Effects of Hurricane Irma on residual flows and saltwater intrusion in a subtropical estuary

Guerra-Chanis, Gisselle E.; So, Sangdon; Valle‐Levinson, Arnoldo

doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2020.101568

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Freshwater pulses, here defined as events during which the freshwater discharge by rivers exceeds 3 times its long‐yearly average value and which last no longer than 1 month, are common features in many estuaries around the world. They are mostly the result of strong precipitation in the upstream river catchment area (Du & Park, 2019; Du et al., 2019; Gong et al., 2007; Guerra‐Chanis et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2008; Tee & Lim, 1987; Valle‐Levinson et al., 2002), opening of a freshwater reservoir (Ingram et al., 1986; Lepage & Ingram, 1988), or a combination of those two (Díez‐Minguito et al., 2013). The increased freshwater discharge causes a strong downstream transport of salt, which has a large impact on the ecology in the estuary and on the agriculture of the lands around the estuary (McFarland et al., 2022; Paerl et al., 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estuarine Salinity Response to Freshwater Pulses

et al. 2022

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Freshwater pulses (during which river discharge is much higher than average) occur in many estuaries and strongly impact estuarine functioning. To gain insight into the estuarine salinity response to freshwater pulses, an idealized model is presented. With respect to earlier models on the spatiotemporal behavior of salinity in estuaries, it includes additional processes that provide a more detailed vertical structure of salinity. Simulation of an observed salinity response to a freshwater pulse in the Guadalquivir Estuary (Spain) shows that this is important to adequately simulate the salinity structure. The model is used to determine the dependency of the estuarine salinity response to freshwater pulses for different background discharge, tides, and different intensities and durations of the pulses. Results indicate that the change in salt intrusion length due to a freshwater pulse is proportional to the ratio between peak and background river discharge and depends linearly on the duration of the pulse if there is no equilibration during the pulse. The adjustment time, which is the time it takes for the estuary to reach equilibrium after an increase in river discharge, scales with the ratio of the change in salt intrusion length and the peak river discharge. The recovery time, that is, the time it takes for the estuary to reach equilibrium after a decrease in river discharge, does not depend on the amount of decrease in salt intrusion length caused by the pulse. The strength of the tides is of minor importance to the salt dynamics during and after the pulse.

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