Suspended-sediment reference concentration under waves: field observations and critical analysis of two predictive models

Two commonly adopted but fundamentally different approaches for predicting time-averaged suspended-sediment reference concentration (C?_REF) under waves are tested against field measurements and compared with each other. The first model relates C?_REF to the cube of the non-dimensional skin friction, whereas the second model adopts a more complex function of excess skin friction incorporating the empirical constant γ₀. The dataset is from the zone of wave shoaling seaward of an open-coast surfzone and includes measurements of waves, currents, suspended sediment and bedforms. Estimates of C?_REF are derived from acoustic backscatter data, and the seabed and suspension process are described from video footage. When waves were energetic, the bed was deformed into large hummocks; during less energetic conditions, the bed was rippled. The time-averaged concentration profiles over the ripples were consistent with settling flux balanced by pure gradient diffusion and a sediment diffusivity that is constant with elevation above the bed. C?_REF in that case is shown to apply at z=0, where z is the elevation above the bed. Over the hummocks, there was a sheet flow at the base of the suspension and C?_REF is shown to apply at z=1 cm. The concentration profiles over the hummocks implied sediment diffusivity that varied linearly with elevation within ～10 cm of the bed and constant sediment diffusivity above that level. For both rippled and hummocky beds, γ₀ derived from the field data was found to be sensitive to the value assumed for critical stress for initiation of sediment motion, which could explain the range of values reported in the literature for γ₀. γ₀ was also found to vary in a complex way with skin friction, which suggests that the reference-concentration model based on excess skin friction is not correctly formulated. Nevertheless, two functions for γ₀ (one applying to rippled beds and the other to hummocky beds) were contrived to make the model fit the data. The model based on non-dimensional skin friction was found to be a good predictor of C?_REF when a correction was made for flow contraction over ripples. The correction was not required for the hummocky bed, where sediment was being entrained in a thin sheet flow layer. The model based on non-dimensional skin friction correctly portrayed the relationship between flow and sediment response without contrivance and therefore should be the favoured approach in predicting reference concentration.