Articles | Volume 22, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1311-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-1311-2026
Research article
 | 
24 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 24 Apr 2026

The impact of suspended sediments on exchange flow in a macrotidal, hyperturbid estuary

Cristian M. Rojas, Lauren Ross, Betty John Kaimathuruthy, Isabel Jalón-Rojas, Aldo Sottolichio, and Nicolas Huybrechts

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Cited articles

Alahmed, S., Ross, L., and Sottolichio, A.: The role of advection and density gradients in driving the residual circulation along a macrotidal and convergent estuary with non-idealized geometry, Cont. Shelf Res., 212, 104295, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2020.104295, 2021. a
Allen, G. P., Salomon, J. C., Bassoullet, P., Du Penhoat, Y., and de Grandpré, C.: Effects of tides on mixing and suspended sediment transport in macrotidal estuaries, Sediment. Geol., 26, 69–90, https://doi.org/10.1016/0037-0738(80)90006-8, 1980. a, b, c, d, e, f
Bailey, T., Ross, L., Schuttelaars, H. M., and van Maren, D. S.: Impacts of the Seasonal Migration of an Estuarine Turbidity Maximum on Local Hydrodynamics and Mixing in the Ems Estuary, Estuar. Coast., 48, 19, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-024-01438-4, 2024. a, b
Becherer, J., Flöser, G., Umlauf, L., and Burchard, H.: Estuarine circulation versus tidal pumping: Sediment transport in a well-mixed tidal inlet, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 6251–6270, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JC011640, 2016. a
Becker, M., Maushake, C., and Winter, C.: Observations of Mud-Induced Periodic Stratification in a Hyperturbid Estuary, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 5461–5469, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077966, 2018. a, b, c, d
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Short summary
Although estuaries typically exhibit high suspended sediment concentrations (SSC), only a few studies have investigated how the impact of SSC on density can affect the exchange between rivers and coastal waters. Here, we use numerical models to quantify the impact of SSC on water exchange based on an estuary with large SSC and tidal range. We found that the non-consideration of SSC leads to large differences in the exchange of water that could lead to the over-quantification of water transport.
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