Properties of flows in straits and passages are not dependent just upon the air–sea fluxes and other processes within the adjacent seas, but also upon the physical processes within the straits. Flow through straits and passages plays a major role in the determination of the circulation in adjacent seas and basins; hence, there is often a coupling between basin-scale dynamics with the local flow in the strait. Straits and passages are usually high-energy regions where varieties of processes occur over a large range of time and space scales. Complex non-linear processes of two-way exchange flows, hydraulic controls, flow separation and jets, turbulent mixing and entrainment, and both locally and remotely driven motions occur in regions of a relatively small size. The combination of the rate of exchange through the straits and the volume of the neighboring basins determine the residence time of the basins which is of high importance to issues such as water quality in both freshwater and marine environments. Thus, investigating the dynamics within the straits contributes greatly to the understanding of the basin-scale circulation and vice versa. Consequently, biology, chemistry, and optics in the adjoining seas will be better understood.
The session calls for contributions pertaining to exchange flow through straits and the associated coupling and interactions with circulation in the adjacent basins. Contributions are invited on all theoretical, modeling and observational aspects of dynamics in straits and neighboring seas.