Biological influences on morphology and bed composition of an intertidal flat
Biological influences on morphology and bed composition of an intertidal flat
Biological activity is known to influence sediment strength at bed-water interfaces. However, its precise effect on geomorphology and on bed composition is not known. This paper proposes a parameterization of sediment destabilizing and stabilizing organisms on three parameters that describe the erosion and mixing processes of the sediment bed, namely the critical bed shear stress, the erosion coefficient and the bioturbation coefficient. This parameterization is included in a 3D sand-mud morphodynamic model to form the sand-mud-bio model. The performance of the sand-mud-bio model is demonstrated by testing it on the Paulinapolder intertidal flat in the Western Scheldt estuary of The Netherlands. Model results show that biological influences on sediment strength result in significant morphological change and bed composition variations. Destabilizing organisms always cause a significant decrease in mud content in the bed and an increase of erosion. On the other hand, stabilizing organisms can, but do not necessarily, cause an increase of mud content and additional sedimentation.
sediment transport, benthic diatoms, tidal flat, Wadden Sea, estuary, Netherlands, mudflat, Westerschelde, erodibility, biological activity, erosion, sedimentation, modelling, sand/mud, geomorphology, Paulinapolder, Western Scheldt
577-590
Paarlberg, A.J.
57c5c529-ef6f-47fe-b2be-a8041cad9a29
Knaapen, M.A.F.
32abd748-aa55-4180-a3f3-d3315e122fb1
de Vries, M.B.
aba3fcce-1624-47de-814a-438c1339fac9
Huscher, S.J.M.H.
a704d2b4-471f-4eb2-acc2-c9953c3941e4
Wang, Z.B.
261474be-edcc-4c1d-be49-8714a2618cfa
September 2005
Paarlberg, A.J.
57c5c529-ef6f-47fe-b2be-a8041cad9a29
Knaapen, M.A.F.
32abd748-aa55-4180-a3f3-d3315e122fb1
de Vries, M.B.
aba3fcce-1624-47de-814a-438c1339fac9
Huscher, S.J.M.H.
a704d2b4-471f-4eb2-acc2-c9953c3941e4
Wang, Z.B.
261474be-edcc-4c1d-be49-8714a2618cfa
Paarlberg, A.J., Knaapen, M.A.F., de Vries, M.B., Huscher, S.J.M.H. and Wang, Z.B.
(2005)
Biological influences on morphology and bed composition of an intertidal flat.
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 64 (4), .
(doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2005.04.008).
Abstract
Biological activity is known to influence sediment strength at bed-water interfaces. However, its precise effect on geomorphology and on bed composition is not known. This paper proposes a parameterization of sediment destabilizing and stabilizing organisms on three parameters that describe the erosion and mixing processes of the sediment bed, namely the critical bed shear stress, the erosion coefficient and the bioturbation coefficient. This parameterization is included in a 3D sand-mud morphodynamic model to form the sand-mud-bio model. The performance of the sand-mud-bio model is demonstrated by testing it on the Paulinapolder intertidal flat in the Western Scheldt estuary of The Netherlands. Model results show that biological influences on sediment strength result in significant morphological change and bed composition variations. Destabilizing organisms always cause a significant decrease in mud content in the bed and an increase of erosion. On the other hand, stabilizing organisms can, but do not necessarily, cause an increase of mud content and additional sedimentation.
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Published date: September 2005
Additional Information:
M. Knaapen was first supervisor of the student who is first author
Keywords:
sediment transport, benthic diatoms, tidal flat, Wadden Sea, estuary, Netherlands, mudflat, Westerschelde, erodibility, biological activity, erosion, sedimentation, modelling, sand/mud, geomorphology, Paulinapolder, Western Scheldt
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 27816
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/27816
ISSN: 0272-7714
PURE UUID: d2e10736-ca2b-415e-a7f9-aebfe3b3af6a
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Date deposited: 28 Apr 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:21
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Contributors
Author:
A.J. Paarlberg
Author:
M.A.F. Knaapen
Author:
M.B. de Vries
Author:
S.J.M.H. Huscher
Author:
Z.B. Wang
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