Seasonal to interannual variability of the tide in the Amazon estuary
Variabilité saisonnière et interannuelle de la marée dans l'estuaire de l'Amazone
Résumé
The Amazon River exports the largest volume of fresh water to the ocean worldwide..
Although previous studies have revealed the spatiotemporal tidal variability of the
estuary, its hydrodynamics is still poorly understood. Here we evaluate the seasonal
and interannual variability of the tide from Óbidos (800 km upstream) to the Atlantic
Ocean and show how it is affected by the hydrological regime of the Amazon River. A
high-resolution 2D hydrodynamic model was applied in this region at the scale of the
whole estuary. The tide model is validated using data from 14 water level stations
and shows an average complex error of 16 cm in the low flow season and 23 cm in
the high flow season. The semi-diurnal tide is highly variable at seasonal timescales,
and the seasonality of the discharge affects the tidal amplitude, the geographic
extent of tidal influence, the tidal wave celerity, and the tidal flow reversal. Notably,
the tidal influence on water level remains detectable up to Óbidos during the low flow
season while during the high flow season it extends from the ocean to only 300 km
downstream of Óbidos. On the other hand, the upstream limit of the domain where
the tide induces a periodic flow reversal is different from the limit of tidal influence on
the water level. The upstream limit of this flow reversal is shifted by 170 km (from 500
km to 670 km downstream of Óbidos) along the year due to the seasonality of the
discharge. At interannual scale, anomalous hydrological discharges affect the tidal
amplitude by up to 30% in the central reach of the estuary. Our findings open
unprecedented opportunities to understand biogeochemical and geomorphological
processes, help navigation, and assess flooding hazards.
Domaines
Sciences de l'environnementOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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