A phase-resolving cross shore sediment transport model for beach profile evolution

A phase-resolving wave transformation module is combined with an intra-wave sediment transport module to calculate the on-/offshore sediment transport rates. The wave module is based on the Boussinesq equations extended into the surf zone. The vertical variation of the mean undertow and the intra-wave sediment concentrations are calculated. The net sediment transport rates are calculated, and the equation for conservation of sediment is solved to predict the beach profile evolution. The results of the present paper showed that the undertow contribution to the sediment transport rates is not dominating in all parts of the surf zone, even for eroding beaches, suggesting that other contributions should not be neglected. The present model also showed that for the same offshore wave energy the time series of the oscillatory motion is important and that the effect of wave groups cannot be disregarded.     

潮汐河口断面悬沙通量组分模式及其在长江口的应用

断面泥沙通量估算的误差主要来源于计算方法、测点布局等,通量模式应该建立在通量估算统计误差最小的原则基础之上.在断面网格设计中采用统计误差最小的等面积单元网格,在泥沙通量估算中采用泥沙组分浓度,在流速变量插值上垂向采用对数函数插值,横向采用第一边界三次方样条函数插值.这样建立的潮汐河口悬沙断面通量组分模式较以往的任何模式更完善,断面通量估算的误差最小.将该模式应用于长江河口南港断面悬沙通量估算及其输移机制分析,断面泥沙通量表现为大潮期大进大出、大出大于大进;小潮期小进小出、小出大于小进;主要输移机制是拉格朗日输移和潮泵.     

An estimate of the cross-shore sediment flux at the boundary of the coastal zone

A method based on mathematical modeling of the near-shore dynamics is suggested to calculate the annual mean cross-shore sediment flux q* at the coastal zone boundary. This method is applied to several sand coast profiles located in various geographical regions and exposed to energetic impacts of different scale. It is shown that the fluxes can be either positive (directed to the shore) or negative, and the magnitudes found agree with the known estimates based on other approaches. A conclusion is made that the resulting direction of q* is controlled by moderate storms with regime cumulative exedence from 1 to 10%. The wave periods, bottom slope, and sediment grain size play a special role in the process. An empirical criterion is found that allows one to predict the direction of the sediment flux crossing the coastal zone boundary.     

波浪-海流-微地形耦合的沉积动力模式建立及应用

沙纹微地形普遍存在于海底,沙纹的消长能改变底部应力进而影响泥沙的运移。以往研究较多侧重于波致沙纹,并已应用于波浪模式的底摩擦计算,而较少考虑波流联合效应产生的沙纹,也未将其应用于综合的水动力模式和沉积物输运模式。本文在POM水动力模式中嵌入新南威尔士大学泥沙模式,通过耦合波流共同作用的微地形模型与波流相互作用底边界层模型,发展了波浪-海流-微地形（沙纹）耦合的沉积动力模式。本文将该模式应用于澳大利亚Jervis湾,针对波主导和波流联合主导沙纹两种类型,分别进行了沙纹发展状态、几何形态的分布及悬浮泥沙的模拟。结果表明:波致沙纹比波流联合作用的沙波具有更大的波高和波长,因此当波主导时沙纹对悬浮泥沙起着关键作用。通过考虑随沙纹变化的粗糙度,相比于以往模式设置均一的粗糙度,该模型能对悬浮物浓度的骤升过程进行更精细的预测。     

A sampler-based technique for the study of near-bed sediment dynamics: application in the eastern English Channel

A simple technique for studying near-bed hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics is presented. The method combines the use of (1) a benthic tripod hosting a series of electromagnetic current meters, and (2) a newly developed near-bed multi-level water-sediment mixture sampler. The instrument package was deployed successfully at a shallow water station in the eastern English Channel. The currents at elevation 0.9 m above the bottom were asymmetrical, the flood current peak being slightly stronger than the ebb current peak. At elevation 0.3 m above the bottom, the ebb/flood current peak asymmetry vanished. The observed SSCs (suspended sediment concentrations) were tidally modulated, with a contrasting vertical distribution over the ebb and flood phases of the tidal current: the profile was uniform in the ebb phase whereas a stratification appeared in the flood phase. The depth dependence and time evolution of the SSCs are attributable to a combination of local resuspension and advection-dispersion of remotely suspended fine sediment by ebb currents. Suspended sediment fluxes were uniform during the ebb phase and increased with elevation above the bottom during the flood phase.     

Calculating the sediment flux of the small coastal watersheds: a modification of global equations

Two kinds of regression equations are used to reproduce the sediment flux of the 26 small coastal watersheds in southeastern China. The first kind is the global equations suggested by Milliman and Syvitski(1992), Mulder and Syvitski(1996), Syvitski et al.(2003), and Syvitski and Milliman(2007). The second kind is the modified equations revised by the characteristics of the coastal watersheds, including the drainage area, mean water discharge, and mean sediment discharge. Compared with the observ...     

Coincident application of a mass balance of radium and a hydrodynamic model for the seasonal quantification of groundwater flux into the Venice Lagoon, Italy

A mass balance of the naturally occurring short-lived radium isotopes (^223,224Ra) in the Venice Lagoon was conducted by an integrated approach combining the directly estimated individual Ra contributions and hydrodynamic model results. Hydrodynamic data allows for the calculation of the Ra mass balance in sub-sections of the Venice Lagoon (boxes), which are characterized by physically homogeneous properties, instead of investigating the entire lagoon. Utilizing this method, both the seasonal and the spatial variability of the submarine groundwater discharge in the Venice Lagoon have been estimated. Between 14–83 × 10⁹ L d^− 1 of water were calculated to flow across the sediment–sea interface, corresponding to 5–28 times the mean annual river input. The submarine groundwater discharge estimates were correlated with the residence time calculation to better understand spatial and seasonal variation.     

Changes in a rocky shore community: An evaluation of monitoring

The basic aim of this study was to record the changes in the communities on a moderately exposed rocky shore by a programme of repeated non-destructive sampling (‘monitoring’) and to determine the causes of these changes. Possible causative factors were investigated by the combined approach of analysing detailed sea-temperature and meteorological data for the period of the study and establishing manipulative field experiments.Fixed quadrats (2 m by 1 m) at three levels were visited at 6–8 weekly intervals for 30 months and the abundance and spatial pattern of major species assessed. In the ‘High’ quadrat the balance between Fucus spiralis and F. vesiculosus changed, and an outburst of ephemeral algae occurred following a decline in overall canopy cover. In the ‘Mid’ quadrat F. vesiculosus decreased considerably from its initial cover and virtually disappeared by the end of the study. In the ‘Low’ quadrat F. vesiculosus increased from being absent to comprising 20% of the canopy, whilst Semmibalanus (= Balanus) balanoides and ‘understorey’ algae decreased in cover. Actinia equina, Nucella lapillus and Patella vulgata showed marked changes in number at all levels where they occurred.Only certain of these changes could be attributed to the physical environment—most were biologically controlled. For example, manipulative experiments showed that the blooms of ephemeral algae and the decline of Patella in the high-shore quadrat, and the decline of Actinia in the mid-shore quadrat, were due to decreases in the fucoid canopy. These canopy changes were, in turn, the result of biological cycles which are characteristic of these communities. However, even with the support of manipulative experiments, it was not possible to account for (or predict) all of the observed natural changes. The extent of these fluctuations poses a serious obstacle to the recognition of any but very gross pollution-induced effects. The conclusion must be that the monitoring of rocky shores as a means of detecting and measuring pollution is likely to be an unproductive investment of time and resources.     

Chalk shore platform erosion in the vicinity of sea defence structures and the impact of construction methods

Erosion of the intertidal chalk platform in the vicinity of groynes and seawalls is evident to the naked eye along many stretches of the engineered coastline of southeast England, leading to undermining and eventually failure of these structures. However, quantification of the magnitude and spatial extent of the erosion has been difficult to date because of a lack of data about the past elevation of the platform. The application of softcopy photogrammetry makes it possible to recreate past platform elevations from historic air photographs and to compare these with elevations from modern air photographs. Coastal sea defence structures have been installed along the chalk coast east of Brighton at various dates over the past 70 years. During this period, the construction methods have changed from predominantly manual labour to a reliance on heavy machines. The analysis of erosion patterns around structures built since the 1970s using heavy machinery show that surface lowering is 4 to 25 times greater in the vicinity of these structures than across the platform as a whole. In contrast, there is no similar pattern of increased erosion around structures built using predominantly manual labour in the 1930s. A four fold increase in average surface lowering is found also along a vehicle trackway that crosses the mid platform. Depressions developed by enhanced lowering in the front of seawalls generate their own dynamic of increased erosion by trapping pebbles and cobbles that enhance the abrasion of the chalk through bedload transport under standing waves in front of the walls.     

Evaluation of the N2 flux approach for measuring sediment denitrification

Direct gas chromatographic measurement of denitrification rates via N₂ fluxes from aquatic sediments can avoid some of the artifacts and complexities associated with indirect approaches and tracer techniques. However, measurement protocols have typically been determined based upon initial results or previous studies. We present a process-level study and simulation model for evaluating and optimizing N₂ gas flux approaches in closed chamber incubations. Experimental manipulations and simulations of both artificial and natural sediments were used to conduct sensitivity analyses of key design parameters in N₂ flux measurements. Experimental results indicated that depletion of labile organic matter during the long incubations required by common protocols (for diffusive off-gassing of porewater N₂) may result in underestimates of denitrification rates in some systems. Simulations showed that the required incubation time was primarily a function of sediment thickness. The best approach found to minimize incubation time and reduce errors was to select the minimum sediment thickness necessary to include the entire depth distribution of nitrification–denitrification for a particular sediment system. Attempts to increase measurement sensitivity and shorten incubation times by reducing the headspace thickness to 1–2 cm generally cause denitrification to be underestimated by 3–13% for gas headspaces, and up to 80% for water headspaces. However, errors were negligible with gas and water headspace thicknesses of 10 cm and 15 cm, respectively. Anaerobic cores to control for non-denitrification N₂ fluxes shortened incubation time, but introduced artifacts in sediments with extensive macrofaunal irrigation.     

A field-based population model for the sediment toxicity test organism Leptocheirus plumulosus: II. Model application

A stage-structured population model has been developed for the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus to provide interpretive guidance for sediment toxicity tests with this species. This time-varying, field-based model includes several matrices to reflect seasonal changes in demographics. In this paper, we conduct sensitivity analysis of the model to identify which life history parameters have the greatest potential impact on population growth rate (lambda). Results indicate seasonal variability in the relative demographic importance of vital rates. Over winter, annual population growth is most sensitive to the persistence of juveniles and adults and growth from the juvenile to the adult stage. In spring and fall, changes in fecundity are likely to have large effects on population dynamics. In addition, we demonstrate the applicability of the model by using it to interpret toxicological data from an assessment of sediment contamination in Baltimore Harbor, MD. The model was parameterized with survival data from acute toxicity tests with L. plumulosus to project effects on population growth rate (lambda). Results of these model simulations indicate that relatively small changes in survival can result in large changes in lambda, indicating high risk to benthic populations. Furthermore, population projections mirror observed abundances of L. plumulosus at the test sites. These analyses provide a first indication of the usefulness of the Leptocheirus population model as a tool for exploring ecological effects of sediment contamination.     

基于PCA法的沉积物质量评价模型构建及其应用

本研究针对我国沉积物质量评价存在的问题,基于近海沉积物监测常规指标和海洋沉积物质量标准,结合主成分分析法（PCA）构建了沉积物质量的评价指标体系和数学模型,划分出三类沉积物质量综合指数（F）的量化区间值,并在九龙江及毗邻海域进行了示范应用。模型结果显示九龙江口沉积物质量以二类为主,具有面源和点源的复合污染特征,关键区域为漳州近岸海域;单因子评价结果表明主要污染指标为Zn、Cu和Pb。评价结果较好地反应了沉积物环境质量现状,为九龙江口底质保护和治理提供了技术支撑。     

A validation concept for cohesive sediment transport model and application on Lianyungang Harbor,China

Morphology evolution and hydro-sedimentological interactions in muddy coastal environments are long term processes. These processes are closely related to suspended sediment transport driven by waves and tidal currents. In the traditional calibration/verification methodology for cohesive sediment transport models, time-series data of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) measured during one or several tidal periods are commonly used as major validation references. But the disadvantage of this approach includes that it cannot filter the noises caused by the stochastic nature of short term hydrodynamics induced by waves and the varying properties of bottom sediments; besides a phase-lag phenomenon is often observed between sediment transport and hydrodynamics in the short term. On the contrary, a stable relationship between sedimentation and hydrodynamics is usually found in the long term. For a specific weather, the SSC values often agree well with local wave heights for muddy coasts. Therefore, in this paper a conceptual quantity defined as “representative SSC” was brought forward, and a model validation concept, including calibration and verification approaches, was proposed, in which calibration is performed against yearly-representative SSC values and the long term transport trend, and verification by using representative SSC values corresponding to different wave conditions. A numerical simulation was set up, and a real-life engineering application, Lianyungang Harbor, China, was executed to elaborate the proposed validation concept. Finally, the characteristics of SSC distribution around Lianyungang Harbor were discussed.     

A test of the ADV-based Reynolds flux method for in situ estimation of sediment settling velocity in a muddy estuary

Under conditions common in muddy coastal and estuarine environments, acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) can serve to estimate sediment settling velocity (w _s) by assuming a balance between upward turbulent Reynolds flux and downward gravitational settling. Advantages of this method include simple instrument deployment, lack of flow disturbance, and relative insensitivity to biofouling and water column stratification. Although this method is being used with increasing frequency in coastal and estuarine environments, to date it has received little direct ground truthing. This study compared in situ estimates of w _s inferred by a 5-MHz ADV to independent in situ observations from a high-definition video settling column over the course of a flood tide in the bottom boundary layer of the York River estuary, Virginia, USA. The ADV-based measurements were found to agree with those of the settling column when the current speed at about 40 cm above the bed was greater than about 20 cm/s. This corresponded to periods when the estimated magnitude of the settling term in the suspended sediment continuity equation was four or more times larger than the time rate of change of concentration. For ADV observations restricted to these conditions, ADV-based estimates of w _s (mean 0.48±0.04 mm/s) were highly consistent with those observed by the settling column (mean 0.45±0.02 mm/s). However, the ADV-based method for estimating w _s was sensitive to the prescribed concentration of the non-settling washload, C _wash. In an objective operational definition, C _wash can be set equal to the lowest suspended solids concentration observed around slack water.     

辽东湾北岸主要入海河流污染物入海通量及其影响因素分析

利用辽河、大辽河、小凌河1992-1995,2004-2007年,大凌河1995-2007年的水文和水质入海监测资料,估算了辽东湾北岸四条主要入海河流各污染因子的入海通量,并初步分析了污染物通量年际变化的影响因素.结果表明,辽东湾北岸的四条主要河流中除小凌河各种污染物入海通量总体上呈增加趋势以外,其他三条河流各污染物的...     

Quantitative links between fluvial sediment discharge,trapped terrigenous flux and sediment accumulation,and implications for temporal and spatial distributions of sediment fluxes

The southwestern-most Okinawa Trough (SOT), characterized by high sedimentation rates (>0.1 cm/yr), has the potential for recording high-resolution episodic events, such as storm floods and seismic activities, at least on a regional scale. To retrieve data on past climate change from nearby sediment cores and quantitatively reconstruct it, particularly with respect to precipitation (or typhoon-induced flood events), a linkage between fluvial sediment discharge and terrigenous sediment flux is warranted. Apparent sediment fluxes, observed with four arrays of sediment traps deployed in the SOT, were found to vary with fluvial sediment discharges. Empirical equations for individual arrays of sediment traps are site-dependent and related to the scenario of initial supply, transport and final deposition of terrigenous sediments (i.e. land–sea interaction). Using these equations and hydrological data from 1950 to 2000, the long-term temporal and spatial variations of settling sediment fluxes were simulated. Simulation results agree well with sediment mass accumulation rates derived from literature data on ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs chronology. The simulated spatial patterns of sediment fluxes along a slope–trough section illustrate that sediment plumes can disperse concurrently in two manners, namely near-bottom and mid-depth plumes, and the flood-driven plumes can travel very long distances, approaching 125°E or beyond. The sediment burial budget in the SOT was estimated to be approximately 5.2 Mt/yr, representing about 80% of riverine exports from the Lanyang Hsi, Taiwan. This is the first study dealing qualitatively and quantitatively with two parameters, namely terrigenous sediment flux and fluvial sediment discharge.     

Significance of vertical flux as a sink for surface water DMSP and as a source for the sediment surface in coastal zones of northern Europe

In April 1997 and 1998 the significance of sedimentation as a sink for epipelagic dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) production and as a source for marine sediments was reassessed using a newly designed sediment trap. The behaviour of the traps in immersion was monitored continuously and the collection efficiency was evaluated with ²³⁴Th measurements. Net DMS(P) fluxes were corrected for some physical and biological losses during the whole sedimentation process providing reliable estimates of gross DMSP fluxes. It is shown that daily losses by sedimentation account for between 0.1% and 16% of seawater particulate DMSP (DMSPp) standing stocks, and between 3% and 75% of daily DMSPp production. In the Malangen fjord we observed temporal increases of DMSP production and standing stocks which resulted also in increases of DMSP vertical fluxes and DMS(P) concentrations at the sediment surface. This result illustrates how tight the coupling can be between pelagos and benthos, and confirms that DMS(P) concentration in the sediment was a reliable diagnostic indicator of vertical export from overlying waters in Malangen fjord. In Ullsfjord, however, DMS(P) concentrations in the sediment were poorly indicators of Phaeocystis pouchetii export during the early stage of growth of a bloom. The high load of DMS(P) in Balsfjord's sediments could neither be attributed to local vertical sedimentation nor to short-term lateral advection of fresh DMSP-containing phytoplanktonic material, and provides indication that this tracer sometimes also can be misleading. The highest loads of DMS(P) in sediments and the fastest rates of sedimentation occurred in the Southern Bight of the North Sea.     

The intertidal erosion rate of cohesive sediment: a case study from Long Island Sound

Over the past decades, many attempts have been made to generate useful bottom erosion models for the study of cohesive sediment movement. This study addresses some of the key questions involved in determining the functional relationship between erosion rate and bottom shear stress. Current, wave, and turbidity data were collected from a bottom mounted instrument array in a moderately energetic estuarine environment. The bottom shear stress was calculated from a wave–current interaction model. The erosion rate was derived from the observed sediment concentration using a vertical mixing model. Examination of the relationship between erosion rate and bottom stress showed that the erosion rate varied at intertidal frequency. When averaged over the tidal fluctuation, the erosion rate remained approximately constant at low stress, but increased sharply when the shear stress rose above a critical value. This suggests two-stage erosion. The bed has a layered structure, in which a thin layer of loose, high water content material overlies a more consolidated bed. The top layer of high water content material (fluff) was easily disturbed and re-suspended by tidal currents, but the consolidated bottom layer was eroded only under conditions of high shear stress.     

Two-layer quasi-geostrophic model of contour dynamics for a round basin

A quasi-geostrophic contour dynamics model permitting one to study flows induced by a system of vortex patches in a two-layer ocean with round shore boundaries in the presence of specified background flows caused by the bottom relief, the β effect, and sources and sinks at the boundaries is proposed. The principal relations of the model are presented and the algorithm of its numerical realization is described. Some experimental results of the study of the evolution of unstable two-layer vortices are demonstrated.     

企望湾砂质海滩剖面冲淤幅度的估算

以海滩沉积地貌现场观测资料为基础 ,通过海滩剖面形态组合 ,历史地形资料比较和特征地貌形态变化理论计算分析 ,对汕头南部企望湾弧形砂质海岸切线段的海滩剖面冲淤幅度进行了估算。结果表明 ,该海滩剖面冲淤幅度具有区段变化 ,低潮阶地和槽谷部位约 1 .5～ 2 .0m,滩肩和水下沙坝部位可达 3 .0 m。近 3 0年来 ,海滩剖面总体上趋于微冲刷 ,平均冲刷强度约为 1～ 2 cm/a,可能与近期人工挖砂有关。