Articles | Volume 19, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2805-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2805-2015
Research article
 | 
18 Jun 2015
Research article |  | 18 Jun 2015

Turbidity in the fluvial Gironde Estuary (southwest France) based on 10-year continuous monitoring: sensitivity to hydrological conditions

I. Jalón-Rojas, S. Schmidt, and A. Sottolichio

Abstract. Climate change and human activities impact the volume and timing of freshwater input to estuaries. These modifications in fluvial discharges are expected to influence estuarine suspended sediment dynamics, and in particular the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ). Located in southwest France, the Gironde fluvial-estuarine system has an ideal context to address this issue. It is characterized by a very pronounced TMZ, a decrease in mean annual runoff in the last decade, and it is quite unique in having a long-term and high-frequency monitoring of turbidity. The effect of tide and river flow on turbidity in the fluvial estuary is detailed, focusing on dynamics related to changes in hydrological conditions (river floods, periods of low discharge, interannual changes). Turbidity shows hysteresis loops at different timescales: during river floods and over the transitional period between the installation and expulsion of the TMZ. These hysteresis patterns, that reveal the origin of sediment, locally resuspended or transported from the watershed, may be a tool to evaluate the presence of remained mud. Statistics on turbidity data bound the range of river flow that promotes the upstream migration of TMZ in the fluvial stations. Whereas the duration of the low discharge period mainly determines the TMZ persistence, the freshwater volume during high discharge periods explains the TMZ concentration at the following dry period. The evolution of these two hydrological indicators of TMZ persistence and turbidity level since 1960 confirms the effect of discharge decrease on the intensification of the TMZ in tidal rivers; both provide a tool to evaluate future scenarios.

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Short summary
This study aims to analyse for the first time suspended sediment dynamics in the fluvial Gironde through a unique set of a 10-year continuous turbidity record. We demonstrate the following: the interest of turbidity-discharge hysteresis loops to evaluate the presence of sediment depositions; the relationships between features of the turbidity maximum zone (TMZ) and river flow; and the definition of hydrological indicators of the persistence and concentration of the TMZ.