The Rhone River Plume in Unsteady Conditions: Numerical and Experimental Results

Estournel, Claude; Broche, P.; Marsaleix, Patrick; Devenon, Jean‐Luc; Auclair, Francis; Véhil, Raoul

doi:10.1006/ecss.2000.0685

Cited by 88 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The surface plume shows morphological fluctuations, mainly in terms of orientation and offshore extent, depending on wind, freshwater discharge and large-scale circulation conditions [22][23][24]. Thereby, under a constant NW wind, the plume tends to be pushed offshore; by opposition, onshore winds direct the plume towards the coast.…”

Section: Study Area and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Rhône River plume dynamics are typical of low tidal amplitude waters but can show strong hourly to monthly fluctuations in terms of SPM concentration, plume extent and orientation (e.g., [8,[22][23][24]. The last step in the present study is to assess the potential of OLI, MODIS and SEVIRI satellite data to capture these SPM spatio-temporal dynamics in the river plume, i.e., to test their capabilities in terms of temporal resolution to (1) estimate the variations of the flux of SPM at the river mouth and (2) observe the transport of SPM in the river plume.…”

Section: Impact Of Satellite Sensor Temporal Resolution On the Monitomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Rhône River plume is typical of moderately turbid waters, featured by a strong cross-shore gradient (typically from 40 g¨m´3 to 1 g¨m´3 or below), whose dynamics are mainly driven by winds and currents (e.g., [22][23][24]. This area is thus well-adapted to test sensors' capabilities in a micro-tidal coastal environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Potential of High Spatial and Temporal Ocean Color Satellite Data to Study the Dynamics of Suspended Particles in a Micro-Tidal River Plume

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ocean color satellite sensors are powerful tools to study and monitor the dynamics of suspended particulate matter (SPM) discharged by rivers in coastal waters. In this study, we test the capabilities of Landsat-8/Operational Land Imager (OLI), AQUA&TERRA/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and MSG-3/Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) sensors in terms of spectral, spatial and temporal resolutions to (i) estimate the seawater reflectance signal and then SPM concentrations and (ii) monitor the dynamics of SPM in the Rhône River plume characterized by moderately turbid surface waters in a micro-tidal sea. Consistent remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) values are retrieved in the red spectral bands of these four satellite sensors (median relative difference less than~16% in turbid waters). By applying a regional algorithm developed from in situ data, these Rrs are used to estimate SPM concentrations in the Rhône river plume. The spatial resolution of OLI provides a detailed mapping of the SPM concentration from the downstream part of the river itself to the plume offshore limits with well defined small-scale turbidity features. Despite the low temporal resolution of OLI, this should allow to better understand the transport of terrestrial particles from rivers to the coastal ocean. These details are partly lost using MODIS coarser resolutions data but SPM concentration estimations are consistent, with an accuracy of about 1 to 3 g¨m´3 in the river mouth and plume for spatial resolutions from 250 m to 1 km. The MODIS temporal resolution (2 images per day) allows to capture the daily to monthly dynamics of the river plume. However, despite its micro-tidal environment, the Rhône River plume shows significant short-term (hourly) variations, mainly controlled by wind and regional circulation, that MODIS temporal resolution failed to capture. On the contrary, the high temporal resolution of SEVIRI makes it a powerful tool to study this hourly river plume dynamics. However, its coarse resolution prevents the monitoring of SPM concentration variations in the river mouth where SPM concentration variability can reach 20 g¨m´3 inside the SEVIRI pixel. Its spatial resolution is nevertheless sufficient to reproduce the plume shape and retrieve SPM concentrations in a valid range, taking into account an underestimation of about 15%-20% based on comparisons with other sensors and in situ data. Finally, the capabilities, advantages and limits of these satellite sensors are discussed in the light of the spatial and temporal resolution improvements provided by the new and future generation

show abstract

Section: Study Area and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Impact Of Satellite Sensor Temporal Resolution On the Monitomentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Potential of High Spatial and Temporal Ocean Color Satellite Data to Study the Dynamics of Suspended Particles in a Micro-Tidal River Plume

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Extensive studies about recent processes, sedimentation and circulation in the GoL, in particular related to the Grand Rhône river delta sediments have also 2 been published in the last years (Marty et al, 2001;Beaudouin et al, 2004;Petrenko et al, 2005;Estournel et al, 1997Estournel et al, , 2001Radakovitch et al, 1999;Thill et al, 2001). In the present paper we discuss the occurrence of shallow gas evidences in the recent sediments off the Grand Rhône prodelta.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…Fresh water inputs in the gulf vary throughout the year, with peaks in rainy seasons, generally spring and fall (Moutin et al, 1998), but the main input is the Grand Rhône river plume (Petrenko et al, 2005), whose direction and extent are greatly affected by the wind (Demarq and Wald, 1984;Estournel et al, 2001;Marsaleix et al, 1998;Naudin et al, 2001). The plume sometimes extends all the way to the Spanish coast (Castellon et al, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shallow gas off the Rhône prodelta, Gulf of Lions

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In areas unaffected by the high flux of organic matter and rapid/thick flood deposition, or in between flood events, the conditions for methanogenesis and gas accumulation have not been met. In these areas, the physical and biological reworking of the surficial sediment may effectively oxidize and mineralize organic matter and limit bacterial methanogenesis in the subsurface. We propose that in the Rhône prodelta flood deposits deliver significant amounts of terrigenous 1 organic matter that can be rapidly buried, effectively removing this organic matter from aerobic oxidation and biological uptake, and leading to the potential for methanogenesis with burial.

show abstract

Intrusion of Rhone River diluted water into the Bay of Marseille: Generation processes and impacts on ecosystem functioning

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Rhone River provides the largest inputs of terrestrial freshwater and nutrients into the Mediterranean Sea. The Rhone River diluted water intrusions into the Bay of Marseille were investigated, examining their physical generation processes and associated biogeochemical impact by using in situ observations, remote sensing data, and a three-dimensional physical/biogeochemical coupled model. During our study period from 2007 to 2011, Rhone River intrusions occurred on average 7.6 times per year and affected more frequently the northern part of the bay. A classification of intrusion events in three categories is proposed (short lived, big, and small) as a function of their duration and spatial extent. The intrusions appeared to be driven by: (i) wind forcing, (ii) the presence of a mesoscale eddy, (iii) the Rhone River discharge volume, and (iv) the variation in thermocline depth. Typically, a combination of these favorable factors was necessary to induce an intrusion. An intrusion strongly impacts the biogeochemical functioning of the Bay of Marseille by bringing large quantities of nutrients into the bay. Mass balances were computed allowing us to quantify this impact on the Bay of Marseille. The results show that the ecological impact depends very much on the type of intrusion, with big intrusions having the highest impact.

show abstract

The Rhone River Plume in Unsteady Conditions: Numerical and Experimental Results

Cited by 88 publications

References 21 publications

Potential of High Spatial and Temporal Ocean Color Satellite Data to Study the Dynamics of Suspended Particles in a Micro-Tidal River Plume

Potential of High Spatial and Temporal Ocean Color Satellite Data to Study the Dynamics of Suspended Particles in a Micro-Tidal River Plume

Shallow gas off the Rhône prodelta, Gulf of Lions

Intrusion of Rhone River diluted water into the Bay of Marseille: Generation processes and impacts on ecosystem functioning

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About