Using salt intrusion measurements to determine the freshwater discharge distribution over the branches of a multi-channel estuary: The Mekong Delta case

The fresh water discharge is an important parameter for modelling salt intrusion in an estuary. In alluvial converging estuaries during periods of low flow, when salinity is highest, the river discharge is generally small compared to the tidal flow. This makes the determination of the fresh water discharge a challenging task. Even if discharge observations are available during a full tidal cycle, the fresh water discharge is seldom much larger than the measurement error in the tidal discharge. Observations further upstream, outside the tidal region, do not always reflect the actual flow in the saline area due to withdrawals or additional drainage. Discharge computation is even more difficult in a complex system such as the Mekong Delta, which is a multi-channel estuary consisting of many branches, over which the freshwater discharge distribution cannot be measured directly. This paper presents a new approach to determine the freshwater discharge distribution over the branches of the Mekong Delta by means of an analytical salt intrusion model, based on measurements made during the dry season of 2005 and 2006. It appears that the analytical model agrees well with observations and with a hydraulic model. This paper demonstrates that with relatively simple and appropriate salinity measurements and making use of the analytical salt intrusion model, it is possible to obtain an accurate discharge distribution over the branches of a complex estuary system. This makes the analytical model a powerful tool to analyze the water resources in tidal regions.