Biogeochemical impacts of flooding discharge with high suspended sediment on coastal seas: a modeling study for a microtidal open bay

Abstract

Freshwater, suspended sediment matter (SSM), and nutrients discharged from rivers into the ocean have large impacts on biological production. In particular, during floods, coastal areas are greatly stirred up and large amounts of nutrients are supplied to the sea surface. We investigate the biogeochemical impact of flooding river discharges containing a large amount of SSM by conducting numerical simulations for a specific flooding event of the Yura River, Japan. Parameters are varied over wide ranges of SSM properties and nutrient content in riverine water. Two qualitatively different regimes of the riverine plume, hypopycnal and hyperpycnal, appear within realistic parameter ranges. Compared with the reference case without SSM, the surface salinity (nutrients) within the riverine plume becomes lower (higher) in hypopycnal cases and higher (lower) in hyperpycnal cases within a few days after the flooding discharge. These results suggest the necessity of properly taking into account the effect of SSM in assessing the influence of high river discharges on coastal biogeochemistry. It is the case not only for the specific river and event we are dealing with but also for other flooding events and other rivers and connecting coastal seas.