Subtidal variability of the Tagus river plume in winter 2013

The subtidal variability of surface plume response to local wind and river runoff is studied off central Portugal using a hindcast model for the Tagus Estuary (TE) plume. In addition to the model, the main patterns of variability of the TE plume were extracted in an automated mode using Self Organizing Maps (SOM). Three characteristic spatial patterns are extracted in a 3 × 2 SOM array: in synoptic time scales, northward and southward propagation of the plume and transitional periods. Results suggest that river runoff and wind induce strong variability in the coastal ocean, and that the TE plume has a rapid response to their changes. Under high river runoff there is a southern propagation of the plume, even during downwelling favorable winds, revealing bi-directional patterns due to the combined effect of estuarine outflow, wind direction and coastline in establishment the plume direction. The same is found during transitional periods, revealing that the TE plume has significant influence both north and south of the estuary mouth. SOM was applied for the first time to extract spatial and temporal features of the TE plume and prove to be a reliable tool to study large quantities of data in addition to the model results analysis.