Lateral dynamics and associated transport of sediment in the upper reaches of a partially mixed estuary,Chesapeake Bay,USA

Data from time series of transects made over a tidal period across a section of the upper Chesapeake Bay, USA, reveal the influence of lateral dynamics on sediment transport in an area with a deep channel and broad extents of shallower flanks. Contributions to lateral momentum by rotation (Coriolis plus channel curvature), cross channel density gradients and cross channel surface slope were estimated, and the friction and acceleration terms needed to complete the balance were compared to patterns of observed lateral circulation. During ebb, net rotation effects were larger because of river velocity and reinforcement of Coriolis by curvature. During flood, stratification was greater because of landward advection of strong vertical density gradients. Together, the ebb intensified lateral circulation and flood intensified stratification focused sediment and sediment transport along the left side of the estuary (looking seaward). The tendency for greater stratification on flood and net sediment flux toward the left-hand shoal are contrary to more common models which, in the northern hemisphere, predict greater resuspension on flood and move sediment toward the right-hand shoal. These tidal asymmetries interact with the lateral circulation to focus net sediment flux on the left side of the estuary, and to produce net ebb directed sediment transport at the surface of the same order of magnitude as net flood directed sediment transport at the bottom.     

Mechanisms of along-channel sediment transport in the North Passage of the Yangtze Estuary and their response to large-scale interventions

The effects of large-scale interventions in the North Passage of the Yangtze Estuary (the Deep Waterway Project, DWP) on the along-channel flow structure, suspended sediment distribution and its transport along the main channel of this passage are investigated. The focus is explaining the changes in net sediment transport in terms of physical mechanisms. For this, data of flow and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), which were collected simultaneously at several locations and at different depths along the main channel of the North Passage prior to and after the engineering works, were harmonically analyzed to assess the relative importance of the transport components related to residual (time-mean) flow and various tidal pumping mechanisms. Expressions for main residual flow components were derived using theoretical principles. The SSC revealed that the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) was intensified due to the interventions, especially in wet seasons, and an upstream shift and extension of the ETM zone occurred. The amplitude of the M ₂ tidal current considerably increased, and the residual flow structure was significantly altered by engineering works. Prior to the DWP, the residual flow structure was that of a gravitational circulation in both seasons, while after the DWP, there was seaward flow throughout the channel during the wet season. The analysis of net sediment transport reveals that during wet seasons and prior to the DWP, the sediment trapping was due to asymmetric tidal mixing, gravitational circulation, tidal rectification, and M ₂ tidal pumping, while after the DWP, the trapping was primarily due to seaward transport caused by Stokes return flow and fresh water discharge and landward transport due to M ₂ tidal pumping and asymmetric tidal mixing. During dry seasons, prior to the DWP, trapping of sediment at the bottom relied on landward transports due to Stokes transport, M ₄ tidal pumping, asymmetric tidal mixing, and gravitational circulation, while after the DWP the sediment trapping was caused by M ₂ tidal pumping, Stokes transport, asymmetric tidal mixing, tidal rectification, and gravitational circulation.     

Sediment dynamics in an offshore tidal channel in the southern Yellow Sea

The geomorphology of the southern Yellow Sea（SYS） is characterized by offshore radial sand ridges（RSR）.An offshore tidal channel（KSY Channel） is located perpendicular to the coast,comprised of a main and a tributary channel separated by a submarine sand ridge（KSY Sand Ridge） extending seaward.In order to investigate the interactions among water flow,sediment transport,and topography,current velocity and suspended sediment concentration（SSC） were observed at 11 anchor stations along KSY Channel in RSR during a spring tide cycle.High resolution bottom topography was also surveyed.Residual currents and tidally averaged suspended sediment fluxes were calculated and analyzed by using the decomposition method.Results suggested that the water currents became stronger landward but with asymmetrical current speed and temporal duration of flood and ebb tides.Residual currents showed landward water transport in the nearshore channel and a clockwise circulation around the KSY Sand Ridge.Tidally-averaged SSC also increased landward along the channel.The main mechanisms controlling SSC variations were resuspension and horizontal advection,with spatial and temporal variations in the channel,which also contributed to sediment redistribution between channels and sand ridges.Residual flow transport and the tidal pumping effect dominated the suspended sediment flux in the KSY Channel.The KSY Sand Ridge had a potential southward migration due to the interaction between water flow,sediment transport,and topography.     

Effect of bottom stress formulation on modelled flow and turbidity maxima in cross-sections of tide-dominated estuaries

A three-dimensional numerical model with a prognostic salinity field is used to investigate the effect of a partial slip bottom boundary condition on lateral flow and sediment distribution in a transect of a tidally dominated channel. The transect has a symmetrical Gaussian cross-channel bottom profile. For a deep, well-mixed, tidally dominated channel, partial slip decreases the relative importance of Coriolis deflection on the generation of cross-channel flow patterns. This has profound implications for the lateral distribution of residual salinity that drives the cross-channel residual circulation pattern. Transverse sediment transport, however, is always found to be governed by a balance between advection of residual sediment concentration by residual lateral flow on the one hand and cross-channel diffusion on the other hand. Hence, the changes in the cross-channel distribution of residual salinity modify the lateral sediment distribution. For no slip, a single turbidity maximum occurs. In contrast, partial slip gives a gradual transition to a symmetrical density distribution with a turbidity maximum near each bank. For a more shallow, partially mixed tidal channel that represents the James River, a single turbidity maximum at the left bank is found irrespective of the near-bed slip condition. In this case, semi-diurnal contributions to sediment distribution and lateral flow play an important role in cross-channel sediment transport. As vertical viscosity and diffusivity are increased, a second maximum at the right bank again exists for partial slip.     

The response of salt intrusion to changes in river discharge and tidal mixing during the dry season in the Modaomen Estuary,China

The increase of salt intrusion in recent years in the Modaomen Estuary, one of the estuaries of the Pearl River Delta in China, has threatened the freshwater supply in the surrounding regions, especially the cities of Zhongshan, Zhuhai in Guangdong Province and Macau. A numerical modeling system using nested grids was developed to investigate the salt transport mechanisms and the response of salt intrusion to changes in river discharge and tidal mixing. The steady shear transport induced by estuarine circulation reaches maximum and minimum, respectively, during neap and spring tides, while the tidal oscillatory transport shows an opposite pattern. The net transport is landward during neap tides and seaward during spring tides. The salt intrusion length responding to constant river discharges generally follows a power law of ?0.49. The dependence of salt intrusion on tidal velocity is less than that predicted by theoretical models for exchange flow dominated estuaries. The response of salt intrusion to change in tidal velocity depends largely on river discharge. When river flow increases, the impact of tidal velocity increases and the phase lag of response time decreases. The asymmetries of salt intrusion responding to increasing and decreasing river discharge (tidal velocity) are observed in the estuary.     

Bottom instrumented tripods: History,applications, and impacts

Instrumented bottom tripods have provided important data on sediment transport processes on continental shelves and in estuaries for four decades. Since the initial deployment in a tidal channel in Puget Sound, WA, in 1965 numerous tripods have been constructed to investigate bottom boundary layer and sediment dynamics worldwide. Tripod data have led to new understanding of near-bottom wave and current flows in the coastal ocean, and have been crucial to the development of shelf circulation and sediment transport models. Calculations of bottom stress, bottom roughness, and sediment flux that resulted directly from tripod data have been compared to bottom boundary layer model results. Where these have differed, new or revised model components have been developed to improve the skill of the models. The many discoveries that have been made from tripod experiments include dense, near-bottom fluid mud layers that transport large quantities of suspended sediment offshore into deeper regions of the continental shelf. This process has been linked to the seaward progradation of subaqueous deltas and to the boundaries of mid-shelf mud deposits off rivers with high fine-sediment discharge.     

Transverse structure of tidal and residual flow and sediment concentration in estuaries

An analytical and a numerical model are used to understand the response of velocity and sediment distributions over Gaussian-shaped estuarine cross-sections to changes in tidal forcing and water depth. The estuaries considered here are characterized by strong mixing and a relatively weak along-channel density gradient. It is also examined under what conditions the fast, two-dimensional analytical flow model yields results that agree with those obtained with the more complex three-dimensional numerical model. The analytical model reproduces and explains the main velocity and sediment characteristics in large parts of the parameter space considered (average tidal velocity amplitude, 0.1–1 m s^− 1 and maximum water depth, 10–60 m). Its skills are lower for along-channel residual flows if nonlinearities are moderate to high (strong tides in deep estuaries) and for transverse flows and residual sediment concentrations if the Ekman number is small (weak tides in deep estuaries). An important new aspect of the analytical model is the incorporation of tidal variations in the across-channel density gradient, causing a double circulation pattern in the transverse flow during slack tides. The gradient also leads to a new tidally rectified residual flow component via net advection of along-channel tidal momentum by the density-induced transverse tidal flow. The component features landward currents in the channel and seaward currents over the slopes and is particularly effective in deeper water. It acts jointly with components induced by horizontal density differences, Coriolis-induced tidal rectification and Stokes discharge, resulting in different along-channel residual flow regimes. The residual across-channel density gradient is crucial for the residual transverse circulation and for the residual sediment concentration. The clockwise density-induced circulation traps sediment in the fresher water over the left slope (looking up-estuary in the northern hemisphere). Model results are largely consistent with available field data of well-mixed estuaries.     

Feedback between residual circulations and sediment distribution in highly turbid estuaries: An analytical model

Motivated by field studies of the Ems estuary which show longitudinal gradients in bottom sediment concentration as high as O(0.01 kg/m⁴), we develop an analytical model for estuarine residual circulation based on currents from salinity gradients, turbidity gradients, and freshwater discharge. Salinity is assumed to be vertically well mixed, while the vertical concentration profile is assumed to result from a balance between a constant settling velocity and turbulent diffusive flux. Width and depth of the model estuary are held constant. Model results show that turbidity gradients enhance tidally averaged circulation upstream of the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM), but significantly reduce residual circulation downstream, where salinity and turbidity gradients oppose each other. We apply the condition of morphodynamic equilibrium (vanishing sediment transport) and develop an analytical solution for the position of the turbidity maximum and the distribution of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) along a longitudinal axis. A sensitivity study shows great variability in the longitudinal distribution of suspended sediment with the applied salinity gradient and six model parameters: settling velocity, vertical mixing, horizontal dispersion, total sediment supply, fresh water flow, and water depth. Increasing depth and settling velocity move the ETM upstream, while increasing freshwater discharge and vertical mixing move the ETM downstream. Moreover, the longitudinal distribution of SSC is inherently asymmetric around the ETM, and depends on spatial variations in the residual current structure and the vertical profile of SSC.     

Sediment transport and resuspension due to combined motion of wave and current in the northern Adriatic Sea during a Bora event in January 2001: A numerical modelling study

The Adriatic Sea general circulation model coupled to a third generation wave model SWAN and a sediment transport model was implemented in the Adriatic Sea to study the dynamics of the sediment transport and resuspension in the northern Adriatic Sea (NAS) during the Bora event in January 2001. The bottom boundary layer (BBL) was resolved by the coupled model with high vertical resolution, and the mechanism of the wave–current interaction in the BBL was also represented in the model. The study found that, during the Bora event of 13–17 January 2001, large waves with significant wave height 2 m and period of 5 s were generated by strong winds in the northwestern shelf of the Adriatic where the direction of wave propagation was orthogonal to the current. The combined motion of the wave and current in the BBL increased the bottom stress over the western Adriatic shelf, resulting in stronger sediment resuspension there. Combining stronger bottom resuspension and strong upward vertical flux of resuspended sediments due to turbulent mixing, the model predicted that sediment concentration near the Po River was much higher than that predicted by the model run without wave forcing. The study also shows that wave–current interaction in the BBL reduced the western Adriatic Coastal Currents (WACCs) in the shallower north. It is concluded that wave forcing significantly changed the sediment distributions and increased the total horizontal fluxes over the western shelf. These results signified wave effect on sediment flux and distribution in the NAS, and suggested that waves cannot be neglected in the study of dynamics of sediment transport and resuspension in the shallow coastal seas. By including the tidal forcing in the coupled model, we also examined the effect of tides on the sediment transport dynamics in the NAS.     

Seawater intrusion in continuous coastal aquifer-aquitard systems

The problem of seawater intrusion in a confined coastal aquifer is investigated. The aquifer is overlain by a leaky aquitard and both units extend continuously out under the sea. The problem is formulated in terms of the two governing differential equations, the fluid continuity equation written conveniently in terms of equivalent freshwater head, and the mass continuity equation. Use of linear rectangular finite elements, with direct integration and an iterative solution technique lead to an efficient numerical scheme that is capable of handling long simulation periods. The results, for a 300 m thick aquifer overlain by a 100 m thick aquitard, show that the aquitard has a controlling influence on the salt distribution. A zone of mixing in the aquifer is found to extend for several kilometres in the seaward as well as the landward direction. The time period required by the system to attain a state of dynamic equilibrium after a perturbation is applied may be of the order of centuries. The aquitard is found to cause a downward and seaward displacement of the average salt front.     

Foraminiferal evidence of submarine sediment transport and deposition by backwash during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Micropaleontological analysis of nearshore to offshore sediments recovered from the southwestern coast of Thailand was performed to clarify the submarine processes of sediment transport and deposition during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The distribution pattern of benthic foraminifers showed seaward migration after the tsunami event. Agglutinated foraminifers, which are characteristic of an intertidal brackish environment, were identified in the post-tsunami samples from foreshore to offshore zones. These suggest that sediments originally distributed in foreshore to nearshore zones were transported offshore due to the tsunami backwash. On the other hand, the distribution pattern of planktonic and benthic species living in offshore zones showed slight evidence of landward migration by the tsunami. This suggests that landward redistribution of sediments by the tsunami run-up did not occur in the offshore seafloor of the study area. Our results and a review of previous studies provide an interpretation of submarine sedimentation by tsunamis. It is possible that tsunami backwashes induce sediment flows that transport a large amount of coastal materials seaward. Thus, traces of paleotsunami backwashes can be identified in offshore sedimentary environments as the accumulation of allochthonous materials. This can be recognized as changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages.     

Influence of a coarse interlayer on seawater intrusion and contaminant migration in coastal aquifers

Vertical 2D slice laboratory experiments were carried out in homogenous and layered sand tanks to elucidate the effects of a highly permeable (coarse‐grained sand) interlayer on seawater intrusion and transport of contaminants to a coastal sea. Tidal fluctuations produced oscillations in the seawater–freshwater transition zone, fluctuations of the contaminant infiltration rate and a zigzag contaminant plume outline. The seawater wedge became discontinuous at the (vertical) edges of the interlayer because of increased lateral movement of the seawater–freshwater interface within the interlayer. The contaminant plume formed a tail within the interlayer depending on the tidal stage, and similar to the wedge, its movement was accentuated. A simple analytical model that neglected vertical flow reliably predicted steady‐state seawater intrusion into the coastal aquifer. Numerical modeling was used to gain insight into the groundwater hydrodynamics and contaminant migration. The numerical results confirmed the experimental findings, i.e. that a highly permeable interlayer can provide a rapid transit path for contaminants to reach the seaward boundary and that the interlayer amplifies the effects of tidal fluctuations, resulting in wider transition zones for the seawater wedge and contaminant plume. Numerical simulations further showed that, with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity, the maximum seawater intrusion distance inside the interlayer increases approximately linearly. For the fixed‐head contaminant injection condition used, the model showed that contaminant infiltration increases approximately logarithmically with increasing interlayer hydraulic conductivity (other factors held fixed). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a Lagrangian sediment model to reproduce the bathymetric evolution of the Mersey Estuary

The development and application of a Lagrangian particle-tracking model to simulate sediment transport in the Mersey Estuary (UK) is described. Each of the particles (up to a million in total) is advected horizontally by the 3-D tidal currents. Related vertical movements are: (1) downwards by settlement at a prescribed velocity w _s and (2) both upwards and downwards by a distance related to the vertical eddy diffusivity. In a novel departure from traditional practice, where initial distributions of surficial sediments are specified, all particles are introduced at the seaward boundary of the model. Provenance studies indicate surficial sediments are overwhelmingly of marine origin. For the predominant fine sediments, ‘cyclical convergence’ in suspended sediment concentrations is approximated after about two spring-neap tidal cycles. Comparisons are shown between the suspended sediment concentrations and net deposition rates computed by this model against observed values and earlier computations utilising both 1-D and 3-D Eulerian models. While all of these results are in broad agreement, the flexibility of the Lagrangian approach for simulating flocculation, consolidation and mixed sediments illustrates its future potential.     

Boundary condition effects on maximum groundwater withdrawal in coastal aquifers

Prevention of sea water intrusion in coastal aquifers subject to groundwater withdrawal requires optimization of well pumping rates to maximize the water supply while avoiding sea water intrusion. Boundary conditions and the aquifer domain size have significant influences on simulating flow and concentration fields and estimating maximum pumping rates. In this study, an analytical solution is derived based on the potential-flow theory for evaluating maximum groundwater pumping rates in a domain with a constant hydraulic head landward boundary. An empirical correction factor, which was introduced by Pool and Carrera (2011) to account for mixing in the case with a constant recharge rate boundary condition, is found also applicable for the case with a constant hydraulic head boundary condition, and therefore greatly improves the usefulness of the sharp-interface analytical solution. Comparing with the solution for a constant recharge rate boundary, we find that a constant hydraulic head boundary often yields larger estimations of the maximum pumping rate and when the domain size is five times greater than the distance between the well and the coastline, the effect of setting different landward boundary conditions becomes insignificant with a relative difference between two solutions less than 2.5%. These findings can serve as a preliminary guidance for conducting numerical simulations and designing tank-scale laboratory experiments for studying groundwater withdrawal problems in coastal aquifers with minimized boundary condition effects.     

Three-layer model for vertical velocity distribution in open channel flow with submerged rigid vegetation

Based on the detailed laboratory experiments and theoretical analysis, a new three-layer model is proposed to predict the vertical velocity distribution in an open channel flow with submerged vegetation. The time averaged velocity and turbulence behaviour of a steady uniform flow with fully submerged artificial rigid vegetation was measured using a 3D Micro ADV, and the vertical distribution of velocity and Reynolds shear stress at different vegetation height, vegetation density and measuring positions were obtained. The results show that the velocity profile consists of three hydrodynamic regimes (i.e. the upper non-vegetated layer, the outer and bottom layer within vegetation); accordingly different methods had been adopted to describe the vertical velocity distribution. For the upper non-vegetated layer, a modified mixing length theory combined with the concept of ‘the new vegetation boundary layer’ was adopted, and an analytical model was presented to predict the vertical velocity distribution in this region. For the bottom layer within vegetation, the depth average velocity was obtained by numerically solving the momentum equations. For the upper layer within vegetation, the analytical solution was presented by expressing the shear stress as a formula fitted to the experimental data. Finally, the analytical predictions of the vertical velocity over the whole flow depth were compared with the results obtained by other researchers, and the good agreement proved that the three-layer model can be used to predict the velocity distribution of the open channel flow with submerged rigid vegetation.     

The role of salinity in fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics: A long-term modelling study

Salinity difference between terrestrial river discharge and oceanic tidal water plays a role in modifying the local flow field and, as a consequence, estuarine morphodynamics. Although widely recognized, recent numerical studies exploring the long-term morphological evolution of river-influenced estuaries with two-dimensional, depth-averaged models have mostly neglected salinity. Using a three-dimensional morphodynamic model, we aim to gain more insight into the effect of salinity on the morphodynamics of fluvio-deltaic systems. Model results indicate that the resultant estuarine morphology established after 600 years differs remarkably when a salinity gradient is included. A fan-shaped river-mouth delta exhibits less seaward expansion and is cut through by narrower channels when salinity is included. The inclusion of salinity tends to generate estuarine circulation, which favours landward sediment transport and hence limits the growth of the delta while enhancing the development of intertidal areas. The formation of deltaic channel–shoal patterns resulting from morphodynamic evolution tends to strengthen salinity stratification, which is characterized by an increased gradient Richardson number. The direction of the depth-averaged residual sediment transport over a tide may be opposite to the direction of residual velocity, indicating the significant influence of baroclinic effects on the net sediment transport direction (and hence morphological change). The effect of salinity on morphological evolution becomes less profound when the strength of tidal or fluvial forcing is dominant over the other. The effects of sediment type and flocculation, which are particularly important when salinity gradients are present, are also discussed. Overall, this study highlights that neglecting salinity to simulate long-term estuarine morphodynamics requires more careful justification, particularly when the environment is characterized by fine sediment types (favouring suspended transport), and relatively large river discharge and estuarine depth (favouring baroclinic effects). © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomorphodynamic modelling of inner bank advance in migrating meander bends

We propose a bio-morphodynamic model at bend cross-sectional scale for the lateral migration of river meander bends, where the two banks can migrate separately as a result of the mutual interaction between river flow, sediments and riparian vegetation, particularly at the interface between the permanently wet channel and the advancing floodplain. The model combines a non-linear analytical model for the morphodynamic evolution of the channel bed, a quasi-1D model to account for flow unsteadiness, and an ecological model describing riparian vegetation dynamics. Simplified closures are included to estimate the feedbacks among vegetation, hydrodynamics and sediment transport, which affect the morphology of the river-floodplain system. Model tests reveal the fundamental role of riparian plants in generating bio-morphological patterns at the advancing floodplain margin. Importantly, they provide insight into the biophysical controls of the ‘bar push’ mechanism and into its role in the lateral migration of meander bends and in the temporal variations of the active channel width.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF SCOUR AND DEPOSITION IN A CHANNEL NETWORK

1 INTRODUCTION Evolution of the river bed in alluvial channels has been studied by many researchers using analytical and numerical approaches. The use of analytical approach alone is insufficient for solving natural river engineering problems. With rapid growth in computer technology, numerical models have become a popular means for the study of mobile bed hydraulics. During the past decade, several numerical models have been developed. Most of the computer codes, such as HEC2SR (Si…     

Modelling of hydrodynamics and cohesive sediment transport in Tanshui River estuarine system,Taiwan

A laterally averaged two-dimensional numerical model is used to simulate hydrodynamics and cohesive sediment transport in the Tanshui River estuarine system. The model handles tributaries as well as the main stem of the estuarine system. Observed time series of salinity data and tidally averaged salinity distributions have been compared with model results to calibrate the turbulent diffusion coefficients. The overall model verification is achieved with comparisons of residual currents and salinity distribution. The model reproduces the prototype water surface elevation, currents and salinity distributions. Comparisons of the suspended cohesive sediment concentrations calculated by the numerical model and the field data at various stations show good agreement. The validated model is applied to investigate the tidally averaged salinity distributions, residual circulation and suspended sediment concentration under low flow conditions in the Tanshui River estuarine system. The model results show that the limit of salt intrusion in the mainstem estuary is located at Hsin-Hai bridge in Tahan Stream, 26 km from the River mouth under Q75 flow. The null point is located at the head of salt intrusion, using 1 ppt isohaline as an indicator. The tidally averaged sediment concentration distribution exhibits a local maximum around the null point.