Between 2003 and 2007, a series of field studies were performed in a typical small subtropical estuary (Eprapah Creek) located on the Southeast Coast of Australia. The aim of these field studies was to investigate the turbulence and turbulent mixing properties in the estuarine zone. During these studies, high frequency turbulence and physio-chemistry data were collected continuously over a relatively long duration (between 12.5 and 50 hours). This article provides a summary of the key outcomes of these studies, highlighting the implications that these findings have on the modelling of small subtropical estuaries. The studies showed that the response of the turbulence and water quality properties were distinct under spring and neap tidal forcing and behaved differently in the middle and upper estuarine zones. The behaviour of turbulence properties to spring tidal forcing differed from that observed in larger estuaries and seemed unique to small estuarine systems. An investigation of several key turbulence parameters used in the modelling of estuarine mixing showed that many assumptions used in larger estuaries must be applied with caution or are simply untrue in small estuaries. These distinctions between the turbulence and mixing properties in small and large estuarine systems highlights the need for the continued study of small estuaries, so this type of system can be properly understood.
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