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(IF 3.35; Q1); International audience; The aim of this study is to investigate the complex response of optical turbidity sensors (side- and back-scattering sensors) to Suspended Particle Matter (SPM) characteristics and the consequences when investigating SPM dynamics from long-term high frequency monitoring networks. Our investigation is based on the analysis of a unique dataset of monthly 12 h cycle measurements of SPM characteristics such as turbidity, concentration, floc size distribution, floc density and organic matter content in the macrotidal Seine Estuary (France) between February 2015 and June 2016. Results reveal that despite calibration to a Formazin standard, turbidity sensor response to SPM concentrations (in the range of 7–7000 mg L−1) are strongly variable, from the tidal scale to the annual scale and in different compartments of the Seine Estuary. The variability in the calibration relationships is related to changes in the sensor sensitivity according to (i) the sensor intern technology (mainly due to optical geometry) and (ii) the variability in inherent optical properties (IOP) of SPM.Side-scattering optical instruments (measuring scattering at 90°) provide at the annual scale a more stable optical response than backscattering sensor (measuring scattering at angles larger than 100°) for a wide variety of floc size and density in the estuarine environment, while at the tidal scale the backscatter sensors are the most accurate. Sensor sensitivity is strongly affected by floc characteristics, i.e. their median size D50, dry density ρ and the scattering efficiency Qb. Results highlight that the median particle diameter contribute to modify the scattering efficiency Qb as well as the dry density: Qb increases with increasing floc size, and for a given floc size, Qb increases with floc density.In this study, the results are next applied to turbidity data from the long-term automated monitoring network in order to estimate SPM concentrations and estimate the related uncertainties.

The objective of this study is to propose an original approach to the analysis of the formation of intertidal rhythmites, their preservation, and the evaluation of sedimentation rates on estuarine mudflats. Three mudflats, one from each of three estuaries, were analysed using a combination of long-term (>a year), high-frequency (1 burst/10 or 20 min), and high-resolution (0.2 cm) altimeter datasets and X-ray images of sediment cores collected during topographic surveys. The results highlight the roles played by sediment supply, hydrodynamics, and morphology of the lower estuaries on the sedimentation rhythms. While the sediment-starved Medway estuary (Kent, UK) remains stable at different time-scales, the annual sedimentation rates on the sheltered Authie mudflat (Pas-de-Calais, France) and the open Seine mudflat (Normandy, France) are relatively high at 18 and 15 cm y(-1), rrespectively. On the Authie mudflat, sedimentation rhythms correspond to the semi-lunar cycle, with a good correlation between tidal range and deposit thickness. Sedimentation occurs at the beginning of the recovery (mean value of 0.25 cm per semi-diurnal cycle), and is not disturbed by wind-induced waves. In the lower Seine estuary, semi-diurnal mechanisms of deposition occur mainly when the mudflat is covered by a minimal water height (tidal range threshold value=7.1 m). Sedimentation rhythms are discontinuous and deposition occurs only during the highest spring tides. Mean deposit thickness is 0.6 cm per semi-diurnal cycle, controlled by the turbidity maximum and the long high tide slack (2-3 h). The fluid mud is sensitive to wind-waves in this open funnel-sbaped estuary, which undergoes wind-induced erosion (0.2 to 2 cm) about 10 times per year. Comparison of altimeter datasets and lithology of the sediments cored at the same points provided improved understanding of the sediment record rhythms and the sedimentation events. On the sediment-starved Medway mudflat, the result of sediment processes is a single superficial lamina. The elementary deposit in the Authie bay corresponds to a semi-lunar-linked layer, typical of sheltered environments. On the lower Seine mudflat, sedimentation rhythms are linked to the highest spring tides (i.e., the lunar cycle), resulting from increased sediment availability related to the high suspended matter concentration in the turbidity maximum. These results underline the complex response of intertidal mudflats to hydrodynamics and sediment supply conditions, from the semi-diurnal to the annual scales. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study is to analyse and to quantify the fine particles transfer (i.e. 7.1 m). Then, deposition of SPM from the turbidity maximum becomes important, allowing fine particles to settle on the mudflat, where the current velocities are low (< 0.4 m s− 1). On tides of lower range (< 7.1 m) bed elevation levels suggest that erosion of the mudflat surface dominates, however dewatering processes also occur in the soft mud deposits resulting in compaction. During periods of wave activity and periods of increasing river discharge, the mudflat surface experiences rapid erosion. These periods of erosion (sudden or progressive) imply a transfer of fine-grained material from the mudflat surface back into the TM. The long term (∼ 22 months), high frequency (1 measurement every 10 min) and high resolution (0.6 mm) dataset obtained from the altimeter allows quantification of the volume of material exchanged between the intertidal area and the estuarine standing stock of SPM. The maximum of deposition on the studied mudflat during the study was of 27 cm, with highest deposition occurring after the periods of highest river flow and implying that between 25 and 40% of the maximum estimated mass of SPM held within the estuarine TM (300,000–500,000 T) had been temporarily deposited on the mudflat. Likewise following periods of resuspension by wave activity, bed elevations reduced by an order of ∼ 1 cm, suggesting a release of between 1–1.5% of the TM load from the mudflat back into suspension. The study shows that lateral exchanges of sediment between the intertidal reaches of the estuary and the water column are an important part of the sediment budget, and that the supply of sediment available for deposition (i.e. the TM) has a causal relationship with sedimentation rates experienced by intertidal mudflats.