A long-term program of continuous measurement of salinities at various
locations in Texas estuaries recorded instances of salinity drop and
recovery during and after flood inflows. Rates of salinity increase fo
llowing floods were calculated and compared. Average rates varied from
0.15 psu/day to 0.30 psu/day among bays. The rate of salinity recover
y was used with other data to estimate the efficiency of mixing of tid
al exchange between Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Results show
that approximately 10% of the total tidal influx of new Gulf water is
retained in the bay.