A 2D long term advection—dispersion model for the Channel and southern North Sea Part B: Transit time and transfer function from Cap de La Hague

A 2D advection-dispersion model, already described and validated, has been used to provide information about water trajectories, transit times, transfer factors and transfer functions in the Channel and North Sea, south of 57 ° N. It shows that a fast vein of water moves parallel to the coast and reaches the northern limit of the model in one year. Along the coast, a few dozen kilometers from this vein, transit times increase by 2–4 months. Tidal gyres in the Channel recirculate waters and dissolved elements for about 2 yr, and in all it generally takes 3 yr for a specific discharge made at La Hague to completely leave the area under study. The transfer factor was depicted and found to be of the order of 10−5 m.k.s. One utilization of the transfer function could be to predict the future evolution of water content in the months and years following a discharge in these coastal waters.