loading page

Turbidity hysteresis in an estuary and tidal river following an extreme discharge event
  • +1
  • David Keith Ralston,
  • Brian Yellen,
  • Jonathan D. Woodruff,
  • Sarah Fernald
David Keith Ralston
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Brian Yellen
University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Author Profile
Jonathan D. Woodruff
University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Author Profile
Sarah Fernald
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Author Profile

Abstract

Non-linear turbidity-discharge relationships are explored in the context of sediment sourcing and event-driven hysteresis using long-term (≥12 year) turbidity observations from the tidal freshwater and saline estuary of the Hudson River. At four locations spanning 175 km, turbidity generally increased with discharge but did not follow a constant log-log dependence, in part due to event-driven adjustments in sediment availability. Following major sediment inputs from extreme precipitation and discharge events in 2011, turbidity in the tidal river increased by 20-50% for a given discharge. The coherent shifts in the turbidity-discharge relationship along the tidal river over the subsequent 2 years suggest that the 2011 events increased sediment availability for resuspension. In the saline estuary, changes in the sediment-discharge relationship were less apparent after the high discharge events, indicating that greater background turbidity due to internal sources make event-driven inputs less important in the saline estuary at interannual time scales.
16 Aug 2020Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 47 issue 15. 10.1029/2020GL088005