River salinity variations in response to discharge: examples from the western United States during the early 1900s

Major controls on river salinity (total dissolved solids) in the western United States are climate, geology, and human activity. Climate, in general, influences soil-river salinity via salt-balance variations. When climate becomes wetter, river discharge increases and soil-river salinity decreases; when climate becomes drier river discharge decreases and soil-river salinity increases. This study characterizes the river salinity response to discharge using statistical-dynamic methods. An exploratory analysis of river salinity, using early 1900s water quality surveys in the western United States, shows much river salinity variability is in response to storm and annual discharge. Presumably this is because river discharge is largely supported by surface flow.

The seasonal variations of sea level due to density variations in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

From the distribution of oceanographic data (temperature and salinity) in both Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, the steric components (thermal, haline and steric heights) are calculated for the upper 50m layer during different seasons. The analysis reveals relevant evidence, that temperature variations (thermal component) play a role in the fluctuations of sea level within the investigated area. The salinity variations (haline component) is only significant near the entrance. The sea level variations due to density (steric component) is low during winter and spring and high during summer and autumn. The steric height is always lower in the northern and central regions of Arabian Gulf and higher in eastern region of Arabian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman, i.e. the surface water must flow from the Gulf of Oman to the Arabian Gulf. The steric sea level gradient around the Strait of Hormuz are 0.04 cm/km in winter, 0.04 cm/km in spring, and 0.025 cm/km in summer and 0.014 cm/km in autumn.