scholarly journals Onset of runaway fragmentation of salt marshes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orencio Duran Vinent ◽  
Ellen Herbert ◽  
Daniel Coleman ◽  
Joshua Himmelstein ◽  
Matthew Kirwan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Marsh Edge ◽  
Threshold Rate ◽  
Self Similar ◽  
Power Law Distributions

Salt marshes are valuable but vulnerable coastal ecosystems that adapt to relative sea level rise (RSLR) by accumulating organic matter and inorganic sediment. The natural limit of these processes defines a threshold rate of RSLR beyond which marshes drown, resulting in ponding and conversion to open waters. We develop a simplified formulation for sediment transport across marshes to show that pond formation leads to runaway marsh fragmentation, a process characterized by a self-similar hierarchy of pond sizes with power-law distributions. We find the threshold for marsh fragmentation scales primarily with tidal range and that sediment supply is only relevant where tides are sufficient to transport sediment to the marsh interior. Thus the RSLR threshold is controlled by organic accretion in microtidal marshes regardless of the suspended sediment concentration at the marsh edge. This explains the observed fragmentation of microtidal marshes and suggests a tipping point for widespread marsh loss.

Dynamics of sediment delivery to mangrove forests of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hale ◽  
Alexandra Garnand ◽  
Carol Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Load ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Water Velocity ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
The Ganges

<p>The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta (GBMD) is among the largest in the world, nourished by the ~1 Gt/yr sediment load of its titular rivers. Approximately 75% of this sediment load is debouched to the Bay of Bengal, with ~180 Mt subsequently reworked by tidal processes across the southwestern portion of the delta. This region includes this Sundarbans National Reserve Forest (SNRF), which is the words’ largest continuous mangrove stand. In addition to global sea level rise and the enhanced subsidence intrinsic to deltas, ongoing and proposed alterations to the upstream fluvial sediment supply threaten the future viability of this important ecological and cultural resource.</p><p> </p><p>In this study, we use data collected in situ by acoustic and optical instrumentation to examine the physical processes controlling sedimentation in the mangrove forest along the southern coast during both the monsoon (October 2019) and dry seasons (March 2020).  These data are then compared with sedimentation rates measured using sediment elevation tables and marker horizons, as well as observations made 100 km further inland near the northern extent of the SNRF. At this inland site, sediment supply, inundation depth, and salinity have been identified as important factors controlling sediment deposition to the mangrove platform, which ranges from ~1 cm during the dry season (November – June), to > 2 cm during the monsoon (July-October). Data from the second location along the coast are vital for understanding the regional nature of the various threats to delta viability.</p><p> </p><p>Preliminary analysis of the 2019 monsoon season data from the southern coast reveals the relative importance of water depth, water velocity, and mangrove pneumatophore density on modulating both water velocity and suspended sediment concentration. Previous studies have identified that while the inland location features a larger tidal range (~5 m vs. ~3 m), frequent cyclone activity likely impacts sedimentation at the coastal site. Data collected in March 2020 will address how these variables impact controls on sedimentation both seasonally and regionally. Results from this study demonstrate the importance of providing regional context to sedimentation studies, as delta communities adapt to dynamic forcing conditions.   </p>

scholarly journals Suspended sediment concentration – discharge relationships in the (sub) humid Ethiopian highlands

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 9011-9041 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Guzman ◽  
S. A. Tilahun ◽  
A. D. Zegeye ◽  
T. S. Steenhuis
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Rating Curves ◽  
In The Beginning

Abstract. Loss of top soil and subsequent filling up of reservoirs in much of the lands with variable relief in developing countries degrades environmental resources necessary for subsistence. In the Ethiopia highlands, sediment mobilization from rain-fed agricultural fields is one of the leading factors causing land degradation. Sediment rating curves, produced from long-term sediment concentration and discharge data, attempt to predict suspended sediment concentration variations that exhibit a distinct shift with the progression of the rainy season. In this paper, we calculate sediment rating curves and examine this shift in concentration for three watersheds in which rain-fed agriculture is practiced to differing extents. High sediment concentrations with low flows are found in the beginning of the rainy season of the semi-monsoonal climate, while high flows and low sediment concentrations occur at the end of the rainy season. Results show that a reasonable unique set of rating curves were obtained by separating biweekly data into early, mid, and late rainfall periods and by making adjustments for the ratio of plowed cropland. The shift from high to low concentrations suggests that diminishing sediment supply and dilution from greater base flow during the end of the rainfall period play important roles in characterizing changing sediment concentrations during the rainy season.

scholarly journals Suspended sediment concentration–discharge relationships in the (sub-) humid Ethiopian highlands

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1067-1077 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Guzman ◽  
S. A. Tilahun ◽  
A. D. Zegeye ◽  
T. S. Steenhuis
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Rainy Season ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Base Flow ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Top Soil ◽  
Rating Curves

Abstract. Loss of top soil and subsequent filling up of reservoirs in much of the lands with variable relief in developing countries degrades environmental resources necessary for subsistence. In the Ethiopia highlands, sediment mobilization from rain-fed agricultural fields is one of the leading factors causing land degradation. Sediment rating curves, produced from long-term sediment concentration and discharge data, attempt to predict suspended sediment concentration variations, which exhibit a distinct shift with the progression of the rainy season. In this paper, we calculate sediment rating curves and examine this shift in concentration for three watersheds in which rain-fed agriculture is practiced to differing extents. High sediment concentrations with low flows are found at the beginning of the rainy season of the semi-monsoonal climate, while high flows and low sediment concentrations occur at the end of the rainy season. Results show that a reasonably unique set of rating curves were obtained by separating biweekly data into early, mid, and late rainfall periods and by making adjustments for the ratio of plowed cropland. The shift from high to low concentrations suggests that diminishing sediment supply and dilution from greater base flow during the end of the rainfall period play important roles in characterizing changing sediment concentrations during the rainy season.

Variation behavior of tidal dynamics in the Yangtze Estuary: implying the amplification of hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics by the human intervention

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heqin Cheng ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Lizhi Teng ◽  
Xiaoting Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Yangtze Estuary ◽  
Sediment Dynamics ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Tidal Dynamics ◽  
The Yangtze Estuary ◽  
Tidal Characteristic

<p><span><span>During the last decades, many estuarine systems in Europe (e.g. the Elbe, Ems, Loire) have shown increases in tidal range and in turbidity, which are linked to local human activity (i.e., deepening). Compared to these European estuaries, the Yangtze Estuary is much larger in scales, experiences much stronger river discharge, and it is subject to a strong seasonal variation in freshwater and sediment supply from the drainage area. Moreover, the Yangtze estuary is a complex network with several branches, connecting channels. The changes in the flow and sediment dynamics in the estuary may result from both local and nonlocal human activities. Despite the intense research efforts over the past two decades, it is still unclear which impact (local or nonlocal) is responsible for the changing flow and sediment characteristics in the estuary. Deep investigation of tidal characteristic quantities such as extreme tidal level, tidal range, amplitude of tidal constituents, tidal characteristic coefficient and suspended sediment concentration is performed in a systematic manner. It is accomplished using the extreme value analysis, the wavelet analysis and harmonic analysis of water level at 11 hydrography stations along the tidal river channel (Datong-Nanjing reach) and estuarine section (downstream the Xuliujing) during 2008-2016. Similar data analysis is also performed for the last four decades of 20th century and results are compared with the analysis of the recent measurements. The driving forces of the significant changes in tidal characteristic quantities and suspended sediment concentration are discussed. Results show that the tidal dynamics in the Yangtze estuary has been enhanced. Its seasonal variation is attributed to the adjustment of runoff distribution, which is mainly caused by the operation of Three Gorges Dam. In short-term, local changes of flow/sediment dynamics, terrain changes play a major role. In the long term (on the 40-year time scale), the effect of sea level rise on the increasing M2 constituent is obvious. This has mainly resulted from the enhancing anti-clockwise rotation of the synchronous tidal phase.</span></span></p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Temperature signal in suspended sediment export from an Alpine catchment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Costa ◽  
Peter Molnar ◽  
Laura Stutenbecker ◽  
Maarten Bakker ◽  
Tiago A. Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Free Surfaces ◽  
Ice Melt ◽  
Alpine Catchments ◽  
Sediment Export

Abstract. Suspended sediment export from large Alpine catchments (> 1000 km2) over decadal timescales is sensitive to a number of factors, including long–term variations in climate, the activation–deactivation of different sediment sources (proglacial areas, hillslopes, etc.), transport through the river system, and potential anthropogenic impacts on the sediment flux (e.g. through impoundments and flow regulation). Here, we report on a marked increase in suspended sediment concentrations observed close to the outlet of the upper Rhône River Basin in the mid–1980s. This increase coincides with a statistically significant step–like increase in basin–wide mean air temperature. We explore the potential explanations of the suspended sediment rise in terms of discharge (transport capacity) change, and the activation of different sources of fine sediment (sediment supply) in the catchment by hydroclimatic forcing. Time series of precipitation and temperature–driven snowmelt, snow cover and ice–melt simulated with a spatially distributed degree–day model, together with erosive rainfall on snow–free surfaces, are tested as possible reasons for the rise in suspended sediment concentration. We demonstrate that the abrupt change in air temperature reduced snow cover and the contribution of snowmelt, and enhanced ice–melt. The results of statistical tests showed that the onset of increased ice–melt was likely to play a dominant role in the suspended sediment concentration rise in the mid–1980s. Temperature–driven enhanced melting of glaciers, which cover about 10 % of the catchment surface, can increase suspended sediment yields through increased runoff from sediment–rich proglacial areas, increased contribution of sediment–rich meltwater, and increased sediment supply in proglacial areas due to glacier recession. The reduced extent and duration of snow cover in the catchment may also have partly contributed to the rise in suspended sediment concentration through hillslope erosion by rainfall on snow free surfaces, and by reducing snow cover on the surface of the glaciers and thereby increasing meltwater production. Despite the rise in air temperature, changes in mean discharge in the mid–1980s were statistically insignificant, and their interpretation is complicated by hydropower reservoir management and the flushing operations at intakes. Thus, the results show that to explain changes in suspended sediment transport from large Alpine catchments it is necessary to include an understanding of the multitude of sediment sources involved together with the hydroclimatic conditioning of their activation (e.g. changes in precipitation, runoff, air temperature). This is particularly relevant for quantifying climate change and hydropower impacts on streamflow and sediment budgets in high Alpine catchments.

Neural networks approached for modelling river suspended sediment concentration due to tropical storms

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-466
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Generalized Regression Neural Network ◽  
Event Based

Artificial neural networks are one of the advanced technologies employed in hydrology modelling. This paper investigates the potential of two algorithm networks, the feed forward backpropagation (BP) and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) in comparison with the classical regression for modelling the event-based suspended sediment concentration at Jiasian diversion weir in Southern Taiwan. For this study, the hourly time series data comprised of water discharge, turbidity and suspended sediment concentration during the storm events in the year of 2002 are taken into account in the models. The statistical performances comparison showed that both BP and GRNN are superior to the classical regression in the weir sediment modelling. Additionally, the turbidity was found to be a dominant input variable over the water discharge for suspended sediment concentration estimation. Statistically, both neural network models can be successfully applied for the event-based suspended sediment concentration modelling in the weir studied herein when few data are available.

scholarly journals Getting information on suspended sediments in a large river from acoustic backscatter

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 04017
Author(s):  
Adrien Vergne ◽  
Céline Berni ◽  
Jérôme Le Coz
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Large River ◽  
Acoustic Backscatter ◽  
Qualitative Information ◽  
Sediment Size ◽  
The Common

There has been a growing interest in the last decade in extracting information on Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) from acoustic backscatter in rivers. Quantitative techniques are not yet effective, but acoustic backscatter already provides qualitative information on suspended sediments. In particular, in the common case of a bi-modal sediment size distribution, corrected acoustic backscatter can be used to look for sand particles in suspension and provide spatial information on their distribution throughout a river crosssection. This paper presents a case-study where these techniques have been applied.

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