Contribution of waves and currents to sediment resuspension in the Yellow River Delta

The objective of this study was to investigate that the effects of different hydrodynamic conditions on sediment resuspension on a tidal mudflat in the Yellow River Estuary. A field experiment was conducted on an intertidal flat of the Yellow River Delta, China. The sediment resuspension concentrations and hydrodynamic conditions were obtained in the field from September 2–7, 2013. The resuspended sediment concentrations induced by wave loading were compared with those induced by coupled wave–current actions in Yellow River Delta. The results were as follows: (1) when the wave height was higher than 10?cm and the shear stress induced by the waves was greater than the critical stress of the seabed sediments, the surface seabed was eroded and sediment was resuspended. In addition, 60% of the significant wave heights were larger than 10?cm on the intertidal flat of the Yellow River Delta. (2) The contribution of waves to sediment resuspension was greater than 30% when the significant wave height is higher than 10?cm, and the average contribution of waves to sediment resuspension was 51%. The mechanism of wave-induced sediment resuspension and processes of sediment resuspension were described in this paper.     

Turbidity and sediment transport in a muddy sub-estuary

Sub-estuaries, i.e. tidal creeks and also larger estuaries that branch off the stem of their main estuary, are commonplace in many estuarine systems. Their physical behaviour is affected not only by tributary inflows, winds and tides, but also by the properties and behaviour of their main estuary. Measurements extending over more than an annual cycle are presented for the Tavy Estuary, a sub-estuary of the Tamar Estuary, UK. Generally, waves are small in the Tavy because of the short wind fetch. A several-hour period of up-estuary winds, blowing at speeds of between 7 and 10 m s⁻¹, generates waves with significant wave heights of 0.25 m and a wave periodicity of 1.7 s that are capable of eroding the bed over the shallow, ca. 1.5 m-deep mudflats. Waves also influence sedimentation within and near salt marsh areas. An estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) occurs in the Tavy's main channel, close to the limit of salt intrusion at HW. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations typically are less than 40 mg l⁻¹ at HW, although concentrations can exceed 80 mg l⁻¹ when tides and winds are strong. Flood-tide SPM inputs to the Tavy from the Tamar are greater during high runoff events in the River Tamar and also at spring tides, when the Tamar has a high-concentration ETM. Higher SPM concentrations are experienced on the mudflats following initial inundation. Without wave resuspension, this is followed by a rapid decrease in SPM for most of the tide, indicating that the mudflats are depositional at those times. SPM concentrations on the mudflats again increase sharply prior to uncovering. Peak ebb tidal speeds at 0.15 m above the mudflat bed can exceed 0.26 m s⁻¹ at spring tides and 0.4 m s⁻¹ following high runoff events, which are sufficient to cause resuspension. Time-series measurements of sediment bed levels show strong seasonal variability. Higher and lower freshwater flows are associated with estimated, monthly-mean sediment transport that is directed out of, or into, the upper sub-estuary, respectively. Seasonal sediment transfers between the estuary and its sub-estuary are discussed.     

Resuspension patterns in the Baltic proper

Waves induce resuspension of surface sediments and contribute to the long-term mobilisation of particulate matter from erosion to accumulation bottoms. This has a major impact on the nutrient cycle in shallow seas by enhancing degradation, microbial production and recycling. The Baltic Sea represents such an area. The aim of this work is to analyse the spatial and temporal resuspension patterns in the Baltic Sea. To estimate the bottom friction velocity, modelled wave data are used in combination with data on grain size. This new data set is compared to a resuspension threshold of friction velocity to estimate the events of resuspension.The variation in bottom friction velocity, resuspension frequency and duration are related to wind climate, fetch, water depth and sediment type. Substantial resuspension can be found down to 40–60 m, with durations from one day to as much as two weeks. The highest winds in the area are highly anisotropic with a dominance of S-SW-W winds and the highest resuspension frequencies are found along the shallow eastern coasts. A seasonal pattern is observed with relatively high friction velocities and high resuspension frequencies during winter. There is also a variation depending on grain size, where sediments with fine and medium sand have a considerably higher percentage of resuspension events than bottoms with other dominant grain sizes. Five sub-areas are identified, characterised by different sediment types, resuspension and wind characteristics. If, in the future, wind speed increases as predicted, resuspension of sediments will also increase with effects on the nutrient cycle.     

Suspended matter regime in the Yellow Sea

Winter and summer oceanographic conditions in the Yellow Sea produce distinctly different distributions and compositions of suspended particles within the water column. During the winter, strong northwest winds cool and mix the local water column and generate surface waves which resuspend bottom sediment in the north Yellow Sea and in the shoal regions of the western Yellow Sea near Jiangsu Province, and transport it southwards. Wintertime suspended particle concentrations in nearbottom waters can exceed 500 mg/l in nearshore areas and 20 mg/l in offshore waters.During the summer, light southerly winds and a strongly stratified water column localize the distribution of resuspended sediments. Nearbottom concentrations of suspended particulates are generally less than 10 mg/l. Nearsurface concentrations generally are not dissimilar from those seen during the winter, but the particles are primarily biogenic rather than resuspended mineral grains.     

Organic biomarkers to describe the major carbon inputs and cycling of organic matter in the central Great Barrier Reef region

Controversy surrounds the sources and transport of land derived pollutants in the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem because there is insufficient knowledge of the mechanism of movement of organic contaminants and the cycling of organic matter in this dynamic system. Thus a sediment and sediment trap study was used to describe the composition of resuspended and surface sediments in the south central Great Barrier Reef and its lagoon. This region is characterised by strong tides (6–8 m at Mackay) and trade winds regularly about 15–20 knots. A series of organic biomarkers detailed the cyclical processes of sediment resuspension, recolonising with marine algae and bacteria, packaging into zooplankton faecal pellets and resettlement to sediments where the organics undergo further diagenesis. With each cycle the inshore sediments are diluted with CaCO₃ reef sediments and moved further offshore with the strong ebb tide currents. This results in transport of land derived materials offshore and little storage of organic materials in the lagoon or reef sediments. These processes were detailed by inorganic measurements such as %CaCO₃ and Al/Ca ratios, and by the compositions of hydrocarbon, sterol, alcohol, and fatty acid lipid fractions. Persistent contaminants such as coal dust from a coastal loading facility can be detected in high concentration inshore and decreasing out to the shelf break at 180 m approximately 40 nautical miles offshore. The normal processes would likely be amplified during cyclonic and other storms. The lipids show the sources of carbon to include diatoms and other phytoplankton, creanaerchaeota, sulfate reducing and other bacteria, land plants including mangrove leaves, plus coal dust and other petroleum contaminants.     

桐花树红树林潮滩近底层悬沙浓度垂向剖面变化特征分析*

观测红树林潮滩在波浪和潮流作用下的近底层垂向剖面悬沙浓度变化过程, 对理解海岸带植被的消能促淤机制和滨海湿地生态修复工程有着重要作用。本文以北部湾七星岛岛尾桐花树红树林潮滩为例, 基于剖面流速仪HR、声学多普勒单点流速仪ADV、浪潮仪T-wave及剖面浊度仪ASM, 获取了研究区域2019年夏季大潮连续3天的水文数据, 同时结合桐花树典型植株实测参数, 分析了潮周期内红树林潮滩近底层垂向剖面悬沙响应波浪、潮流作用及桐花树空间结构的运动过程。结果表明: 1) 桐花树潮滩近底层悬沙浓度和悬沙通量具有涨潮明显大于落潮的潮汐不对称现象, 剖面垂向高悬沙浓度区域在涨潮初期—涨急由距底部0.1~0.37m转变为距底部0.5~0.67m, 落急—落潮末期则由上部转变为下部; 2) 潮周期内悬沙起动和再悬浮阶段发生在以波浪作用主导的涨潮初期和落潮末期, 平流和沉降发生在以潮流作用为主的涨急至落急整个阶段; 3) 涨潮阶段桐花树冠层的茂密枝叶通过减缓流速拦截多于冠层上部40%以上的悬沙, 落潮水体则挟沙自陆向海经过桐花树群落, 使得悬沙浓度下降超过71%。该不对称涨、落潮动力沉积机制有利于悬沙向岸输运, 促进潮滩扩张过程。     

The turbidity maxima of the northern Jiangsu shoal-water in the Yellow Sea,China

The Yellow Sea general circulation model coupled to a sediment transport model with and without surface waves was implemented to study sediment distribution and resuspension in the northern Jiangsu shoal-water (NJSW) in March and April 2006–2008. With surface wave, the general features of model simulated turbidity maxima agreed well with the MODIS remote sensing data. Without wave, the turbidity maxima moved offshore with much reduced suspended sediment concentration (SSC). This demonstrated that surface waves played a dominant role over the tides to form the turbidity maxima in the region. The study also found that NJSW exported sediments to the Yellow Sea and East China Sea through offshore and southern boundaries. As March and April 2008 was a wind anomalous year with a decreased wind speed over last three years, the wind generated waves in the region were also reduced, leading to lower sediment resuspension and SSC in that year.     

Methane sources,sinks and fluxes in a temperate tidal Lagoon: The Arcachon lagoon (SW France)

The Arcachon lagoon is a 156 km² temperate mesotidal lagoon dominated by tidal flats (66% of the surface area). The methane (CH₄) sources, sinks and fluxes were estimated from water and pore water concentrations, from chamber flux measurements at the sediment–air (low tide), sediment–water and water–air (high tide) interfaces, and from potential oxidation and production rate measurements in sediments. CH₄ concentrations in waters were maximal (500–1000 nmol l⁻¹) in river waters and in tidal creeks at low tide, and minimal in the lagoon at high tide (<50 nmol l⁻¹). The major CH₄ sources are continental waters and the tidal pumping of sediment pore waters at low tide. Methanogenesis occurred in the tidal flat sediments, in which pore water concentrations were relatively high (2.5–8.0 μmol l⁻¹). Nevertheless, the sediment was a minor CH₄ source for the water column and the atmosphere because of a high degree of anaerobic and aerobic CH₄ oxidation in sediments. Atmospheric CH₄ fluxes at high and low tide were low compared to freshwater wetlands. Temperate tidal lagoons appear to be very minor contributor of CH₄ to global atmosphere and to open ocean.     

Characteristics of resuspended sediment from Georges Bank collected with a sediment trap

A sediment trap was deployed 3 m from the bottom at a water depth of 62 m on the southern flank of Georges Bank (41°02·2′N, 67°33·5′W) from 30 September 1978 to 10 March 1979 to qualitatively determine the size of sediments resuspended from the bottom by winter storms and to determine if seasonal changes in the phytoplankton could be observed in the trapped sediment.Bulk X-ray analyses of the trapped sediment showed layers of distinctly different textures preserved in the collection vessel. The median grain size of sampled layers ranged from 2·7 to 6·5 φ (fine sand to silt), but all layers contained a pronounced mode in the 3 φ (fine sand) range. Nine layers containing relatively large amounts of sand were present. The sand content was 75% in the coarest layers and about 32% in the fine layers. The median grain size of bottom sediments at the deployment site was considerably coarser than the trap samples, although the dominant grain size was also 3 φ.Average bottom-current speeds during the deployment period were about 30 cm s^?1 with a range of 10 to 50 cm s^?1. Bottom stress, computed from the observed currents and waves, suggest that 11 storms caused sufficient stress to resuspend 3 φ-sized sediments, in good agreement with the nine layers of relatively coarse sediments collected in the trap. Surface waves had to be included in the calculation of bottom stress because the bottom currents alone were insufficient to cause the resuspension of 3 φ-sized sediment.The trapped sediments contain numerous diatoms and coccoliths that are typical of late fall and winter assemblages. No clear seasonal difference in the flora was noted among sampled layers, probably due to the large influx of resuspended material and a reduced primary flux during this period. An undescribed species of Thalassiosira (G. Fryxell, personal communication), and siliceous scales of unknown systematic position were observed at all levels.     

长江口崇明东滩水域悬沙粒径组成和再悬浮作用特征

根据2006年10月在崇明东滩潮间带和潮下带两个站位的大小潮水文泥沙观测资料和悬沙水样的室内粒度分析资料,对悬沙粒径的时空分布特征及其与流速等的关系进行了分析,并对再悬浮特点进行了探讨,结果表明,大小潮期间的悬沙颗粒组成较细,平均粒径的均值仅为6μm;大潮时的悬沙粒径略粗于小潮的,潮间带的略粗于潮下带的;由底床向上悬沙粒径趋于减小。悬沙粒径与流速、悬沙含量无明显的统计学关系,底质粒径、再悬浮强度和再悬浮泥沙粒径的空间变化以及浮泥的悬浮作用等是主要的影响因素。由于底质粒径的空间分布复杂,在东滩水域再悬浮具有明显的空间变化。在底质平均粒径大于60μm的粗颗粒沉积区,大小潮的再悬浮作用微小,底质以推移质运动为主。在底质平均粒径介于5~11μm的细颗粒沉积区上,悬沙级配与底质级配基本相同,该区域是再悬浮的主要发生源地;悬沙级配的变化过程揭示,再悬浮对底层悬沙的贡献率平均为8%~20%,大潮时的再悬浮强度是小潮的5~10倍,由底质再悬浮产生的悬沙在底部水层中的平均含量约为0.03~0.47 kg/m3。     

基于原位观测的胶州湾沉积物侵蚀再悬浮过程研究

海洋动力作用下,河口海岸地区海床通常处于动态变化之中。作为地质环境的控制因素,海床沉积物侵蚀再悬浮过程的研究具有重要意义。为阐明胶州湾海域水动力条件对海床侵蚀再悬浮的作用,本文利用海底原位观测三脚架进行了现场观测。观测结果显示：通常条件下,潮流导致的最大海床剪应力可达0.35 N/m²,高于波浪引起的剪应力。涨潮期间,海床发生侵蚀;退潮期间,海床发生淤积。风速达到5 m/s时,波浪引起的剪应力近似等于流致剪应力。风速达到7 m/s时,有效波高为26 cm,波浪对海床侵蚀再悬浮过程起主要作用;此时也会导致海水浊度显著上升,高于通常条件下的2-8倍。分析表明：通常条件下,周期性海流影响海床侵蚀再悬浮过程;而大幅度沉积物再悬浮过程由偶发的波浪事件控制。针对胶州湾沉积物动力学机制的深入研究仍待进一步开展。     

Sediment resuspension events induced by the wake wash of deep-draft vessels

Hydrodynamics and sediment resuspension events, induced at the shoreline by a deep-draft vessel passing nearby, are described. Measurements (pressure, currents and turbidity) were obtained at 4 Hz, on a lower beach ~50 m from a channel where large car ferries operate in Wootton Creek, Isle of Wight. The study focuses on a representative 8-min 32-s-long record, during which two large vessels passed the channel section. At the shore, the passage of each vessel induced a long-period water-level drawdown, followed by a water-level oscillation (seiche) of similar period, and the short-period waves of the wake. Both drawdowns were the main constituents of the prevailing wave pattern. The second drawdown was the largest in amplitude, in response to a higher speed of the ferry, and the influence of the seiche which had been activated during the preceding event. Two successive peaks of turbidity were observed shortly after this drawdown. Analyses of current velocity and direction indicate that the sediments resuspended originated from the shallower upper beach. Anthropogenically induced erosion of the foreshore is predicted at Wootton Creek.     

Fine sediment resuspension dynamics in a large semi-enclosed bay

A field study was conducted to investigate fine sediment resuspension dynamics in Moreton Bay, a large semi-enclosed bay situated in South East Queensland, Australia. One S4ADW current meter and three OBS sensors were used to collect the field data on tides, mean currents, waves and suspended sediment concentrations in a mean water depth of 6.1 m for about 3 weeks. Two small cleaning units were specially designed to automatically clean the OBS sensors several times every hour to avoid biological growth on the OBS sensors. Based on the collected field data, the main driving force for fine sediment resuspension is found to be the storm wind-waves generated locally in the Bay, not the tidal current or penetrated ocean swell. The critical wind-wave orbital velocity for sediment resuspension was determined to be U_rms=7 cm/s and the critical bed shear stress τ_cr=0.083–0.095 Pa at this study site.     

Dynamics of the turbidity maximum in King Sound, tropical Western Australia

King Sound is a 100-km-long embayment located in tropical northwestern Australia with a spring tidal range of 11 m. This is the second largest tide in the world after the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Intertidal areas cover about 800 km². The upper reaches of the sound are turbid with fine suspended sediment concentration reaching 3 kg m⁻³. Field studies of the dynamics of water and fine sediment were carried out in the dry seasons of 1997 and 1998. The tide was a propagating wave, shoaling and dissipating by friction as it entered the sound. This mode of propagation generated an asymmetric tidal current with a stronger current at flood than at ebb. An evaporation-driven salinity maximum zone was found in the upper reaches of the sound, and this was also where the turbidity maximum occurred. Tidal pumping by the tidal asymmetry and, possibly, the biological filter formed by muddy marine snow, trapped the fine sediment in the upper regions of King Sound. Wind-driven waves contributed significantly to entrainment of bottom fine sediment, possibly through wave pumping of the sediment and not wave-induced orbital velocities. Field data suggest that erosion of bottom fine sediment was proportional to the sixth power of the tidal current and the third power of the wave height.     

The effects of the reed,Phragmites australis (Trin.), on substratum grain-size distribution in a salt marsh

The effects of the reed,Phragmites australis (Trin.), growing in a brackish water lagoon, were studied in relation to the grain-size distribution of the substratum. At the salt marshes near the lagoon, the upper soils from the surface to a depth of 20 cm contained much silt-clay. These fine particles were found to be transferred from the river and fish ponds near the lagoon, and to be deposited when the tidal rhythm changed, that is, when the water current stopped. In addition, the fine particles, which were deposited on the bottom of the lagoon adjacent to the marshes, became resuspended as a result of wind-caused wave action, and then were transported and redeposited in the salt marshes at the flood tide. Since the reeds further reduced the water current caused by the waves and tide, the reeds were thought to promote redeposition of the resuspended matter. In other words, the reeds were considered to protect deposited and redeposited particles such as silt and clay from resuspension as a result of wave action by reducing the effects of waves and wind. These processes suggested that silt-clay will become abundant in the substratum of the salt marsh adjacent to the lagoon.     

青岛近海悬沙输运的三维数值模拟

研究近海海域水流、悬沙运动规律,运用基于COHERENS发展的水动力悬沙模型COHERENS-SED,结合当地一般波浪条件,模拟了青岛近海悬浮泥沙输运情况,并验证及分析了水动力环境及悬沙输运的模拟结果。结果表明：在波流合作用下,近岸掀沙明显,大潮期间该海域近岸悬沙浓度值最高可达50mg／L。     

Hydrodynamic control of the supply of reworked terrigenous sediment to coral reefs in the Bay of Banten (NW Java, Indonesia)

The Bay of Banten is an example of a shallow-water reef environment adjacent to an eroding delta system, where corals survive in turbid conditions. This study investigated the hydrodynamic controls over residual fluxes of terrigenous sediment in the bay. Observations of wind, waves, currents and suspended sediment concentrations in 1998 and 1999 revealed contrasting dynamic turbidity conditions influenced by tides, monsoon-driven flows and locally generated waves. The most sediment-rich suspensions originate from the shallow coastal margin of an inactive delta, where waves resuspend sediment and small creeks discharge freshwater and sediment. Because of coupling between monsoonal wind, throughflow in the bay and wave height, when wave-induced resuspension peaks seasonally during the northwest monsoon, an eastward throughflow prevents the nearshore reefs in the bay from being directly exposed to turbid water masses generated in the eroding delta. In inshore waters, tidal asymmetry and the spatial variation of current amplitudes cause residual sediment transport, largely depending on the availability of erodible sediment. In the center of the bay, where there is a patch reef complex, the tidal and subtidal currents are weak and therefore here there is a zone where sediment accumulates.     

Modelling and observations of tidal wave propagation, circulation and residence times in Puttalam Lagoon, Sri Lanka

Tidal measurements and a depth-averaged 2D model are used to examine wave progression and circulation in a long, shallow, micro-tidal lagoon in Sri Lanka. Ranges and phase lags for different tidal constituents are used to calibrate the model. A single drag coefficient, C_d = 0.0032, gives almost perfect agreement with data. Current measurements are used for validation of the model. The lagoon tide consists of a combination of progressive and standing waves, where progressive waves dominate in the outer part and standing waves in the inner. A Lagrangian based particle-tracking method is developed to study tidally and wind induced residence times. If tides were the only factor affecting the residual circulation, the residence time inside the narrowest section would be approximately 100 days. Steady winds (of typical monsoon average) decrease the residence times to 60–90 days. Estuarine forcing due to net freshwater supply is not modelled (due to lack of reliable runoff data), but independent, long-term salinity observations and calculations based on volume and salt conservation during periods of negligible freshwater supply (the lagoon is seasonally hypersaline) indicate residence times ranging from 40 to 80 days. Model derived residence times based on tides alone represent a minimum exchange. Even weak forcing, through winds, excess evaporation or freshwater supply efficiently reduces residence times.     

Statistical study on the local equilibrium between wind and wind waves by using data from ocean data buoy stations

The local equilibrium between the wind and wind waves, which is defined by a range of the coefficient of the 3/2-power law between the non-dimensional significant wave height and period, is statistically investigated by using wind and wave data obtained at four ocean data buoy stations in the seas near Japan. The friction velocity is calculated from the wind speed measured at one height together with the significant wave period by using formulas of the wave dependent drag coefficient proposed by Tobaet al. (1990). The data for small waves or for weak winds indicate that the waves do not satisfy the criterion for the local equilibrium, because they may be affected by changing winds or remotely generated swells. In the seas near Japan, the data which satisfy the local equilibrium are about 6% through a year. Otherwise swells are dominant in most situations. Changing winds also cause deviations from the local equilibrium. The degree of satisfaction of the local equilibrium can be classified by ranges of the significant wave height. As the significant wave height exceeds 4 m, the local equilibrium is more frequently satisfied.     

Short-term variability of suspended sediment and phytoplankton in Tampa Bay,Florida: Observations from a coastal oceanographic tower and ocean color satellites

We examined short-term phytoplankton and sediment dynamics in Tampa Bay with data collected between 8 December 2004 and 17 January 2005 from optical, oceanographic, and meteorological sensors mounted on a coastal oceanographic tower and from satellite remote sensing. Baseline phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a, Chl) and sediment concentrations (particle backscattering coefficient at 532 nm, bbp(532)) were of the order of 3.7 mg m⁻³ and 0.07 m⁻¹, respectively, during the study period. Both showed large fluctuations dominated by semidiurnal and diurnal frequencies associated with tidal forcing. Three strong wind events (hourly averaged wind speed >8.0 m s⁻¹) generated critical bottom shear stress of >0.2 Pa and suspended bottom sediments that were clearly observed in concurrent MODIS satellite imagery. In addition, strong tidal current or swells could also suspend sediments in the lower Bay. Sediments remained suspended in the water column for 2–3 days after the wind events. Moderate Chl increases were observed after sediment resuspension with a lag time of ˜1–2 days, probably due to release of bottom nutrients and optimal light conditions associated with sediment resuspension and settling. Two large increases in Chl with one Chl > 12.0 mg m⁻³ over ˜2 days, were observed at neap tides. For the study site and period, because of the high temporal variability in phytoplankton and sediment concentrations, a monthly snapshot can be different by −50% to 200% from the monthly “mean” chlorophyll and sediment conditions. The combination of high-frequency observations from automated sensors and synoptic satellite imagery, when available, is an excellent complement to limited field surveys to study and monitor water quality parameters in estuarine environments.