Hydrographic behavior of the Galician Rias Baixas (NW Spain) under the spring intrusion of the Miño River

The hydrographic behavior of the Galician Rias Baixas is studied under the influence of the Miño River outflow. This study is carried out in spring 1998 under a high Miño River discharge and favorable wind patterns to spread the river plume northward of river mouth, toward the Rias Baixas. This freshwater intrusion reverses the normal salinity gradient in the along axis direction in the rias of Vigo and Pontevedra, but not in their neighbor ria of Arousa.