Transport processes of suspended matter derived from time series in a tidal estuary

Optical beam transmittance meters integrated into Aanderaa current meters were used to measure long time series of suspended matter concentration simultaneously with current velocity and salinity in the turbidity maximum of the Weser estuary (shallow coastal plain estuary of the North Sea). They cover the spectrum from 10 min to several months. The time histories of concentrations and fluxes are discussed for characteristic locations within the turbidity maximum. The analyses demonstrate that the tidal dynamics of deposition into and resuspension of particles from temporally and spatially limited material sources at the bottom is the dominant process in the turbidity maximum while the nontidal gravitational circulation acts as a long‐term source and sink. There is a remarkable repeatability of concentration patterns during similar discharge conditions.