The tidal bore in Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska

A tidal bore (or simply bore in context, or also aegir, eagre, or eygre) is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current. As such, it is a true tidal wave and not to be confused with a tsunami, which is a large ocean wave traveling primarily on the open ocean.

[edit] Bore phenomenon

Bores occur in relatively few locations worldwide, usually in areas with a large tidal range (typically more than 6 metres (20 ft) between high and low water) and where incoming tides are funneled into a shallow, narrowing river or lake via a broad bay.^[1] The funnel-like shape not only increases the tidal range, but it can also decrease the duration of the flood tide, down to a point where the flood appears as a sudden increase in the water level. A tidal bore takes place during the flood tide and never during the ebb tide.

Undular bore and whelps near the mouth of Araguari River in north-eastern Brazil. View is oblique toward mouth from airplane at approximately 100 ft (30 m) altitude.^[2]

A tidal bore may take on various forms, ranging from a single breaking wavefront with a roller — somewhat like a hydraulic jump^[3] — to "undular bores", comprising a smooth wavefront followed by a train of secondary waves (whelps).^[4] Large bores can be particularly unsafe for shipping but also present opportunities for river surfing.^[4]

Two key features of a tidal bore are the intense turbulence and turbulent mixing generated during the bore propagation, as well as its rumbling noise. The visual observations of tidal bores highlight the turbulent nature of the surging waters. The tidal bore induces a strong turbulent mixing in the estuarine zone, and the effects may be felt along considerable distances. The velocity observations indicate a rapid deceleration of the flow associated with the passage of the bore as well as large velocity fluctuations.^[5][6] A tidal bore creates a powerful roar that combines the sounds caused by the turbulence in the bore front and whelps, entrained air bubbles in the bore roller, sediment erosion beneath the bore front and of the banks, scouring of shoals and bars, and impacts on obstacles. The bore rumble is heard far away because its low frequencies can travel over long distances. The low-frequency sound is a characteristic feature of the advancing roller in which the air bubbles entrapped in the large-scale eddies are acoustically active and play the dominant role in the rumble-sound generation.^[7]

The word bore derives through Old English from the Old Norse word bára, meaning "wave" or "swell".

Rivers with tidal bores[link]

Rivers that have been known to exhibit bores include those listed below.^{[1] [8]}

Asia[link]

• Ganges–Brahmaputra, India and Bangladesh
• Indus River, Pakistan
• Sittaung River, Burma
• Qiantang River, China, which has the world's largest bore, up to 9 metres (30 ft) high, traveling at up to 40 kilometres (25 mi) per hour
• Batang Lupar or Lupar River, near Sri Aman, Malaysia. The tidal bore is locally known as benak.^[4]
• Bono, Kampar River, Indonesia. The phenomenon is feared by the locals to sink ships. It is reported to break up to 130 kilometres (81 mi) inland.

Australia[link]

• Styx River, Queensland
• Daly River, Northern Territory

Europe[link]

United Kingdom[link]

The Trent Aegir seen from West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire, 20 September 2005

The Trent Aegir at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, 20 September 2005

• River Dee, Wales and England
• River Mersey
• The Severn bore on the River Severn, Wales and England, up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high
• The Trent Aegir on the River Trent, England, up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) high. Also other tributaries of the Humber Estuary.
• River Parrett
• River Welland
• The Arnside Bore on the River Kent
• River Great Ouse
• River Ouse, Yorkshire. Like the Trent bore, this is also known as "the Aegir".
• River Eden
• River Esk
• River Nith
• River Lune, Lancashire
• River Ribble, Lancashire

Tidal bore on the River Ribble

France[link]

The phenomenon is generally named un mascaret in French.^[9] but some other local names are preferred.^[8]

• Seine, locally named la barre, had a significant bore until the 1960s. Since then, it has been practically eliminated by dredging and river training.^[8]
• Baie du Mont Saint Michel including Couesnon, Sélune, and Sée^[8]
• Arguenon^[8]
• Baie de la Frênaye^[8]
• Vire^[8]
• Sienne^[8]
• Vilaine, locally named le mascarin
• Dordogne^[8]
• Garonne^[8]

North America[link]

United States[link]

Tidal bore on the Petitcodiac River

• The Turnagain arm of Cook Inlet, Alaska. Up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) and 20 km/h.
• The Savannah River up to 10 miles inland.

Canada[link]

Most rivers draining into the upper Bay of Fundy between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have tidal bores. Notable ones include:

• The Petitcodiac River. Formerly the highest bore in North America at over 2 metres (6.6 ft); however, causeway construction and extensive silting reduced it to little more than a ripple, until the causeway gates were opened on April 14, 2010, as part of the Petitcodiac River Restoration project and the tidal bore began to grow again.^[10]
• The Shubenacadie River, also off the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. When the tidal bore approaches, completely drained riverbeds are filled. It has claimed the lives of several tourists who were in the riverbeds when the bore came in.^{[citation needed]} Tour boat operators offer rafting excursions in the summer.
• The bore is fastest and highest on some of the smaller rivers that connect to the bay including the River Hebert and Maccan River on the Cumberland Basin, the St. Croix, Herbert and Kennetcook Rivers in the Minas Basin, and the Salmon River in Truro.

Mexico[link]

There is a tidal bore on the Sea of Cortez in Mexico at the entrance of the Colorado River. It forms in the estuary about Montague Island and propagates upstream. Once very strong, later diversions of the river for irrigation have weakened the flow of the river to the point the tidal bore has nearly disappeared.

South America[link]

• Amazon River in Brazil and Orinoco River in Venezuela, up to 4 metres (13 ft) high, running at up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h). It is known locally as the pororoca.^[11]
• Mearim River in Brazil
• Araguari River in Brazil

Lakes with tidal bores[link]

Lakes with an ocean inlet can also exhibit tidal bores.^{[citation needed]}

North America[link]

• Nitinat Lake on Vancouver Island has a sometimes dangerous tidal bore at Nitinat Narrows where the lake meets the Pacific Ocean. The lake is popular with windsurfers due to its consistent winds.

Impact of tidal bores[link]

The tidal bores may be dangerous and some bores have had a sinister reputation: the Seine River (France); the Petitcodiac River (Canada); and the Colorado River (Mexico), to name a few. In China, despite warning signs erected along the Qiantang River banks, a number of tragic accidents happen each year.^[1] The tidal bores affect the shipping and navigation in the estuarine zone, for example, in Papua New Guinea (Fly and Bamu Rivers), Malaysia (Benak at Batang Lupar), and India (Hoogly bore).

On the other hand, the tidal-bore affected estuaries are the rich feeding zones and breeding grounds of several forms of wildlife.^[1] The estuarine zones are the spawning and breeding grounds of several native fish species, while the aeration induced by the tidal bore contribute to the abundant growth of many species of fish and shrimps (for example in the Rokan River).

Scientific studies of tidal bores[link]

Scientific measurements in tidal bores are challenging because of the force of the tidal bore flow. This is evidenced by a number of field work incidents in the Dee River, Rio Mearim, Daly River and Sélune River: "during this […] deployment, the [ADCP] instrument was repeatedly buried in sediment after the 1st tidal cycle and had to be dug out of the sediment, with considerable difficulty, at the time of recovery" (Dee River);^[12] "About 20 min after the passage of the bore the two aluminium frames at site C were toppled. […] A 3-min-duration patch of macroturbulence was observed. […] This unsteady motion was sufficiently energetic to topple moorings that had survived much higher, quasi-steady currents of 1.8 m/s" (Daly River);^[13] "the field study experienced a number of problems and failures. About 40 s after the passage of the bore, the metallic frame started to move. The ADV support failed completely 10 minutes after the tidal bore." (Sélune River).^[14]

Field studies in United Kingdom[link]

• Dee River^[12]

Field studies in France[link]

• Garonne River^[15][16][17]
• Sélune River^[14]

Field studies in Australia[link]

• Daly River^[13]

See also[link]

UK Waterways portal

• 1812 New Madrid earthquake, a historic earthquake in the United States that caused the Mississippi River to flow backwards temporarily
• Hydraulic jump
• Tidal race
• Tonlé Sap, a lake and river system in Cambodia where monsoon flooding can cause the river to flow backwards temporarily
• Undular bore wave

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up tidal bore or eagre in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Amateur video of the "Wiggenhall Wave" tidal bore
• link to Proudman Inst. page
• Mascaret, Aegir, Pororoca, Tidal Bore. Quid ? Où? Quand? Comment? Pourquoi ? in Journal La Houille Blanche, No. 3, pp. 103–114
• Turbulent Mixing beneath an Undular Bore Front in Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 999–1007 (DOI: 10.2112/06-0688.1)

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