Fine sediment transport and accumulations at the mouth of the Seine estuary (France)

A comprehensive study of fine sediment transport in the macrotidal Seine estuary has been conducted, including observations of suspended particulate matter (SPM), surficial sediment, and bathymetric data, as well as use of a three dimensional mathematical model. Tide, river regime, wind, and wave forcings are accounted. The simulated turbidity maximum (TM) is described in terms of concentration and location according to tidal amplitude and the discharge of the Seine River. The TM is mainly generated by tidal pumping, but can be concentrated or stretched by the salinity front. The computed deposition patterns depend on the TM location and are seasonally dependent. The agreement with observations is reasonable, although resuspension by waves may be overestimated. Although wave resuspension is likely to increase the TM mass, it generally occurs simultaneously with westerly winds that induce a transverse circulation at the mouth of the estuary and then disperse the suspended material. The resulting effect is an output of material related to wind and wave events, more than to high river discharge. The mass of the computed TM remains stable over 6 months and independent of the river regime, depending mainly on the spring tide amplitude. Computed fluxes at different cross-sections of the lower estuary show the shift to the TM according to the river flow and point out the rapidity of the TM adjustment to any change of river discharge. The time for renewing the TM by riverine particles has been estimated to be one year.     

Estimation of net physical transport and hydraulic residence times for a coastal plain estuary using box models

A box model based on salinity distributions and freshwater inflow measurements was developed and used to estimate net non-tidal physical circulation and hydraulic residence times for Patuxent River estuary, Maryland, a tributary estuary of Chesapeake Bay. The box model relaxes the usual assumption that salinity is at steady-state, an important improvement over previous box model studies, yet it remains simple enough to have broad appeal. Average monthly 2-dimensional net non-tidal circulation and residence times for 1986–1995 are estimated and related to river flow and salt water inflow as estimated by the box model. An important result is that advective exchange at the estuary mouth was not correlated with Patuxent River flow, most likely due to effects of offshore salinity changes in Chesapeake Bay. The median residence time for freshwater entering at the head of the estuary was 68 d and decreased hyperbolically with increasing river flow to 30 d during high flow. Estimates of residence times for down-estuary points of origin showed that, from the head of the estuary to its mouth, control of flushing changed from primarily river flow to other factors regulating the intensity of gravitational circulation.     

Numerical Study of the Circulation and Sediment Transport in the Mahanadi Estuary

The Mahanadi River is one of the largest river systems in the east coast of Indiaand the estuary drains and communicates with the Bay of Bengal. The seasonallyvarying fresh water river discharge and the intrusion of salt water from the baydepend on the flow associated with the semi-diurnal component of the astronomicaltide (dominated by M₂ component). A numerical model has been developed tosimulate and study the salinity structure, velocity profile, flow and circulation patternand have been compared with the observed data. A reasonably good agreement isnoticed between the model simulations and the observations. The model result hasbeen utilised to compute sediment load transport to the estuary channel over a tidalcycle as well as on a monthly time scale. The sediment load transport owing to monthlyclimatological rainfall is discussed and it is inferred that a dynamic equilibrium existson a long-term over good/bad monsoons.     

An ephemeral turbidity maximum generated by resuspension of organic-rich matter in a macrotidal estuary, S.W. Wales

An ephemeral estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) occurs at high water in the macrotidal Taf estuary (SW Wales, United Kingdom). A new mechanism of ETM formation, due to resuspension and advection of material by flood tidal currents, is observed that differs from classical mechanisms of gravitational circulation and tidal pumping. The flood tide advances across intertidal sand flats in the main body of the estuary, progressively entraining material from the rippled sands. Resuspension creates, a turbid front that has suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) of about 4,000 mg I⁻¹ by the time it reaches its landward limit which is also the landward limit of salt penetration. This turbid body constitutes the ETM. Deposition occurs at high slack water but the ETM retains SSC values up to 800 mg I⁻¹, 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than ambient SSC values in the river and estuarine waters on either side. The ETM retreats down the estuary during the ebb; some material is deposited thinly across emergent intertidal flats and some is flushed out of the estuary. A new ETM is generated by the next flood tide. Both location and SSC of the ETM scale on Q/R³ where Q is tidal range and R is river discharge. The greatest expression of the ETM occurs when a spring tide coincides with low river discharge. It does not form during high river discharge conditions and is poorly developed on neap tides. Particles in the ETM have effective densities (120–160 kg m⁻³) that are 3–4 times less than those in the main part of the estuary at high water. High chlorophyll concentrations in the ETM suggest that flocs probably originate from biological production in the estuary, including production on the intertidal sand flats.     

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。     

A historical perspective of the morphological evolution in the lower Ebro river

 The morphological evolution, hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of the lower Ebro are studied from historical and current data in order to determine the main changes that have governed the evolution of the Ebro channel near the river mouth during the last few centuries. The evolution of the mouth of this river during the last 2000-years, from an estuary to a delta, is interpreted as a process that has been accelerated by human land management. However, an inverse trend has been observed during recent decades: (1) the river mouth has been affected by erosion due to a drastic decrease in the river sediment discharge, and (2) the lower Ebro tends to evolve towards a quasi-permanent salt-wedge estuary as a consequence of the decrease in the river water discharge. Freshwater and sediment discharge decreases are mainly related to intense river water management during this century. The salt wedge favours erosion in the river banks, widening the river channel and causing an aggradational trend in the lower Ebro. Accretion-erosion rates and the sediment budget in the river mouth are estimated for different conditions. Received: 13 November 1995 · Accepted: 17 June 1996     

Mixing behavior of dissolved organic carbon and its potential biological significance in the Pawcatuck River Estuary

The distributions of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), phytoplankton biomass (as measured by in vivo fluorescence), total nitrogen and phosphorus, and light extinction were observed on 10 cruises during 1989 and 1990 in the Pawcatuck River estuary located in southern Rhode Island. In the lower estuary, the distance of peak phytoplankton biomass from the head of the estuary was positively correlated with river discharge while the magnitude of the peak increased with decreasing discharge. High light-extinction appeared to limit the accumulation of biomass in the upper estuary. Variability in light extinction was largely (50%) explained by variation in the concentration of DOC. Salinity versus constituent plots suggested that DOC behaved nonconservatively in the estuary. These observational data indicate that the mixing behavior of DOC in the estuary influences light extinction and thus may limit accumulation of phytoplankton biomass in the upper estuary. This interpretation of observational data was supported by experimental work that demonstrated the significant contribution of DOC to light extinction, and by measurements, of phytoplankton productivity that showed greater light limitation in the upper estuary.     

The influence of river variability on the circulation,chemistry, and microbiology of the Delaware Estuary

Gravitational circulation of the Delaware Estuary is dominated by a single river, the Delaware River. The seasonal variation in river discharge is large. Consequently, the water column varies between vertically homogenous conditions found during most of the year and strongly stratified conditions found during the high flow of the spring freshet. Both the variation in river discharge and the extent of stratification affect chemical distributions and biological processes in the estuary. With a simple advection-diffusion model, we show that the apparent nonconservative behavior of nitrate in the Delaware Estuary can result from varying endmember concentration and varying river discharge. In addition, we illustrate the relationship between water column stratification, phytoplankton production, and concurrent bacterial activity. Finally, as an indirect chemical response to phytoplankton growth during high river discharge, we show strongly nonconservative patterns for ammonium, phosphate, and silicate in the estuary.     

Seasonal Variability and Estuary–Shelf Interactions in Circulation Dynamics of a River-dominated Estuary

The long-term response of circulation processes to external forcing has been quantified for the Columbia River estuary using in situ data from an existing coastal observatory. Circulation patterns were determined from four Acoustic Doppler Profilers (ADP) and several conductivity–temperature sensors placed in the two main channels. Because of the very strong river discharge, baroclinic processes play a crucial role in the circulation dynamics, and the interaction of the tidal and subtidal baroclinic pressure gradients plays a major role in structuring the velocity field. The input of river flow and the resulting low-frequency flow dynamics in the two channels are quite distinct. Current and salinity data were analyzed on two time scales—subtidal (or residual) and tidal (both diurnal and semidiurnal components). The residual currents in both channels usually showed a classical two-layer baroclinic circulation system with inflow at the bottom and outflow near the surface. However, this two-layer system is transient and breaks down under strong discharge and tidal conditions because of enhanced vertical mixing. Influence of shelf winds on estuarine processes was also observed via the interactions with upwelling and downwelling processes and coastal plume transport. The transient nature of residual inflow affects the long-term transport characteristics of the estuary. Effects of vertical mixing could also be seen at the tidal time scale. Tidal velocities were separated into their diurnal and semidiurnal components using continuous wavelet transforms to account for the nonstationary nature of velocity amplitudes. The vertical structure of velocity amplitudes were considerably altered by baroclinic gradients. This was particularly true for the diurnal components, where tidal asymmetry led to stronger tidal velocities near the bottom.     

Salinity stratification in a river-dominated estuary

Analysis of salinity data from Mobile Bay indicates that stratification-destratification events within this broad, shallow estuary are not uncommon. These events are related to the strength of the winds, through their influence on wave generation and subsequent bottom drag coefficient increases, and to the strength of river discharge. They do not appear to be due to the strength of tidal currents, as has been observed elsewhere. Furthermore, river flow appears to be the dominant control, the winds being important only in the absence of large freshwater discharges. The annual spring freshet can flush most of the salt from the bay. During other times of the year the relative strengths of river discharge and wind stress change the bay from highly stratified to nearly homogeneous and back on a variety of time scales ranging from daily to seasonal.     

Episodic and Long-Term Sediment Transport Capacity in The Hudson River Estuary

A tidally averaged model of estuarine dynamics is used to estimate sediment transport in the Hudson River estuary over the period 1918 to 2005. In long-term and seasonal means, along-channel gradients in sediment flux depend on the estuarine salinity gradient and along-channel depth profile. Lateral depth variation across the estuary affects the near-bottom baroclinic circulation and consequently the direction of net sediment flux, with generally up-estuary transport in the channel and down-estuary transport on the shoals. Sediment transport capacity in the lower estuary depends largely on river discharge, but is modified by the timing of discharge events with respect to the spring–neap cycle and subtidal fluctuations in sea level. Sediment transport capacity also depends on the duration of high-discharge events relative to the estuarine response time, a factor that varies seasonally with discharge and estuarine length. Sediment fluxes are calculated with the assumption that over long periods, the system approaches morphological equilibrium and sediment accumulation equals sea level rise. The inferred across- and along-channel distributions of sediment erodibility correspond with observations of bed properties. Equilibrium is assumed at long time scales, but at annual to decadal time scales the estuary can develop an excess or deficit of sediment relative to equilibrium. On average, sediment accumulates in the estuary during low- and high-discharge periods and is exported during moderate discharge. During high-discharge periods, maximum export coincides with maximum sediment supply from the watershed, but the nearly cubic discharge dependence of fluvial sediment supply overwhelms the roughly linear increase in estuarine transport capacity. Consequently, sediment accumulates in the estuary during the highest flow conditions. Uncertainty remains in the model, particularly with sediment properties and boundary conditions, but the results clearly indicate variability in the sediment mass balance over long time scales due to discharge events.     

Changes in seasonal water transport in a Louisiana estuary,Fourleague Bay,Louisiana

Water transport in Fourleague Bay is strongly influenced by the discharge of the Atchafalaya River and prevailing wind conditions. In three 50-h intensive surveys, we measured transport through the major inlets of the bay during the three major river discharge/weather regimes of the year: strong frontal passage, high river flow, and calm, low river flow. Wind stress caused significant changes in both transport and water levels. North winds, dominant during winter frontal passages, caused a net export of water. During the high river flow survey, southeasterly winds created an opposing hydraulic pressure gradient in the Gulf of Mexico, diverting river flow into Fourleague Bay. This resulted in an increase in water elevation and the inundation of adjacent marshes. We believe that this high-discharge, southerly wind condition is the major mechanism leading to sheet flow and sedimentation on the marsh. Calm, low-discharge conditions, typical of late summer, produced classic tidally-dominated circulation.     

Long-Term Changes in Population Dynamics of the Shrimp Palaemon longirostris in the Gironde Estuary

Spanning 20?years (1979?C2007), this study is the longest time series pertaining to the resident shrimp species Palaemon longirostris in a European estuary. Data from monthly faunal surveys undertaken across the middle part of the Gironde estuary from April 1979 along with data from a statistical analysis of the commercial catches throughout the entire estuary and river were considered in order to explore their inter and intra-annual variability and long-term trends. Long-term densities series as well as environmental series (salinity, discharge, temperature and NAO) were decomposed and the effects of environmental variables were also examined using statistical models (GAMs). This revealed important spatio-temporal variability and a significant overall decrease in abundance of this species in the Gironde estuary since the beginning of the 1980s. This long-term decrease in abundance corresponded significantly to long-term decreases in both discharge and the NAO index, as well a long-term increase in temperature and salinity in the middle part of the estuary. However, models showed that environmental factors explained only a small part of the variability. The upstream shift of the population highlighted in this study, probably due to the intrusion of marine waters into the middle section of the estuary, may also have contributed to its decrease in abundance. Inter-annual variability of densities was also significantly linked with inter-annual fecundity fluctuations, and a significant decrease in both mean female size and fecundity was shown for preserved samples from 1992. Moreover, the breeding period has been temporally stretched out and began earlier in more recent years, potentially due to the increase in spring temperature.     

Variations of Hydrodynamics and Submarine Groundwater Discharge in the Yellow River Estuary Under the Influence of the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme

The “Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme” (WSRS) is critically important to the hydrologic evaluation of the Yellow River estuary since a huge pulse of water and sediment are delivered into the sea during a short period. We used the natural geochemical tracers radium (²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra) and radon (²²²Rn) isotopes as well as other hydrological parameters to investigate the mixing variations and submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the Yellow River estuary under the influence of the 2013 WSRS. Dramatically elevated radium and radon isotopic activities were observed during this WSRS compared with activities measured during a non-WSRS period. Radium “water ages” indicated that the offshore transport rate nearly tripled when the river discharge increased from 400 to 3400 m³/s. We calculated the SGD flux in the Yellow River estuary based on a radium mass balance model as well as radium and radon time-series models. The SGD flux was estimated at 0.02~0.20 m/day during a non-WSRS period and 0.67~1.22 m/day during the 2013 WSRS period. The results also indicate that large river discharge tends to lead more intense SGD along the river channel direction with a large amount of fresh SGD.     

Spatial and temporal variabilities of hypoxia in the Rappahannock River,Virginia

Hypoxia/anoxia in bottom waters of the Rappahannock River, a tributary estuary of Chesapeake Bay, was observed to persist throughout the summer in the deep basin near the river mouth; periodic reoxygenation of bottom water occurred on the shallower sill at the river mouth. The reoxygenation events were closely related to spring tide mixing. The dissolved oxygen (DO) in surface waters was always near or at the saturation level, while that of bottom waters exhibited a characteristic spatial pattern. The bottom DO decreased upriver from river mouth, reaching a minimum upriver of the deepest point of the river and increasing as the water becaume shallower further upriver. A model was formulated to describe the longitudinal distribution of DO in bottom waters. The model is based on Lagrangian concept—following a water parcel as it travels upriver along the estuarine bottom. The model successfully describes the characteristic distribution of DO and also explains the shifting of the minimum DO location in response to spring-neap cycling. A diagnostic study with the model provided insight into relationships between the bottom DO and the competing factors that contribute to the DO budget of bottom waters. The study reveals that both oxygen demand, either benthic or water column demand, and vertical mixing have a promounced effect on the severity of hypoxia in bottom waters of an estary. However, it is the vertical mixing which controls the longitudinal location of the minimum DO. The strength of gravitational circulation is also shown to affect the occurrence of hypoxia. An estuary with stronger circulation tends to have less chance for hypoxia to occur. The initial DO deficit of bottom water entering an estuary has a strong effect on DO concentration near the river mouth, but its effect diminishes in the upriver direction.     

Nutrient Loading and Transformations in the Columbia River Estuary Determined by High-Resolution In Situ Sensors

The Columbia River estuary is characterized by relatively large tidal currents and water residence times of a few days or less. These and other environmental conditions tend to suppress water column productivity and favor the export of riverborne nutrients to the coastal ocean. However, hotspots of biological activity may allow for significant nutrient transformation and removal within the estuary, but these processes have previously been difficult to quantify due to the challenges of obtaining measurements at appropriate frequency and duration. In this study, nutrient biogeochemical dynamics within the salt-influenced region of the estuary were quantified using high-resolution in situ observations of nutrients and physical water properties. During 2010, three autonomous nutrient sensors (Satlantic SUNA, SubChem Systems Inc. APNA, WET Labs Cycle-PO4) that together measured nitrate?+?nitrite, orthophosphate, ammonium, silicic acid, and nitrite were deployed on fixed observatory platforms. Hourly measurements captured tidal fluctuations and permitted an analysis of river and ocean end-member mixing. The results suggested that during summer, the lower estuary released high concentrations of ammonium and phosphate despite low concentrations in the river and coastal ocean. This was likely a result of organic matter accumulation and remineralization in the estuarine turbidity maximum and the lateral bays adjacent to the main channel.     

Manganese and suspended matter in the Yaquina Estuary,Oregon

The longitudinal distribution of total suspended matter and total, dissolved, and particulate manganese in a small coastal plain estuary is described. The distribution of manganese is a consequence of estuarine circulation; a within-estuary maximum is inversely correlated with river flow, and is a function of residence time in the estuary, resuspension in the upper estuary, and desorption from particles introduced from within the estuary or from the river. The turbidity maximum is similarly most pronounced during low river flows. The upper estuary (salinity <15‰), comprising a small percentage of the total estuary volume during low flow, receives material from the river and along the bottom from the lower estuary; this material is returned to the water column by resuspension and desorption from estuarine and riverine particles. The lower estuary tends to damp out these processes because of the greater volume and (residence) time available for mixing.     

Modeling of the Cape Fear River Estuary plume

The Environmental Fluid Dynamic Code, an estuarine and coastal ocean circulation model, is used to simulate the distribution of the salinity plume in the vicinity of the mouth of the Cape Fear River Estuary, North Carolina. The individual and coupled effects of the astronomical tides, river discharge, and atmospheric winds on the spatial and temporal distributions of coastal water levels and the salinity plume were investigated. These modeled effects were compared with water level observations made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and salinity surveys conducted by the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program. Model results and observations of salinity distributions and coastal water level showed good agreement. The simulations indicate that strong winds tend to reduce the surface plume size and distort the bulge shape near the estuary mouth due to enhanced wind-induced surface mixing. Under normal discharge conditions, tides, and light winds, the southward outwelling plume veers west. Relatively moderate winds can mechanically reverse the flow direction of the plume. Under conditions of weak to moderate winds the water column does not mix vertically to the bottom, while in strong wind cases the plume becomes vertically well mixed. Under conditions of high river discharge the plume increases in size and reaches the bottom. Vertical mixing induced by strong spring tides can also enable the plume to reach the bottom.     

基于FVCOM数值模拟和观察资料的长江冲淡水转向机制分析

应用FVCOM海洋模式,建立长江口附近海域海洋模型。通过径流、风场、潮汐、斜压和背景流场等不同环境因素下的数值模拟并结合"我国近海海洋综合调查与评价"专项长江口区域的调查资料进行分析,对长江冲淡水的扩展情况进行研究。数值实验再现了长江冲淡水在夏季的转向现象,通过实验对比分析发现长江冲淡水的转向主要是受风场控制,其中斜压效应、潮汐潮流、背景流场对冲淡水的转向影响不明显。长江径流和潮汐潮流只影响长江口附近的较小区域,背景流场本身比较稳定,对长江冲淡水扩展的季节变化影响不大,斜压效应在长江冲淡水转向过程中所起作用较小。     

伶仃洋茅洲河口滩槽演变水沙模拟及治导线优化

为适应伶仃洋茅洲河口治理开发条件,以保证行洪顺畅为泄洪纳潮的首要原则,同时顺应水沙运动和河势发展规律,对河口进行治导线比选和优化。该河口治导线方案分单、双通道,两类通道不同扩宽率下设计有围填、围填加开挖2种方案,开展水动力泥沙数学模拟计算和物理模型试验。结果表明:河口治导线各方案对伶仃洋涨、落潮流速的影响范围主要集中在交椅湾及其附近海域;方案实施后,周边海区冲淤变化较小,未对河势造成不利影响;根据对水动力、河口泄洪、河势稳定影响的综合分析,单双通道相比较而言,对洪水位、纳潮量、高低潮位、流速、河床冲淤的影响规律具有较好的一致性,相同扩宽率下各方案的影响程度均在同量级。