Search

Highlights • Sediments are unable to penetrate farther inside the marshes because of the limited water depths and velocities on the marsh platforms. • Trapping capacity of sediment in different intertidal subdomains decreases exponentially with R, the ratio between advection length and the typical spatial length of channels and tidal flats. • The feedback between SLR and sediment trapping has a twofold effect: an increase in salt marsh resilience in the short term but a net loss of sediment in the long term that might jeopardize the entire intertidal system. Abstract Deposition of fine sediments on a marsh platform favors accretion that counteracts Sea Level Rise. However, it is difficult to assess the sediment trapping capacity of a marsh given the heterogeneity of sediment sources and the geometric complexity of the system, with a network of dendritic and meandering creeks dissecting the intertidal area. Here we use a numerical model to study the sediment trapping capacity of a marsh-dominated estuary, Plum Island Sound, USA, and its variations across the landscape. The results highlight the importance of the timing between sediment inputs and tidal phase and show that sediment discharged from tidal rivers deposit within the rivers themselves or in adjacent marshes. Most sediment is deposited in shallow tidal flats and channels and is unable to penetrate farther inside the marshes because of the limited water depths and velocities on the marsh platform. Trapping capacity of sediment in different intertidal subdomains decreases logarithmically with the ratio between advection length and the typical length of channels and tidal flats. Moreover, sediment deposition on the marsh decreases exponentially with distance from the channels and marsh edge. This decay rate is a function of settling velocity and the maximum value of water depth and velocity on the marsh platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamic and residual transport patterns arising from oscillating tidal motion have important consequences for the transport of sediments, and for the evolution of the shoreline, especially under macro- and meso-tidal conditions. For many locations there are significant uncertainties about residual currents and sediment transport characteristics, and their possible influence on the morphological evolution of the coastline and on the character of the bed. Herein we use the coastline of SE England as a test case to investigate possible changes in residual currents, and residual transport patterns from neap to spring tide, the reciprocal interaction between residuals and the character of the bed, and the morphological evolution of the coastline at a century timescale. We found that in the long term the morphology of the system evolves toward a dynamic equilibrium configuration characterized by smaller, and spatially constant residual transport patterns. While the spatial distribution of residual currents maintains a similar trend during both neap and spring tide, during spring tide and for large areas residual currents switch between northerly and southerly directions, and their magnitude is doubled. Residual eddies develop in regions characterized by the presence of sand bars due to the interaction of the tide with the varying topography. Residual transport patterns are also computed for various sediment fractions, and based on the hydrodynamics and sediment availability at the bottom. We found that the distribution of sediments on the bed is significantly correlated with the intensity of residuals. Finally, the majority of long-term morphological changes tend to develop or augment sand banks features, with an increase in elevation and steepening of the bank contours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrodynamics of distributary channels has tremendous impact on nutrient and dissolved oxygen circulation, transport of sediments, and delta formation and evolution; yet many processes acting at the river–marine interface of a delta are poorly understood. This paper investigates the combined effect of river hydrograph and micro-tides on the hydrodynamics of a delta distributary. As the ratio between river flow to tidal flow increases, tidal flood duration at the distributary mouth decreases, up to the point when flow reversal is absent. Field measurements in a distributary of the Apalachicola Delta, Florida, USA, reveal that, once the flow becomes unidirectional, high-discharge events magnify tidal velocity amplitudes. On the contrary, while the flow is bidirectional, increasing fluvial discharge decreases tidal velocity amplitudes down to a minimum value, reached at the limit between bidirectional and unidirectional flow. Due to the different response of the system to tides, the transition from a bidirectional to a unidirectional flow triggers a change in phase lag between high water and high water slack. In the presence of high riverine flow, tidal dynamics also promote seaward directed Eulerian residual currents. During discharge peaks, these residual currents almost double mean velocity values. Our results show that, even in micro-tidal environments, tides strongly impact distributary hydrodynamics during both high and low fluvial discharge regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of sewer networks has important consequences from an environmental and social point of view. Poor functioning can result in flood risk and pollution at a large scale. Sediment deposits forming in sewer trunks might severely compromise the sewer line by affecting the flow field, reducing cross-sectional areas, and increasing roughness coefficients. In spite of numerous efforts, the morphological features of these depositional environments remain poorly understood. The interface between water and sediment remains inefficiently identified and the estimation of the stock of deposit is frequently inaccurate. In part, this is due to technical issues connected to difficulties in collecting accurate field measurements without disrupting existing morphologies. In this paper, results from an extensive field campaign are presented; during the campaign a new survey methodology based on acoustic techniques has been tested. Furthermore, a new algorithm for the detection of the soil-water interface, and therefore for the correct esteem of sediment stocks is proposed. Finally, results in regard to bed topography, and morphological features at two different field sites are presented and reveal that a large variability in bed forms is present along sewer networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seagrasses are marine flowering plants that provide key ecological services. In recent decades, multiple stressors have caused a worldwide decline in seagrass beds. Changes in bottom friction associated with seagrass loss are expected to influence the ability of estuarine systems to trap sediment inputs through local and regional changes in hydrodynamics. Herein, we document a numerical study using six historical maps of seagrass distribution in Barnegat Bay, USA, to demonstrate that reductions in seagrass coverage destabilize estuarine systems, decreasing flood-dominance in areas affected by seagrass disappearance and increasing bed-shear stress values across the entire back-barrier basin. Furthermore, we reveal how seagrass decline has considerably increased the impact of wind-waves on marsh edges between 1968 and 2009. From a comparison with a numerical experiment without submerged aquatic vegetation, we estimate that up to 40% of the computed wave thrust on marsh boundaries can be reduced by seagrass beds and we find that the location of a seagrass patch in addition to its aerial extent plays a crucial role in this attenuation process. This study highlights the benefits of seagrass meadows in enhancing estuarine resilience and reducing marsh-edge retreat by wind-wave attack, which is recognized as a chief agent in lateral marsh loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]