Salt water intrusion in the Mekong River estuary, Vietnam : Observation at the Co Chien River from 2000 to 2002

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Abstract

Salt water intrusion in the Mekong River has been studied using a newly-developed acoustic reflection profiling system (Model SC-3). This system determines the spatial distribution of the halocline by measurements of water quality, especially of salinity. This system was made by improvement of a 200kHz precision echo sounder. In the intermediate flow seasons of Dec., 2000 and Jan., 2002, salt water was present only downstream of the mound at 8km in ebb tide, but progressed upstream beyond the mound at 14km toward flood tide. A typical wedge-like profile was obtained at the observation toward flood tide on 28 Dec., 2000. Time series echo-sounding profiles obtained from ebb tide toward rising tide on 2 and 4 Jan., 2002 at the river mouth station is in accordance with each salinity profile. In the low flow season of May 2001, salt water reached as far upstream as the mound at 28km near flood tide, and possibly entered the pool at 33km. The echo-sounding salinity profiles and the surface salinity data reveal the presence of strongly vertically-mixed water in the entire area invaded by salt water, although partly stratified structures may be formed during slack tide. The present echo-sounding system has proven to be very effective in unraveling the time-space behavior of salt water intrusion in the Mekong River.

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