Sediment dynamics and estuarine circulation in the turbidity maximum of the Elbe river

Data are presented from several campaigns concerning to the residual transport of water, salt and suspended particulate matter (SPM) at different depths and at different longitudinal and cross-sectional locations in the Elbe Estuary, Northern Germany. The intratidal behaviour of SPM is analysed and explained in terms of cyclic settling and resuspension. Superimposed on these local processes are advective horizontal transports of water and SPM in different vertical layers. Tidally averaged horizontal fluxes of salinity and SPM have been calculated at different depths. For the most part, they show upstream directed transport in the bottom layers, while in the upper water column SPM is carried towards the sea. Examples of the influence of vertical salinity gradients on SPM dynamics, of the lateral variation of residual transport of water and SPM, and the effects of a runoff peak are also presented.