉爽的羽流，并延伸到架子上，温度差约为1°C。机载图像以及模拟的温度和示踪剂表明，温暖的羽流在浮力近表层表现出更多的侧向扩散和传输物质，而凉爽的羽流在地下层中向近海移动。在地表，温暖的羽流的平均跨岸范围比凉爽的羽流大大约一个冲浪带宽度。未来的工作可能会探索近岸羽流对密度模式，波浪强迫和测深的敏感性。