@article{fdi:010083408,
  title = {{V}ariability of the {R}ed {R}iver plume in the {G}ulf of {T}onkin as revealed by numerical modeling and clustering analysis},
  author = {{N}guyen-{D}uy, {T}. and {A}youb, {N}. {K}. and {M}arsaleix, {P}. and {T}oublanc, {F}. and {D}e {M}ey-{F}remaux, {P}. and {P}iton, {V}. and {H}errmann, {M}arine and {D}uhaut, {T}. and {T}ran, {M}. {C}. and {N}go-{D}uc, {T}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{W}e study the daily to interannual variability of the {R}ed {R}iver plume in the {G}ulf of {T}onkin from numerical simulations at high resolution over 6 years (2011-2016). {C}ompared with observational data, the model results show good performance. {T}o identify the plume, passive tracers are used in order to (1) help distinguish the freshwater coming from different continental sources, including the {R}ed {R}iver branches, and (2) avoid the low salinity effect due to precipitation. {W}e first consider the buoyant plume formed by the {R}ed {R}iver waters and three other nearby rivers along the {V}ietnamese coast. {W}e show that the temporal evolution of the surface coverage of the plume is correlated with the runoff (within a lag), but that the runoff only cannot explain the variability of the river plume; other processes, such as winds and tides, are involved. {U}sing a {K}-means unsupervised machine learning algorithm, the main patterns of the plume and their evolution in time are analyzed and linked to different environmental conditions. {I}n winter, the plume is narrow and sticks along the coast most of the time due to the downcoast current and northeasterly wind. {I}n early summer, the southwesterly monsoon wind makes the plume flow offshore. {T}he plume reaches its highest coverage in {S}eptember after the peak of runoff. {V}ertically, the plume thickness also shows seasonal variations. {I}n winter, the plume is narrow and mixed over the whole water depth, while in summer, the plume can be detached both from the bottom and the coast. {T}he plume can deepen offshore in summer, due to strong wind (in {M}ay, {J}une) or specifically to a recurrent eddy occurring near 19 degrees {N} (in {A}ugust). {T}his first analysis of the variability of the {R}ed {R}iver plume can be used to provide a general picture of the transport of materials from the river to the ocean, for example in case of anthropogenic chemical substances leaked to the river. {F}or this purpose, we provide maps of the receiving basins for the different river systems in the {G}ulf of {T}onkin.},
  keywords = {{R}ed {R}iver ; river plume ; coastal ocean modeling ; {K}-means ; clustering analysis ; passive tracers ; unsupervised learning ; {VIET} {NAM} ; {CHINE} ; {FLEUVE} {ROUGE} ; {TONKIN} {GOLFE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{F}rontiers in {M}arine {S}cience},
  volume = {8},
  numero = {},
  pages = {772139 [25 p.]},
  year = {2021},
  DOI = {10.3389/fmars.2021.772139},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010083408},
}