Flow,stress and sediment resuspension in a shallow tidal channel

In October of 2004, a 3-d observational program to measure flow and sediment resuspension within a coastal intertidal salt marsh was conducted in the North Inlet/Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve located near Georgetown, South Carolina. Current and acoustic backscatter profiles were obtained from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployed in a shallow tidal channel during the spring phase of the tidal cycle under high discharge conditions. The channel serves as a conduit between Winyah Bay, a large brackish estuary, and North Inlet, a saline intertidal coastal salt marsh with little freshwater input. Salinity measurements indicate that the water column is vertically well mixed during flood, but becomes vertically stratified during early ebb. The stratification results from brackish (15 psu) Winyah Bay water entering North Inlet via the tidal channel, suggesting an exchange mechanism that permits North Inlet to receive a fraction of the poor water quality and high discharge flow from upland rivers. Although maximum flood currents exceed maximum ebb currents by 0.2 m s⁻¹, suspended sediment concentrations are highest during the latter ebb phase and persist for a longer fraction of the ebb cycle. Even though the channel is flood-dominated, the higher concentrations occurring over a longer fraction of the ebb phase indicate net particulate transport from Winyah Bay to North Inlet during spring tide accompanied by high discharge. Our evidence suggests that the higher concentrations during ebb result from increased bed friction caused by flow asymmetries and variations in water depth in which the highest stresses occur near the end of ebb near low water despite stronger maximum currents during flood.     

台风浪作用下长江口深水航道骤淤数值模拟

极端天气条件下,波浪引起的高含沙水体会引起航道骤淤,增大航道回淤量。以"马勒卡"台风期间现场水文资料为基础,建立了波流共同作用下的长江口三维潮流泥沙数学模型,研究北槽航道骤淤问题。数学模型验证了"马勒卡"台风期间的北槽水沙过程,相似性较好,通过分离波浪,探讨了潮流与波流共同作用下的含沙量及航道淤积分布差异,研究了台风浪对航道骤淤的影响。研究表明,台风浪对-15 m等深线以浅水域含沙量影响较大,北槽含沙量自上游至口外逐渐增大,改变了常态天气北槽"中间高、两头低"的含沙量分布趋势。台风浪对北槽口内航道回淤分布影响较小,北槽口外航道淤积量剧增,即航道骤淤主要发生在北槽口外。     

A modeling study of a tidal intrusion front and its impact on larval dispersion in the James River estuary, Virginia

A tidally-induced frontal system regularly develops in a small area off Newport News Point in the lower James River, one of the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In conjunction with the front, a strong counter-clockwise eddy develops on the shoals flanking the northern side of the channel as the result of tidal interaction with the local bathymetry and estuarine stratification. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was applied to simulate the eddy evolution and front development, and to investigate time-varying circulation and material transport over a spring-neap tidal cycle. The model results show that variation of tidal range, together with periodic stratification-destratification of the estuary, has a significant impact on the residual circulation of the lower James River. The net surface water circulation, which takes the form of a counterclockwise eddy on the Hampton Flats, is stronger during neap tide than during spring tide. Strong stratification and weak flood current during neap tide results in a dominant ebb flow at the surface, which delays flooding within the channel and advances the phase lead of flood tide on shoals adjacent to the channel, thus increasing both period and intensity of the eddy. Front development in the area off Newport News Point provides a linkage between shoal surface water and channel bottom water, producing a strong net upriver bottom transport. The existence of the vertical transport mechanism was independently demonstrated through tracer experiments. The impact of the dynamics on larval dispersion was investigated through a series of model simulations of the movement of shellfish larvae over multiple tidal cycles following their release at selected bottom sites. These results show that eddy-induced horizontal circulation and vertical transport associated with the frontal system are important mechanisms for the retention of larval organisms in the James River.     

潮波运动对长江口分流的影响

汊口分流是河流动力学中一个经典的科学问题,感潮河段内的汊口由于受到潮波运动的影响,会产生明显的剩余环流,使其分流过程与非感潮河段汊口存在明显不同。为揭示潮波运动对汊口分流的影响,引入分流不均匀系数概念,以长江口为研究对象,依据2002年地形建立平面二维数学模型。分别开展"无径"、"无潮"和"径潮"3种情况模拟,定量地分解出径流、潮流和径潮相互作用对分流的影响程度,并探讨深水航道整治工程对分流过程的影响。结果表明:潮波运动在枯季和洪季分别以32.95% 和35.71%的程度对南北港分流不均匀系数产生抑制作用,使分流趋于均匀。深水航道整治工程使得南港的径潮相互作用增强,潮平均水位壅高,减弱了径流向南港分配增加的趋势。     

On the spatial structure of currents across the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal

The Chesapeake and Delaware (C&;D) Canal is a man-made waterway connecting two of the largest estuaries on the east coast of the United States: Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. A set of current meter data collected during April–May 1975 along two cross-sections of the C&;D Canal was used to examine the spatial distributions of the currents at tidal and subtidal time scales. The different responses of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays to tidal and wind forcing produce significant differences in sea level fluctuations between the two ends of the canal. These alongcanal surface slopes produce significant barotropic current fluctuations at both tidal (semidiurnal and diurnal) and subtidal (2-d to 3-d) time scales. Under the influence of bottom friction, the barotropic currents near the surface are stronger than those at depth, but these currents do not exhibit significant lateral variations across the canal. On the other hand, the long-term flow in the canal exhibits strong lateral variability with eastward flow off the south shore of the canal and westward flow off the north shore of the canal. The lateral structure of the long-term flow may carry significant implications for the long-term exchange of material between the two bays.     

Fortnightly Changes in Water Transport Direction Across the Mouth of a Narrow Estuary

This research investigates the dynamics of the axial tidal flow and residual circulation at the lower Guadiana Estuary, south Portugal, a narrow mesotidal estuary with low freshwater inputs. Current data were collected near the deepest part of the channel for 21 months and across the channel during two (spring and neap) tidal cycles. Results indicate that at the deep channel, depth-averaged currents are stronger and longer during the ebb at spring and during the flood at neap, resulting in opposite water transport directions at a fortnightly time scale. The net water transport across the entire channel is up-estuary at spring and down-estuary at neap, i.e., opposite to the one at the deep channel. At spring tide, when the estuary is considered to be well mixed, the observed pattern of circulation (outflow in the deep channel, inflow over the shoals) results from the combination of the Stokes transport and compensating return flow, which varies laterally with the bathymetry. At neap tide (in particular for those of lowest amplitude each month), inflows at the deep channel are consistently associated with the development of gravitational circulation. Comparisons with previous studies suggest that the baroclinic pressure gradient (rather than internal tidal asymmetries) is the main driver of the residual water transport. Our observations also indicate that the flushing out of the water accumulated up-estuary (at spring) may also produce strong unidirectional barotropic outflow across the entire channel around neap tide.     

Effect of a broad shallow sill on tidal circulation and salt transport in the entrance to a coastal plain estuary (Mira—Vila Nova de Milfontes, Portugal)

We describe the tidal circulation and salinity regime of a coastal plain estuary that connects to the ocean through a flood tide delta. The delta acts as a sill, and we examine the mechanisms through which the sill affects exchange of estuarine water with the ocean. Given enough buoyancy, the dynamics of tidal intrusion fronts across the sill and selective withdrawal (aspiration) in the deeper channel landward appear to control the exchange of seawater with estuarine water. Comparison of currents on the sill and stratification in the channel reveals aspiration depths smaller than channel depth during neap tide. During neap tide and strong vertical stratification, seawater plunges beneath the less dense estuarine water somewhere on the sill. Turbulence in the intruding bottom layer on the sill promotes entrainment of fluid from the surface layer, and the seawater along the sill bottom is diluted with estuarine water. During ebb flow, salt is effectively trapped landward of the sill in a stagnant zone between the aspiration depth and the bottom where it can be advected farther upstream by flood currents. During spring tide, the plunge point moves landward and off the sill, stratification is weakened in the deep channel, and aspiration during ebb extends to the bottom. This prevents the formation of stagnant water near the bottom, and the estuary is flooded with high salinity water far inland. The neapspring cycle of tidal intrusion fronts on flood coupled with aspiration during ebb interacts with the sill to play an important role in the transport and retention of salt within the estuary.     

Distortion of tidal currents and the lateral transfer of salt in a shallow coastal plain estuary (O estuário do Mira, Portugal)

We describe the tidal circulation of a coastal plain estuary across a flood tide delta located at its entrance. The area connects the downstream portion of the main estuary extending 30–40 km inland to the more complex delta reach that consists of a shallow main channel and a series of smaller side channels. The delta acts as a frictionally dominated zone that modifies the tidal wave from a simple sinusoid to one with ebb currents that accelerate to maximum early in the tidal cycle and last more than one-half of the tidal cycle. Along smaller side channels, the tidal currents favor stronger flood or ebb currents, depending upon the local surrounding morphology. The phase difference between ebb currents in the small channels relative to those in the main channel cause some of the salt to be retained thus reducing the tendency of freshwater discharge to flush salt out of the system. This mechanism of retention differs from the selective withdrawal mechanism described for this estuary in Blanton et al. (2000).     

Sedimentation cycle of a freshwater tidal flat in the St. Lawrence estuary

Cap-Tourmente tidal flat is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence middle estuary, 50 km downstream from Quebec city, Canada. Seasonal variations in sedient accretion were studied during the period without ice from May to December, using horizontal plates in conjunction with vertical stakes. The sedimentological regime which is characterized by very rapid changes, can be divided into four periods. There are two periods of intense erosion in May and October–November; during these months, erosion is initiated by walking and beak probing of very large flocks of snow geese. During the summer, very rapid accretion occurs for approximately 100 days; during this period, the sedimentation rate is 2 mm per day in the lower section of the tidal marsh which is covered with vegetation. Among the numerous factors influencing the sedimentation cycle, the very gradual slope of the upper part of the flat (0.25%) seems to be one of the most important because it results in a very large area (550 m wide) which is protected from strong tidal currents. This latter area is covered with dense and high vegetation which provides an effective protection against erosion unitl the snow geese arrive in October and raze it in a few days. The presence of vegetation reduces the velocities of tidal currents, particularly during ebb and modifies their direction for both flood and ebb, orienting them perpendicularly to the main tidal flow.     

A study of the dynamics of a marine sandwave

The movement of the crest of a sandwave was studied using cross-sectional profiles obtained from lines of sea-bed reference stakes. Measurements were made, over a six month period, before and after flood and ebb tides in relation to both spring and neap tides and surface wave conditions. Additional observations were obtained on a daily basis, over an equinoctial neap to spring to neap tidal period, in conjunction with boundary layer flow measurements. Tracer experiments were conducted to study the dispersion of sediment from the sandwave crest. The results showed that the sandwave was relatively stable at neap tides, whilst at higher tidal ranges, the crest position oscillated with successive flood and ebb tides. Net flank erosion occurred on the less steep, upstream slope during the dominant ebb tide. This, together with increased deposition on the lee slope, caused the crest to advance. It was not possible to extrapolate sandwave migration over long periods as the tidal dynamic trends were interrupted by wind stress and surface wave activity. High particle orbital velocities, generated at the sea-bed by storm waves, caused major reductions in crestal heights. Calculated volumes of sediment eroded and accreted were used, with boundary layer flow measurements, to calculate threshold velocities for the movement of the sediment and sediment transport rates.     

长江口九段沙下段冲淤演变水动力机制分析

概述了长江口深水航道整治一期工程及工程对九段沙下段地形冲淤的影响.根据已建立的σ坐标系下三维非线性水流数学模型,用新测水文资料对模型进行验证.利用所建立的模型,结合由现场测量得到一期工程前后九段沙下段近期地形演变,数值模拟了北槽区域流通量、底层欧拉余流和北槽中下段平面水流特征,以综合分析北槽水域水动力变化对九段沙下段地形冲淤变化的影响.     

Role of Late Winter–Spring Wind Influencing Summer Hypoxia in Chesapeake Bay

We examined the processes influencing summer hypoxia in the mainstem portion of Chesapeake Bay. The analysis was based on the Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Program data collected between 1985 and 2007. Self-organizing map (SOM) analysis indicates that bottom water dissolved oxygen (DO) starts to be depleted in the upper mesohaline area during late spring, and hypoxia expands down-estuary by early summer. The seasonal hypoxia in the bay appears to be related to multiple variables, (e.g., river discharge, nutrient loading, stratification, phytoplankton biomass, and wind condition), but most of them are intercorrelated. The winter–spring Susquehanna River flow contributes to not only spring–summer buoyancy effects on estuarine circulation dynamics but also nutrient loading from the land-promoting phytoplankton growth. In addition, we found that summer hypoxia is significantly correlated with the late winter–spring (February–April) northeasterly–southwesterly (NE–SW) wind. Based on winter–spring (January–May) conditions, a predictive tool was developed to forecast summer (June–August) hypoxia using river discharge and NE–SW wind. We hypothesized that the late winter–spring wind pattern may affect the transport of spring bloom biomass to the western shoal or the deep channel of the bay that either alleviates or increases the summer hypoxic volume in the midbay region, respectively. To examine this hypothesis, residual flow fields were analyzed using a hydrodynamic ocean model (Regional Ocean Modeling System; ROMS) between 2000 and 2003, two hydrologically similar years but years with different wind conditions during the spring bloom period. Simulation model results suggest that relatively larger amounts of organic matter could be transported into the deep channel in 2003 (severe hypoxia; frequent northeasterly wind) than 2000 (moderate hypoxia; frequent southwesterly wind).     

海南岛洋浦湾沉积作用研究

本文对海南岛洋浦湾海域的洋浦湾、新英湾、洋浦深槽及拦门沙浅滩的沉积环境和沉积特征做了描述、讨论，对河流、海岸侵蚀和珊瑚礁生物的３种沉积物来源及数量做了分析计算，得出其总量为９×１０⁴ｍ^３／ａ。根据钻孔柱状样的¹⁴Ｃ及²¹⁰Ｐｂ分析，得出８０００ａＢ．Ｐ．以来沉积速率为０．１～０．２ｃｍ／ａ，近百年来沉积速率为１～２ｃｍ／ａ。     

Interaction of Tidal and Fluvial Processes in the Transition Zone of the Santee River, SC, USA

This study was conducted in the freshwater reach of the Santee River approximately 55?±?4?km from the mouth, a transition zone from a fluvial to an estuarine tidal regime. The dataset comprises bathymetric surveys, current profile and bottom pressure measurements at two locations, and time series of discharge. Our data indicate that the transition zone is characterized by strong tidal dissipation and distinctive channel geometry. Tidal dissipation is evident in the rapid decrease of the M₂ amplitude to the mean along-channel velocity ratio from 2.1 to 0.9 over a ??6-km distance. Channel cross-sectional area in the transition zone converges at a higher rate than both upstream and downstream while channel depth reveals threefold variations in the form of adjacent shoals and deeps. We hypothesize that the enhanced tidal dissipation is at the same time a cause and a result of strongly convergent bathymetry in the transition zone.     

长江河口崇明东滩周期性淹水区域水流的基本特征

潮间带周期性淹水区域水深、流速的变化过程是潮滩水动力过程的基本组成部分,也是潮流与泥沙相互作用的基础。通过2002年4月至2003年1月4个季节的野外实测,获得了平静天气条件下,崇明东滩滩面潮流水深、流速与流向的变化过程数据。结果表明,崇明东滩盐沼和邻近光滩处涨潮历时均小于落潮历时,水深过程变化呈现出“陡涨缓落”的特点。光滩与盐沼交界处光滩一侧流速过程呈“双峰型”特征,涨落潮均出现流速峰值;盐沼（植物生长期）流速过程具有“单峰型”特点,仅在涨潮初出现峰值。研究区潮流不对称性明显,主要表现为涨潮优势,且由光滩向盐沼上部不断增强,潮沼植物和地形变化是加强盐沼区涨潮优势的主要原因。流速变化过程的差异和潮流不对称性使盐沼区域发生稳定的泥沙淤积,盐沼前缘光滩则会出现较频繁的冲淤变化,平静天气条件下,它们是控制崇明东滩泥沙输移和潮滩动力地貌过程的动力基础。     

Evolution of the Cape Henry front

The evolution of a front that forms inshore of the main Chesapeake Bay plume, near Cape Henry, Virginia, United States, was observed during a period of downwelling-favorable winds in May 1999. A novel aspect of this study was the use of an underway, horizontally-oriented acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) to map the front and to study its evolving shape. Measurements made during flood tide show the front forming about 2 km from shore and then advancing shoreward (at about 20 cm s⁻¹) over dense, inshore water. Measurements made while anchored 1 km from shore show the surface salinity increasing during ebb tide, then abruptly decreasing during flood tide as the front moves inshore. To account for this cycle of events, a conceptual model is proposed in which dense water upwells to the surface during ebb tide near Cape Henry, helping to set the stage for frontal formation on the flood. The cyclic recurrence of this Cape Henry front so close to the mouth of the bay may provide a mechanism for recirculating estuarine material that would otherwise be transported southward in the coastal buoyancy current.     

Tidal currents,bed sediments,and bedforms at the South Branch and the South Channel of the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary,China: Implications for the ripple-dune transition

Measurements were made of tidal currents, bed sediment particle sizes, and bedform dimensions at the South Branch and the South Channel of the Changjiang estuary, China, during the dry season in 1997 and the flood season in 1998. The near bottom current speed and direction were measured by a mechanical current meter for 10 h in 1997. The near surface current speed and direction were measured by a Current Meter of Endeco/YSI Inc. 174 SSM for 14 h in 1997 and 1998. Nine bed sediment samples were taken and their particle sizes were analyzed with sieves and siphons. The bedforms were nautically detected by an echo sounder and a side scan sonar. Results show that the ebb tides had larger near-bottom and near-surface current speeds and longer durations than the flood tides, in which the former occurred during the flood season in 1998 and not in the dry season in 1997. The bed sediments were composed of coarse silts and very fine sands during the dry season but of fine sands during the flood season. Bedforms were dominated by ebb tidal currents, the height∶length ratios of dunes and lee face angles were low, and heights and lengths were larger during the flood season in 1998. The ebb and flood tidal currents, bed sediment sizes, and dune morphology were largely controlled by the seasonal runoff variations. A new tentative boundary might be proposed for natural dunes in very fine sand with the availability of additional field data in the future.     

Sediment dynamics of turbidity maximum in Changjiang River mouth in dry season

High-resolution current velocity and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data were collected by using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) at two anchor stations and a cross-section in the South Channel of the Changjiang River mouth during meso and neap tides on Nov. 16, 2003. In addition, tidal cycle (13-hour) observation at two stations was carried out with traditional methods during the spring tide. Results indicated that resuspension occurred not only at the flood and ebb maximum, but also in the early phase of ebb in the meso and neap tide. When tidal current transited from high to ebb phase, current speed accelerated. Subsequently, fine-grained sediment with low critical threshold was resuspended and increased concentration. The river mouth area remained in siltation in the meso and neap tidal phase during the observation season, with calculated resuspension flux in the order of magnitude of 10⁻⁴–10⁻⁷ kg·m−2/s. Suspended sediment transport in the South Channel was dominated by freshwater discharge, but the Storks drift, vertical circulation and vertical shear effect due to tidal oscillation also played an important role in resuspension and associated sediment transport. In contrast, resuspension sediment flux in the spring tide was larger than that in meso and neap tide, especially at the ebb maximum and flood maximum. The present study revealed that intensive resuspension corresponded well with the larger current velocity during winter. In addition, the ‘tidal pumping’ effect and tidal gravity circulation were also vital for forming the turbidity maximum in the Changjiang River estuary.     

Periodic frontogenesis in a region of freshwater influence

Observations are presented from a series of three conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) surveys of the salinity and temperature structure of Liverpool Bay, a region that is strongly influenced by the input of fresh water from the rivers of northwest England. The surveys demonstrate the development, seaward movement, and eventual decay of a haline front. The frontogenesis is driven by the relaxation of a freshwater-induced horizontal density gradient following the decrease in tidal range at neap tides. It results in the area of Liverpool Bay being stratified for a period of 8 d before the increase in tidal mixing as the spring tide approaches returns the region to its initial vertically mixed state. In Liverpool Bay this process usually repeats on the spring-neap cycle, though strong wind-mixing may prevent the frontogenesis and subsequent stratification. Analysis with a 1-dimensional numerical model suggests that relaxation of an initially nonlinear horizontal density field, creating the front, is triggered by the stability produced by tidal straining of the water column during the ebb half-cycle. The reduction in tidal mixing energy approaching neap tide does not lead to frontogenesis without this initial stability. Such a regular stratification signal will have a marked effect on the local environment. The periodic frontogenesis will act as a tidal pump, moving buoyant substances in the water column offshore, while the onshore residual currents lower in the water column will more deeper dissolved substances inshore. The cycling of stability on the springneap time scale is considerably faster than the seasonal cycle of thermal stratification in the shelf seas, but is similar in creating the conditions required for phytoplankton blooms. Conditions favorable for enhanced primary production may therefore occur frequently in such regions of freshwater influence.     

Regional and temporal variability in distribution and abundance of bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli) eggs, larvae, and adult biomass in the Chesapeake Bay

Patterns and variability in reproductive output of pelagic fish are seldom determined at the ecosystem scale. We examined temporal and spatial variability in spawning by bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), and in distribution and abundances of its pelagic early-life stages, throughout Chesapeake Bay. On two cruises in June and July 1993, ichthyoplankton and zooplankton were collected on 15 transects at 18.5-km (10 nautical mile) intervals over the 260-km length of the bay. Finer-scale sampling was carried out in a grid of stations between two transects on each cruise. Regional abundance patterns of bay anchovy eggs and larvae in the lower, mid, and upper Bay were compared with zooplankton abundances, environmental variables, and biovolumes of two gelatinous predators—the scyphomedusa Chrysaora quinquecirrha and the lobate ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi. Abundances of anchovy eggs, and, especially, larvae were higher in July than in June. Baywide daily egg production increased from 4.25×10¹² in June to 8.43×10¹² in July. Concentrations of zooplankton that are potential anchovy prey nearly doubled on a baywide basis between June and July, while biovolumes of the ctenophore declined. Except for scyphomedusan biovolumes, all analyzed organisms differed regionally in abundance and were patchily distributed at 1-km to 10-km sampling scales. Negative correlations between larval anchovy abundances and gelatinous predator biovolumes suggested that predation may have controlled abundances of bay anchovy early-life stages. Biomasses of adult anchovy, estimated from daily egg productions, were higher in the lower Bay and remarkably similar—23,433 tons in June and 23,194 tons in July. Most spawning by bay anchovy occurred during July in the seaward third of Chesapeake Bay, emphasizing the importance of this region for recruitment potential of the Bay's most abundant fish.