Event Abstract Back to Event Analysis of the most important river plumes on the Atlantic and Mediterranean Iberian coast by means of satellite imagery Diego F. Novoa1*, Renato Mendes2, Maite D. Rodriguez1, João Miguel Dias2 and Ramón G. Gesteira1 1 Vigo University, Spain 2 Aveiro University, Portugal Rivers discharges cause the formation of buoyant plumes in the adjacent coastal area at their mouths, which are characterized by low-salinity water and controlled by outflow inertia, rotation (Coriolis) effects, buoyancy, wind, and tide forcing. The turbid plumes influence the adjacent coastal area, since they control the patterns of nutrients, sediments and/or pollutants of fluvial origin on the coastal ocean and can promote strong physical and chemical changes on seawater. These changes affect the biological characteristics of the area, such as primary production, species composition, abundance and distribution of existing microorganism, which demonstrates its high ecological importance. The characterization of the most important river plumes along the Atlantic Iberian coast and the influence of the main forcing drivers (river discharge, wind and tide) on them, was carried out through the analysis of plume mean-state images calculated using water leaving radiance data (nLw555) obtained from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensor onboard the Aqua satellite during 2003-2013. Satellite data are downloaded from Ocean Color web site (http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov). Daily high-resolution L1 files from MODIS-Aqua were processed through SeaDAS software. Composite images, interpolated to a regular pixel grid with an approximate resolution of 500m, were built for different synoptic conditions of river discharge, wind regimes and tide, in order to obtain a representative average plume image of each situation and river for the posterior analysis. Results showed that the river discharge is the main forcing factor in the river plume extension. Wind effect is noticeable under high river discharge and tide is important for the estuarine outflow regimes although with some remarkable similarities and differences between the Atlantic rivers due to their intrinsic characteristics. Keywords: Atlantic Iberian plumes, MODIS, turbidity, river discharge, wind effect, tide forcing Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014, Peniche, Portugal, 10 Jul - 11 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: BIODIVERSITY, CONSERVATION AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT Citation: Novoa DF, Mendes R, Rodriguez MD, Dias J and Gesteira RG (2014). Analysis of the most important river plumes on the Atlantic and Mediterranean Iberian coast by means of satellite imagery. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2014. doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2014.02.00080 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 25 Apr 2014; Published Online: 18 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Mr. Diego F Novoa, Vigo University, Ourense, Spain, diefernandez@uvigo.es Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Diego F Novoa Renato Mendes Maite D Rodriguez João Miguel Dias Ramón G Gesteira Google Diego F Novoa Renato Mendes Maite D Rodriguez João Miguel Dias Ramón G Gesteira Google Scholar Diego F Novoa Renato Mendes Maite D Rodriguez João Miguel Dias Ramón G Gesteira PubMed Diego F Novoa Renato Mendes Maite D Rodriguez João Miguel Dias Ramón G Gesteira Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.