Effects of concentration-dependent settling velocity on non-equilibrium transport of suspended sediment

In this study, non-equilibrium transport of suspended sediment from one equilibrium state to another is investigated. Based on a convective-diffusion equation, a numerical model for flow with suspended sediment is developed by considering the effect of concentration-dependent settling velocity. The numerical model is validated by comparing analytical solutions and experimental results. The concentration profiles, mean concentrations and distance necessary to reach a new equilibrium state are examined by comparing them with the results of constant settling velocity. For a high concentration flow, the results indicate that evident differences between the above three indicators can be determined with and without concentration-dependent settling velocity. Additionally, the effects of concentration-dependent settling velocity are sensitive to the sediment mobility parameter (or Rouse number), although they are nearly independent of the diffusion Reynolds number.     

淤长型潮滩剖面形态演变模拟: 以江苏中部海岸为例

在泥质、砂质物质共存的淤长型潮滩, 其剖面的塑造受到潮流作用下堆积过程的控制.为探讨这种潮滩剖面的演变过程, 以江苏中部海岸为研究对象建立了大小潮周期性作用下的潮滩剖面演变模型, 模拟了潮滩均衡态剖面形态与初始坡度、潮差、沉积物供应量之间的关系及潮滩的持续淤长剖面.模拟结果表明: (1)淤长型潮滩剖面达到均衡态时的形态是上凸的, 且与初始形态无关; (2)在外源一定的条件下, 潮滩的宽度与潮差呈正相关; (3)外源物质供应越丰富, 潮滩宽度越大; (4)潮滩的冲淤状态由沉积物的供应量决定; (5)对大潮高潮位附近的无沉积带进行充填可实现对其长期持续淤长剖面的模拟; (6)有丰富沉积物来源的潮滩, 在调整至均衡态后仍持续向海淤长, 并在淤长过程中保持均衡态; (7)当在模型中输入有关江苏海岸的参数时, 模拟的潮滩宽度和坡度与江苏海岸的潮滩一致.      

Sediment suspension under waves and currents: time scales and vertical structure

Field measurements of the vertical structure of near-bed suspended sediment concentrations were obtained from arrays of fast response optical backscatter suspended solids sensors to examine the time-dependent response of sediment resuspension to waves and currents and the constraints imposed by bedforms. Data were recorded from both a nonbarred, marine shoreface and a barred lacustrine shoreface, under both shoaling and breaking waves (significant heights of 0·25–1·50m; peak periods of 3 and 8 s) and in water depths of 0·5–5·0 m. Sediment concentrations are positively correlated with increasing elevation above the bed, but lagged in time. The time lag varies directly with separation distance between measurement locations and inversely with the horizontal component of the near-bed oscillatory velocity. Both the presence of wave groups and the settling velocities of the sediment particules in suspension influence the temporal changes in concentration at a given elevation. Sediment concentrations appear to respond more slowly to the incident wind-wave forcing with distance away from the bed as a result of two factors: (1) the sequential increase in concentration induced by a succession of large waves in a group; and (ii) the relative increase in finer sediments with smaller settling velocities. Bedforms interact with the near-bed horizontal currents to impose a distinct constraint upon the timing of suspension events relative to the phase of the fluid motion, and, therefore, the vertical structure of the suspended sediment concentration at a range of time scales. The near-bed concentrations appear to be strongly dependent upon the vertical convection of sediment associated with the ejection from the wave boundary layer of separation vortices generated in the lee of ripple crests. Concentration gradients in the presence of vortex ripples are large, as are the correlation between concentrations measured at different elevations within the fluid.     

波流共同作用下潮滩剖面沉积物和地貌分异规律——以长江口崇明东滩为例

通过对崇明东滩两个海滩剖面、表层沉积物和悬沙粒度以及同步水沙资料的分析,探讨波流共同作用下表层沉积物和地貌的分异规律。受波流共同作用的影响,表层沉积物中值粒径由破波带向两侧逐渐变细,分选由破波带向两侧逐渐变差,偏度由极正偏变为正偏,峭度由很窄尖变为宽平和中等峭度。由破波带向岸方向,流速逐渐减小,含沙量逐渐增加。悬沙和表层沉积物粒度特征的对比分析表明,潮间带上部的悬沙主要来源于破波带泥沙的再悬浮。破波带内泥沙以“波浪掀沙”引起的分选运移为主,而破波带两侧的泥沙以潮流对破波带水体的“平流输移”为主。以潮汐水位和高精度海滩剖面数据对崇明东滩微地貌类型按高程进行了新的划分。     

感潮河网区水沙运动的数值模拟

根据感潮河网区水沙运动特征,建立了一维感潮河网区非恒定水沙数学模型,对河网区水沙运动和河床变形进行了数值模拟,并在水沙模拟的范围内着重对河网区内动边界的处理、挟沙力公式的选用、内边界含沙量的确定等问题进行了讨论,提出了解决问题的途径和技术处理方法。采用东江下游感潮河网区的水文和河道地形资料对所建模型进行了检验,模拟结果较好地反映了感潮河网区水沙运动的往复输运特征和河道冲淤的宏观效应。     

On the evaluation of sediment transport models in tidal environments

The application of numerical models for the simulation of coastal hydro-and sediment dynamics requires model verification, calibration and validation with field data. Yet, no commonly accepted rules for the evaluation of sediment transport models exist. This paper discusses the significance of statistical parameters and their limitations considering common time lags in tidal environments. It is shown that the occasionally used discrepancy ratio lacks quantitative and qualitative information on model performance, as the time context information on time series characteristics is lost. As an initial measure of association, the simple linear correlation coefficient r² is proposed. To account for time lag errors in suspended transport models, a separate cross-correlation analysis for the flood and ebb tidal phase is proposed. For a comparison with other model applications, a concluding rating of model performance can be expressed by a dimensionless error definition which takes into account the quality of field data.     

Tidal sediment transport versus freshwater flood events in the Konkouré Estuary, Republic of Guinea

In comparison to their temperate counterparts, sediment processes in tropical estuaries are poorly known and especially in African ones. The hydrodynamics of such environments is controlled by a combination of multiple processes including morphology, salinity, mangrove vegetation, tidal processes, river discharge, settling and erosion of mud and by physico-chemical processes as well as sediment dynamics.The aim of this study is to understand the sediment processes in this transitional stage of the estuary when the balance between river discharges and marine processes is reversing. Studying the hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of the Konkouré Estuary has recently been made possible thanks to new data on bathymetry, sedimentary cover, salinity, water elevations, and current velocities. The Lower Konkouré is a shallow, funnel shaped, mesotidal mangrove-fringed, tide-dominated estuary, well mixed during low river discharge and stratified during high river discharge. The Konkouré Estuary is turbid despite the small amount of terrestrial input and its residual velocity at the mouth during low river discharges, landwards for two of the three branches, suggests a landward migration by tidal pumping of the suspended particulate matter. A Turbidity Maximum Zone (TMZ) is identified for typical states of the estuary with regard to fluvial and tidal components. Suspended sediment transport during a transitional stage between the rainy and dry seasons is known thanks to current velocity and Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) measurements taken in November 2003. The Richardson layered number calculation assesses that turbulence is the major mixing process in the water column, at least during the flood and ebb stages, whereas stratification occurs during the slack water periods. Tidal currents generate bottom erosion, and turbulence mixes the suspended sediment throughout the water column. As a result, a net sediment input is calculated from the western Konkouré outlet for two consecutive tidal cycles. Despite the net water export, almost 300 tons per tide reach the estuary through this outlet, for a moderate river flow.     

Modeling the Effects of Tidal Energy Extraction on Estuarine Hydrodynamics in a Stratified Estuary

A 3-D coastal ocean model with a tidal turbine module was used in this paper to study the effects of tidal energy extraction on temperature and salinity stratification and density-driven two-layer estuarine circulation. Numerical experiments with various turbine array configurations were carried out to investigate the changes in tidally averaged temperature, salinity, and velocity profiles in an idealized stratified estuary that connects to coastal water through a narrow tidal channel. The model was driven by tides, river inflow, and sea surface heat flux. To represent the realistic size of commercial tidal farms, model simulations were conducted based on a small percentage (less than 10 %) of the total number of turbines that would generate the maximum extractable energy in the system. Model results show that extraction of tidal in-stream energy will increase the vertical mixing and decrease the stratification in the estuary. Installation of in-stream tidal farm will cause a phase lag in tidal wave, which leads to large differences in tidal currents between baseline and tidal farm conditions. Extraction of tidal energy in an estuarine system has stronger impact on the tidally averaged salinity, temperature, and velocity in the surface layer than the bottom layer even though the turbine hub height is close to the bottom. Finally, model results also indicate that extraction of tidal energy weakens the two-layer estuarine circulation, especially during neap tides when tidal mixing is weakest and energy extraction is smallest.     

A Model Study of the Estuarine Turbidity Maximum along the Main Channel of the Upper Chesapeake Bay

A three-dimensional, intratidal sediment transport model is developed for the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) in the upper Chesapeake Bay. The model considers three particle size classes, including the fine class mostly in suspension in the water column, the medium class alternately suspended and deposited by tidal currents, and the coarse size suspended only during the times of relatively high energy events. Based on the results of a box model, depth-limited erosion with continuous deposition is employed for the medium and coarse classes by varying the critical shear stress for erosion as a function of eroded mass. For the fine class, mutually exclusive erosion and deposition is employed with a small constant value for the critical shear stresses for erosion and deposition to assure quick erosion of recently deposited fine particles but without allowing further erosion of consolidated bed sediments. The model is run to simulate the annual condition in 1996, and the model generally gives a reasonable reproduction of the observed characteristics of the ETM relative to the salt limit and tidal phase. The model results for 1996 are analyzed to study the characteristics of the ETM along the main channel of the upper bay in intertidal and intratidal time scales. Under a low flow condition, local erosion/deposition and bottom horizontal flux convergence are the main processes responsible for the formation of the ETM, with the settling flux confining the ETM to the bottom water. Under a high flow condition, a distinctive ETM is formed by strong convergence of the downstream flux of sediments eroded from the upstream of the null zone and the upstream flux of sediments settled at the downstream of the null zone. Intratidal variation of the ETM is mainly controlled by erosion and the tidal transport of eroded sediments for a low flow condition. Under the direct influence of a high flow event, the ETM is mainly formed by erosion during ebbing tidal current strengthened by large freshwater discharge and by convergence of ebbing freshwater discharge and flooding tidal current. During the rebounding stage of a high flow event, intratidal variations are mainly controlled by tidal asymmetry caused by the interaction between tidal currents, gravitational circulation, and stratification.     

Two-dimensional horizontal modeling of fine-sediment transport at the South Channel–North Passage of the partially mixed Changjiang River estuary,China

Tidal flow and fine-sediment transport at the South Channel–North Passage of the partially-mixed Changjiang River estuary were studied using a two-dimensional horizontal (2DH) numerical model. This 2DH model was achieved by depth-integrating the momentum and convection–diffusion equations. The Alternating Direction Implicit scheme was used to solve the governing equations. The iterative method was adopted for the calculation of convection and diffusion terms of momentum equation. Comparisons between calculated and measured results (tidal elevations and depth-averaged velocities) have shown reasonable agreement. Horizontal distributions of tidal current velocity and suspended sediment concentration were qualitatively consistent with observations. Those modeled results were analyzed to elucidate the mechanisms for the formation of the turbidity maximum and intratidal variations in fine-sediment transport processes.     

基于RS与GIS的南汇东滩围垦研究

RS和GIS技术是滩涂围垦监测最经济和有效的方法之一。本文基于1983年以来多期遥感影像,解译出了不同时期人工岸线的位置,在此基础上利用GIS技术分析了近30年来南汇东滩的围垦过程及其与滩涂淤涨速率的关系。结果表明,近30年来南汇东滩的围垦过程呈现＂由慢至快＂的发展趋势,经历了＂缓慢—稳步—高速＂三个发展阶段：（1）1983～1995年年均围垦速率约1.23km2/a,圈围速率较小;（2）1995～2000年为7.95km2/a,围垦速率处于稳步增长阶段;（3）2002～2005年为35.27km2/a,是围垦速率最大的阶段。2002年以前,围垦速率与滩涂淤涨速率基本一致,2002年之后,围垦速率远大于滩涂淤涨速率。本文认为8km2/a是南汇东滩适宜的围垦速度。2002年之后南汇东滩的快速围垦并没有导致上海整体滩涂面积的减少,围垦可不囿于局部滩涂面积的稳定,以全市总体滩涂面积和湿地水平的动态平衡,可为滩涂资源开发利用提供现实选择。     

Impact of Channel Deepening on Tidal and Gravitational Circulation in a Highly Engineered Estuarine Basin

Deepening of estuarine channels is a common practice to ensure navigation. Here, we investigate whether such deepening impacts physical processes such as the strength of the estuarine exchange flow, the horizontal salinity gradient, and tidal dynamics. We analyze recent and historical hydrodynamic observations in Newark Bay, New Jersey, to assess the effect of channel deepening on tides, circulation, and salinity. The Bay’s navigational channel has undergone significant deepening, from 3 to 10 m in the nineteenth century to ~16 m today. Observations presented here include sea-level data from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century, and moored Doppler current data and bottom salinity measurements made over the past 20 years. Results show a doubling of the estuarine exchange flow, a slight increase in salinity and in the horizontal salinity gradient, a decrease in tidal current amplitude, and a spatially variable change in the tidal range. The doubling of the exchange flow is consistent with the Hansen and Rattray scaling provided that the horizontal salinity gradient is unable to fully adjust landward because the dredging is limited to a short reach of the estuary. However, uncertainty in channel depth leaves open the possibility that the exchange flow is also augmented by an increase in the horizontal salinity gradient and/or a reduction in vertical mixing. Nevertheless, results demonstrate that a relatively small (15%) increase in depth appears to have doubled the exchange flow. We believe that this result is relevant to other systems where dredging is limited to a short reach of an estuary.     

Tidal straining,density currents,and stirring in the control of estuarine stratification

Buoyancy input as fresh water exerts a stratifying influence in estuaries and adjacent coastal waters. Predicting the development and breakdown of such stratification is an inherently more difficult problem than that involved in the analogous case of stratification induced by surface heating because the buoyancy input originates at the lateral boundaries. In the approach adopted here, we have adapted the energy considerations used in the surface heating problem to describe the competition between the stabilizing effect of fresh water and the vertical mixing brought about by tidal and wind stirring. Freshwater input induces horizontal gradients which drive the estuarine circulation in which lighter fluid at the surface is moved seaward over heavier fluid moving landward below. This contribution to stratification is expected to vary in time as the level of turbulence varies over the tidal cycle. The density gradient also interacts directly with the vertical shear in the tidal current to induce a periodic input to stratification which is positive on the ebb phase of the tide. Comparison of this input with the available stirring energy leads to a simple criterion for the existence of strain-induced stratification. Observations in a region of Liverpool Bay satisfying this criterion confirm the occurrence of a strong semidiurnal variation in stratification with complete vertical mixing apparent around high water except at neap tides when more permanent stratification may develop. A simulation of the monthly cycle based on a model including straining, stirring, and the estuarine circulation is in qualitative agreement with the main features of the observations.     

Flow structure of turbidity currents

A two‐dimensional numerical model is used to describe the flow structure of turbidity currents in a vertical plane. To test the accuracy of the model, it is applied to historical flows in Bute Inlet and the Grand Banks flow. The two‐dimensional spatial and temporal distributions of velocity and sediment concentration and non‐dimensionalized vertical profiles of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and sediment concentration are discussed for several simple computational currents. The flows show a clear interaction between velocity, turbulence and sediment distribution. The results of the numerical tests show that flows with fine‐grained sediment have low vertical and high horizontal gradients of velocity and sediment concentration, show little increase in flow thickness and decelerate slowly. Steadiness and uniformity in these flows are comparable for velocity and concentration. In contrast, flows with coarse‐grained sediment have high vertical and low horizontal velocity gradients and high horizontal concentration gradients. These flows grow considerably in thickness and decelerate rapidly. Steadiness and uniformity in flows with coarse‐grained sediment are different for velocity and concentration. The results show the influence of spatial and temporal flow structure on flow duration and sediment transport.     

Sediment Accretion in Tidal Freshwater Forests and Oligohaline Marshes of the Waccamaw and Savannah Rivers,USA

Sediment accretion was measured at four sites in varying stages of forest-to-marsh succession along a fresh-to-oligohaline gradient on the Waccamaw River and its tributary Turkey Creek (Coastal Plain watersheds, South Carolina) and the Savannah River (Piedmont watershed, South Carolina and Georgia). Sites included tidal freshwater forests, moderately salt-impacted forests at the freshwater–oligohaline transition, highly salt-impacted forests, and oligohaline marshes. Sediment accretion was measured by use of feldspar marker pads for 2.5 year; accessory information on wetland inundation, canopy litterfall, herbaceous production, and soil characteristics were also collected. Sediment accretion ranged from 4.5 mm year^?1 at moderately salt-impacted forest on the Savannah River to 19.1 mm year^?1 at its relict, highly salt-impacted forest downstream. Oligohaline marsh sediment accretion was 1.5–2.5 times greater than in tidal freshwater forests. Overall, there was no significant difference in accretion rate between rivers with contrasting sediment loads. Accretion was significantly higher in hollows than on hummocks in tidal freshwater forests. Organic sediment accretion was similar to autochthonous litter production at all sites, but inorganic sediment constituted the majority of accretion at both marshes and the Savannah River highly salt-impacted forest. A strong correlation between inorganic sediment accumulation and autochthonous litter production indicated a positive feedback between herbaceous plant production and allochthonous sediment deposition. The similarity in rates of sediment accretion and sea level rise in tidal freshwater forests indicates that these habitats may become permanently inundated if the rate of sea level rise increases.     

台风风暴潮影响下潮滩沉积动力模拟初探--以江苏如东海岸为例

以江苏如东潮滩为研究区,采用沉积动力学垂向二维概念模型来模拟正常天气和台风期间潮滩沉积的空间分布特征,探讨台风风暴潮对潮滩正常沉积层序的改造作用.模拟结果表明,在涨落潮时间-流速对称特征明显的如东海岸,潮汐作用使潮滩沉积呈显著的分带性,且剖面形态向“双凸形”演化,两个“凸点”分别位于平均高潮位和平均低潮位附近.在台风期间风暴增水效应下,开边界悬沙浓度差异将导致潮滩冲淤和沉积分布格局的变化,潮上带和潮间带上部均堆积泥质沉积物,潮间带中下部在风暴过程中普遍遭受不同程度的砂质沉积物侵蚀或之后堆积泥质沉积物,在沉积层序中形成风暴冲刷面.因此,潮滩的风暴沉积记录存在于潮间带上部或更高部位.以此模型为基础,可进一步综合考虑极浅水边界层水动力结构、沉积物粒度分布变化、波-流联合作用、台风降水、互花米草等生物活动、潮沟摆动及人工围垦等因素,从而建立风暴事件在沉积层序中的时间序列,更好地解译沉积记录中的古环境信息.     

江苏潮滩沉积物激光粒度仪与移液管-筛析分析结果的对比

激光粒度仪的广泛应用带来了与历史数据的对比问题,因此需要建立激光粒度仪与早期分析结果之间的关系。根据江苏海岸潮滩沉积物样品的激光粒度仪和移液管—筛析法分析,对粒度参数、粒度组分等进行了对比,对两种方法的差异进行了分析。结果表明,对于江苏潮滩沉积物粒度参数中平均粒径的激光粒度仪与移液管—筛析分析结果之间有良好的线性关系;筛分法测得的粗颗粒物质较激光法偏少,而移液管法法测得的细颗粒物质较激光法偏多;将样品分类之后再进行两种方法所获粒度参数的回归分析,相关性得以提高,说明不同粒度组成的沉积物对分析结果的对比有不同的影响。两种方法之间的换算关系不仅与研究区域有关,而且与沉积物本身的粒度组成有关。     

江苏潮滩沉积物激光粒度仪与移液管-筛析分析结果的对比

激光粒度仪的广泛应用带来了与历史数据的对比问题,因此需要建立激光粒度仪与早期分析结果之间的关系。根据江苏海岸潮滩沉积物样品的激光粒度仪和移液管-筛析法分析,对粒度参数、粒度组分等进行了对比,对两种方法的差异进行了分析。结果表明,对于江苏潮滩沉积物粒度参数中平均粒径的激光粒度仪与移液管-筛析分析结果之间有良好的线性关系;筛分法测得的粗颗粒物质较激光法偏少,而移液管法法测得的细颗粒物质较激光法偏多;将样品分类之后再进行两种方法所获粒度参数的回归分析,相关性得以提高,说明不同粒度组成的沉积物对分析结果的对比有不同的影响。两种方法之间的换算关系不仅与研究区域有关,而且与沉积物本身的粒度组成有关。     

Tidal variability in the water quality of an urbanized estuary

Tide and water quality data were collected concurrently in the Hackensack River estuary (HRE), a tidal tributary of the New York-new Jersey Harbor estuary. Harmonic analyses of tidal elevation data indicate that HRE tides are predominantly semidiurnal, though modulated by diurnal and fortnightly components. Nearly uniform tidal ranges (averaging approximately 1.6 m) were observed at three stations within the HRE. Periodogram estimates reveal significant tidal variability for the water quality parameter NH₄−N under dry-weather conditions. Lag correlation analyses associate NH₄−N concentration variations with water level fluctuations. Longitudinal profile plots for NH₄−N reveal a consistent pattern of tidal translations, with peak concentrations oscillating about a major wastewater discharger. These analyses suggest that the distribution of NH₄−N concentrations in the HRE is controlled primarily by major point source loadings and horizontal advection. A simplified, one-dimensional model is used to describe this distribution. Effects of tidal variability in masking water quality status and waak trends are also analyzed. These analyses highlight the potential importance of short-term water quality variability in tidal estuaries where concentration gradients are large.     

Distribution of suspended sediment concentration in wide sediment‐laden streams: A novel power‐law theory

The diffusion equation of suspended sediment concentration in a wide sediment‐laden stream flow is dependent on the vertical gradient of streamwise velocity and the sediment diffusivity. This study aims at investigating the influence of the streamwise velocity laws on the suspended sediment concentration distributions, resulting from the solution of the diffusion equation. Firstly, the sediment concentration distributions are obtained numerically from the solution of the diffusion equation using different velocity laws and compared with the experimental data. It is found that the power‐law approximation produces good computational results for the concentration distributions. The accuracy of using a power‐law velocity model is comparable with the results obtained from other classical velocity laws, namely log‐law, log wake‐law and stratified log‐law. Secondly, a novel analytical solution is proposed for the determination of sediment concentration distribution, where a power‐law, wall‐concentration profile is coupled with a concentration wake function. The power‐law model (for velocity and concentration) is calibrated using the experimental data, and then a generalized wake function is obtained by choosing a suitable law. The developed power‐law model involving the wake function adjusted by an exponent predicts the sediment concentration distributions quite satisfactorily. Finally, a new explicit formula for the suspended‐load transport rate is derived from the proposed theory, where numerical computation of integrals, as needed in the Einstein theory, is avoided.