A sediment fluxes investigation for the 2-D modelling of large river morphodynamics

A complete understanding of alluvial-bed dynamics is desirable for evaluating a variety of issues related to water resources.Sediment fluxes were investigated in a bifurcation of the large Parana River near Rosario, Argentina. The backscatter estimations from the Doppler profilers provided the suspended load of the sediment forming the riverbed. An echo-sounder was applied to track the dunes yielding the bed-load estimation.Aiming to show the usefulness of the recorded data, a 2-D numerical code was applied to the 10-km long and 2-km wide Rosario reach. The morphodynamic module was un-coupled from the hydrodynamics assessment, which enabled the long-term prediction of the river morphology accounting for the hydrological yearly variation with a quasi-steady approach.Numerical experiments were performed to test the sensitivity of the hydrodynamic model to the computational time-step and mesh size, to test the un-coupling scheme performance regarding the full-dynamic modelling, to test the accuracy of the sediment transport formulae based on the field evidence and, finally, to provide guidance to properly fix the model parameters.     

Characteristics of phosphate adsorption onto granulated coal ash in seawater

The deterioration of sediments is a serious environmental problem. Controlling nutrient release fluxes from sediments is important to alleviating eutrophication and to reducing terrigenous nutrient loads. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the phosphate removal performance of granulated coal ash (GCA) from seawater, which is produced from coal thermal electric power generation. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the removal kinetics of phosphate from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. Phosphate was removed well from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The adsorption isotherm for phosphate revealed that GCA could remove phosphate effectively from seawater above a concentration of 1.7 μmol L⁻¹. GCA can reduce the concentration of phosphate in seawater effectively under anoxic conditions where iron type adsorbents cannot be applied. Therefore, GCA could potentially be used to adsorb phosphate in the organically-enriched sediment, which generally occurs under highly reductive conditions.     

Geomicrobiology of cores from Suruí Mangrove - Guanabara Bay - Brazil

The aim of this work was to quantify the biopolymers associated to esterase enzymes and identify bacterial respiratory activity in four cores collected in Suruí Mangrove, Guanabara Bay - RJ. Biopolymer concentration was 1000 times lower than previously reported in the literature, indicating the need for creating and establishing eutrophication indicative rates and records compatible with tropical coastal systems. The biochemical representative relationships in the cores were equivalent to those from studies on coastal marine environments made in the Northern Hemisphere. The esterase enzymes in the sediment proved efficient in the mineralization of biopolymers, even with preferentially anaerobic metabolic physiology. Despite the lack of incipient geomicrobiological studies, the results highlighted the possible application of microbiology to a better understanding of geological processes.     

Velocity profiles and incipient motion of frazil particles under ice cover

A series of experiments for the incipient motion of frazil particles under ice cover have been carried out in laboratory under different flow and boundary conditions.Measurements on flow velocities across the measuring cross-section at different water depths have been conducted.Based on these experiments under both ice-covered and open flow conditions,the impacts of solid boundary(such as ice cover and flume sidewall) on the distribution of flow velocity profiles have been discussed.The criteria for the inc...     

The influence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycles on wave-driven sea-floor sediment mobility along the central California continental margin

Ocean surface waves are the dominant temporally and spatially variable process influencing sea floor sediment resuspension along most continental shelves. Wave-induced sediment mobility on the continental shelf and upper continental slope off central California for different phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events was modeled using monthly statistics derived from more than 14 years of concurrent hourly oceanographic and meteorologic data as boundary input for the Delft SWAN wave model, gridded sea floor grain-size data from the usSEABED database, and regional bathymetry. Differences as small as 0.5 m in wave height, 1 s in wave period, and 10° in wave direction, in conjunction with the spatially heterogeneous unconsolidated sea-floor sedimentary cover, result in significant changes in the predicted mobility of continental shelf surficial sediment in the study area. El Niño events result in more frequent mobilization on the inner shelf in the summer and winter than during La Niña events and on the outer shelf and upper slope in the winter months, while La Niña events result in more frequent mobilization on the mid-shelf during spring and summer months than during El Niño events. The timing and patterns of seabed mobility are addressed in context of geologic and biologic processes. By understanding the spatial and temporal variability in the disturbance of the sea floor, scientists can better interpret sedimentary patterns and ecosystem structure, while providing managers and planners an understanding of natural impacts when considering the permitting of offshore activities that disturb the sea floor such as trawling, dredging, and the emplacement of sea-floor engineering structures.     

Concentration profiles for fine and coarse sediments suspended by waves over ripples: An analytical study with the 1-DV gradient diffusion model

Field and laboratory measurements of suspended sediments over wave ripples show, for time-averaged concentration profiles in semi-log plots, a contrast between upward convex profiles for fine sand and upward concave profiles for coarse sand. Careful examination of experimental data for coarse sand shows a near-bed upward convex profile beneath the main upward concave profile. Available models fail to predict these two profiles for coarse sediments. The 1-DV gradient diffusion model predicts the main upward concave profile for coarse sediments thanks to a suitable β(y)$\beta (y)$-function (where β$\beta$ is the inverse of the turbulent Schmidt number and y   is the distance from the bed). In order to predict the near-bed upward convex profile, an additional parameter α$\alpha$ is needed. This parameter could be related to settling velocity (α$\alpha$ equal to inverse of dimensionless settling velocity) or to convective sediment entrainment process. The profiles are interpreted by a relation between second derivative of the logarithm of concentration and derivative of the product between sediment diffusivity and α$\alpha$.     

Quantifying the suspended sediment discharge to the ocean from the Markham River,Papua New Guinea

The Markham River is a small river draining a tropical mountain range with altitudes between 1000 and 3000 m and discharges directly into a submarine canyon, the head of which is at 30 m depth and reaches depths of 500 m only 4 km from the shore. As such, the Markham discharge system serves as a possible analogue for rivers discharging onto margins during low stands of sea-level. Located in a tectonically active area and with high rainfall, sediment supply is high and episodic and is sometimes related to catastrophic mountain landslides. The river has an estimated sediment load of 12 Mt yr⁻¹. Occasionally, high energy flows are generated at the river mouth which is evident from the channel morphology and sediment distribution. Profiles of salinity and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) show that sediment is dispersed via a plume with components at both the surface, intermediate depth along isopycnal surfaces and near the sea bed. The dispersal pattern of the surface freshwater plume is largely determined by the buoyancy force. The surface plume is very thin with salinity gradients 15 ppt m⁻¹ while a Richardson number greater than unity suggested that the mixing zone is highly stratified. Estimates of the horizontal sediment flux gradient of the surface plume along the estuary axis suggest that about 80% of the sediment discharged is lost from the plume within a distance of 2 km from the river mouth. Particle fall velocities estimated from the vertical flux indicate values less than those of flocculated material. Layers of sediment with SSCs between 500 and 1000 mg l⁻¹ were observed at intermediate depths and near the seabed during periods of both high and intermediate discharge. The mass of sediment in a SSC layer at intermediate depths between 150 and 250 m within the canyon channel was estimated to be equivalent to an average of 2 to 3 days of Markham sediment discharge. SSCs near the seabed of between 250 and 750 mg l⁻¹ suggest that layers of significantly elevated density exist near the seabed, moving under the influence of gravity down steep seabed slopes of the Markham canyon.     

The role of biophysical interactions within the ijzermonding tidal flat sediment dynamics

This paper focuses on the importance of biophysical interactions on short-term and long-term sediment dynamics. Therefore, various biological (macrobenthos, photopigments, colloidal EPS) and physical parameters (grain size, water content, sediment stability, bed level) were determined (bi)monthly in nine sampling plots on the IJzermonding tidal flat (Belgium, 51°08′N, 2°44′E) during three consecutive years (July 2005–June 2008). Results showed that sediment stability varied on the short timescale and was directly influenced by biota, while bed level varied mainly on the long-term due to interannual variability. The short-term dynamic relationships between mud content, water content, fucoxanthin and macrobenthos density resulted in a seasonal mud deposition and erosion cycle, and directly influenced sediment stability. Moreover, macrobenthos was proven to be the most important parameter determining sediment stability. On the long-term, a shift was observed from high fucoxanthin/chla concentration, high mud content and zero to moderate densities of Corophium volutator towards low fucoxanthin/chl a and mud content and high Corophium densities, which resulted in a transition from net accretion to net erosion. However, most measured variables proved to be poor predictors for these long-term bed level changes, indicating that external physical forces, such as waves and storminess, probably were the most important factors triggering long-term sediment dynamics. Nevertheless, biota indirectly influenced bed level changes by mediating short-term changes in sediment stability, thereby influencing the erodability of the sediment. The macrobenthos, and especially the mud shrimp Corophium, was suggested as the (indirect) driving destabilising factor for the sampling plots in the IIzermonding when considering the long-term evolution.     

Nearshore bar migration and sediment-induced buoyancy effects

A 1-D General Ocean Turbulence Model that includes the effects of sediment-induced stratification is shown to simulate the observed onshore and offshore migration of a nearshore sandbar. The only two free parameters of the model, the bed reference concentration and the sediment diffusivity, are taken from the literature, rather than tuned to the data used here. The model results suggest that predictions of onshore bar migration, in which wave-induced sediment transport confined to within a few centimeters of the bottom dominates, are not greatly affected by accounting for buoyancy effects. The model results also suggest that both mean flows and waves transport sediment during offshore bar migration, with different components of transport dominating at different cross-shore locations across the bar-trough bathymetry. Neglecting the effects of sediment-induced stratification results in higher model skill during the largest waves, likely because the excess turbulence production simulated by the non-stratified model is counterbalanced by neglected breaking-wave-generated turbulence. Considering both onshore and offshore migration, the model that includes sediment-induced stratification has higher skill than the model without stratification.