Remotely sensed variability of the suspended sediment concentration and its response to decreased river discharge in the Yangtze estuary and adjacent coast

• We quantify realistic patterns of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) dynamics.
• Remotely sensed SSC distribution presents significant seasonal variations.
• The river discharge changes have an impact on the SSC in the whole estuary.
• Satellite observations capture the phenomenon of sediment horizontal exchanges.

Satellite observation is an excellent tool for exploring the variability of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of turbid estuarine and coastal waters. We used a recently developed semi-empirical radiative transfer model combined with a multi-wavelength switching algorithm for the SSC retrieval from MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) satellite data. This method can successfully retrieve SSC from satellite data in turbid estuarine and coastal waters with a wide range of sediment concentrations (20–2500 mg l−1) and is robust for quantifying realistic patterns of the surface sediment dynamics. The seasonal and annual variability of the MERIS-derived SSC from 2003 to 2010 were analysed in this work. Five regions-of-interest (ROIs) in the Yangtze estuary and coast are included in the analysis: the upper estuary, the lower estuary, the outer estuary, the Hangzhou Bay and the Qidong shore. The results reveal that the SSC of the upper estuary has significant seasonal and annual variations in response to seasonal cycling and annual fluctuation of the river discharge. A long-term continuing decrease of river discharge may cause an overall decline of the SSC in the entire estuary and adjacent areas. The existence of horizontal exchanges of the sediments between the Yangtze estuary and the Jiangsu coast implies that the decreased fluvial sediment loads of the estuary may partially be compensated by supplementing contributions from other origins.