Abstract
Conservation of ecosystem functioning in estuaries is vital for ecological and social sustainability as they connect the marine and terrestrial environments and are one of the most productive habitats on earth. Primary production by phytoplankton is the base to the food web and thus is an extremely important function. In hyper-turbid light-limited estuaries, it is mainly influenced by light, resident time and temperature. Waterway maintenance (dredging) has the potential to negatively affect primary production by increasing turbidity, thus reducing light-climate. Scientific understanding and good monitoring are necessary for science-based adaptive-management. Knowledge of short-term fluctuation's effects on primary production is lacking, due to traditional water-quality monitoring missing these events with periodic monthly sampling frequencies. To minimize their impact on primary production, an understanding of short-term dynamics is necessary for waterway managers to regulate the locations and timings of their interventions. I will for the first time combine the use of high-frequency continuous sampled, periodic long-term sampled and satellite remote-sensed water quality data to understand the short-term dynamics between primary production, turbidity, flow and temperature in the Scheldt Estuary. This will be used to develop best management practices for mitigation of negative effects on primary production from waterway maintenance.
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