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Hydrodynamics and sediment transport in an estuarine cross-section : Extended analytical model compared to observations from Upper Chesapeake Bay
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Huijts, Karin M. H. Schuttelaars, Henk M. Swart, Huib E. De Friedrichs, C. |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Introduction Observations of suspended sediment concentrations in estuarine cross-sections show that sediments are often trapped at a specific side. In Huijts et al. (2006), an idealized model was presented that was used to identify physical mechanisms underlying lateral trapping of sediment in tidal estuaries caused by tides, Earth’s rotation, density gradients and river discharge. The idealized modeling approach enabled isolating an individual forcing mechanisms and evaluating the effects on fluid flow and sediment transport in a systematic way. However, the model neglected various important physical processes. In the present work, the model is extended to include these processes, like non-linear advection of momentum and sediment concentration, curvature of riverbanks, sediment resuspension by wind waves, and tidal variations in stratification and mixing. Moreover, a power-law dependence of the vertical eddy viscosity and diffusivity coefficients on local water depth is introduced. The influence of these extensions on the hydrodynamics and on the lateral positions of sediment convergence zones is discussed. Results of the extended model will be compared to observations of hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in six lateral transects in the Upper Chesapeake Bay estuary in Virginia, USA. Each transect was measured over a full tidal cycle on a separate cruise between 2001 and 2002. Results of the comparison will be shown and the dominant mechanisms leading to lateral sediment transport in the Upper Chesapeake Bay will be discussed. Below, we focus on resuspension of sediment by wind waves. Model description Hydrodynamics and suspended sediment dynamics are described by the three-dimensional shallow water equations on the f-plane and a time-dependent advection-diffusion equation, respectively. The erosional flux of sediment at the bed is prescribed by |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.vims.edu/~cfried/cv/2006/Huijts_etal_2006_PECS.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
