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Sediment dynamics over sand ridges on a tideless mid-outer continental shelf

Sediment dynamics over sand ridges on a tideless mid-outer continental shelf
Sediment dynamics over sand ridges on a tideless mid-outer continental shelf
A sand ridge field with crests oriented NE–SW (52°) located between 55 and 85 m water depth on the Valencia continental shelf (Spain) was mapped with multibeam swath bathymetry and characterized with seismic profiling and sediment sampling. Boundary-layer hydrodynamic measurements conducted over a sand ridge at 66 m depth show evidence of wave and current sediment resuspension during a major storm event with a three-year recurrence period. From the measured intrawave sediment concentration profiles it is shown that the suspended sediment time evolution is related not only to mean currents but also to the wave field. The near-bottom shear stress generated during storm conditions reached around 1 N/m2 and was able to resuspend and transport sandy and muddy sediments for more than 32 h. The total suspended sediment transport in a layer of 1 m above the bottom was around 4000 kg per meter width and directed 160°.

It is argued that these sand ridges were developed in a shallow environment and there is no evidence of present-day ridge migration or morphological degradation. It is hypothesized that sediment dynamics affecting sand ridges during storms favors the maintenance of their morphology.
sand ridge, sediment resuspension, continental shelf, ABS measurements, intrawave bottom boundary layer
0025-3227
25-40
Simarro, G.
6cf793fe-0964-4f55-ba60-5d00754c2482
Guillén, J.
45a3cc8c-9dd8-4560-9880-cd4800183314
Puig, P.
40eb2ffe-80ff-4ec5-87e6-60e0334ab0c6
Ribó, M.
0c2ef6a1-7c7d-4eaf-a6a9-86c52b836b40
Lo Iacono, C.
f4b28cb2-4370-4bcf-bc6f-5e640a82ac90
Palanques, A.
28bb9666-657f-4bbd-b759-ce1da31cfa3e
Muñoz, A.
8c14bcf1-d10b-492e-b1b5-ee90e38d0f6f
Durán, R.
082f83a0-1ebd-476e-b7d9-0d34013a342c
Acosta, J.
9e9d9d78-c062-4b7f-8ca3-727eb27b40c8
Simarro, G.
6cf793fe-0964-4f55-ba60-5d00754c2482
Guillén, J.
45a3cc8c-9dd8-4560-9880-cd4800183314
Puig, P.
40eb2ffe-80ff-4ec5-87e6-60e0334ab0c6
Ribó, M.
0c2ef6a1-7c7d-4eaf-a6a9-86c52b836b40
Lo Iacono, C.
f4b28cb2-4370-4bcf-bc6f-5e640a82ac90
Palanques, A.
28bb9666-657f-4bbd-b759-ce1da31cfa3e
Muñoz, A.
8c14bcf1-d10b-492e-b1b5-ee90e38d0f6f
Durán, R.
082f83a0-1ebd-476e-b7d9-0d34013a342c
Acosta, J.
9e9d9d78-c062-4b7f-8ca3-727eb27b40c8

Simarro, G., Guillén, J., Puig, P., Ribó, M., Lo Iacono, C., Palanques, A., Muñoz, A., Durán, R. and Acosta, J. (2015) Sediment dynamics over sand ridges on a tideless mid-outer continental shelf. Marine Geology, 361, 25-40. (doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2014.12.005).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A sand ridge field with crests oriented NE–SW (52°) located between 55 and 85 m water depth on the Valencia continental shelf (Spain) was mapped with multibeam swath bathymetry and characterized with seismic profiling and sediment sampling. Boundary-layer hydrodynamic measurements conducted over a sand ridge at 66 m depth show evidence of wave and current sediment resuspension during a major storm event with a three-year recurrence period. From the measured intrawave sediment concentration profiles it is shown that the suspended sediment time evolution is related not only to mean currents but also to the wave field. The near-bottom shear stress generated during storm conditions reached around 1 N/m2 and was able to resuspend and transport sandy and muddy sediments for more than 32 h. The total suspended sediment transport in a layer of 1 m above the bottom was around 4000 kg per meter width and directed 160°.

It is argued that these sand ridges were developed in a shallow environment and there is no evidence of present-day ridge migration or morphological degradation. It is hypothesized that sediment dynamics affecting sand ridges during storms favors the maintenance of their morphology.

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More information

Published date: 1 March 2015
Keywords: sand ridge, sediment resuspension, continental shelf, ABS measurements, intrawave bottom boundary layer
Organisations: Marine Geoscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 374764
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/374764
ISSN: 0025-3227
PURE UUID: dfb45ba2-7d49-415b-98d4-d0fb4f618255

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Date deposited: 27 Feb 2015 14:55
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 19:13

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Contributors

Author: G. Simarro
Author: J. Guillén
Author: P. Puig
Author: M. Ribó
Author: C. Lo Iacono
Author: A. Palanques
Author: A. Muñoz
Author: R. Durán
Author: J. Acosta

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