Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Data: Part 2—Statistical Interpretation of Bottom Moored Datasets

Exploratory statistical partitioning methods (K-means Clustering analysis) were applied to ADCP monitoring datasets collected inside the Douro and Minho estuaries. This analysis is aimed to discriminate ADCP acoustic responses according to the variations of the suspended particles within the ensonified medium. Based on the interpretation of the results, this work establishes general sediment transport patterns at both estuaries’ exits under continuously varying river flows and tidal amplitudes recorded during a summer dry seasonal scenario (September 2005) and winter high river discharge (January/February 2007) conditions. Results confirm the already known present scarcity of (sandy) sediment export from the Douro and Minho estuaries into the inner shelf and the consequent sediment depletion of the adjacent littoral, with no effective contribution of the Douro and some evidence of sand export observed at the Minho outlet during the winter of 2007.

Hydrodynamic and Sediment Transport Patterns in the Minho and Douro Estuaries (NW Portugal) Based on ADCP Monitoring Data: Part 1-Tidal Sediment Exchanges

The tidal variability of the Minho and Douro lower estuaries (NW Portugal) water column structure was assessed at the semi-diurnal and fortnightly time scales under two contrasting seasonal river flow scenarios during the summer of 2005 and winter of 2006. Sediment fluxes inferred from calibrated ADCP acoustic backscatter revealed that, during spring tides and low runoff conditions, both estuaries act as sinks instead of sources of sediments into the inner shelf. Sediment export occurred during neaps, in both estuaries, when the river flow values were high enough to counteract the effect of the entering flood. No evidence of coarse sediment export into the inner shelf that would eventually nourish the littoral system could be inferred from these datasets.

Spatial Modeling of Sediment Export Rate with Rainfall Variability Scenario in Peusangan Watershed, Aceh Province

The rainfall affects the environmental interaction of watersheds and coastal areas. The high intensity of rain and water runoff will lift and carry particles in the watershed environment in the erosion process. This study estimates the total exports of sediment in Peusangan Watershed in the period 1995, 2005, 2015, and 2018 with rainfall variability scenarios. Total sediment exports are calculated from the erosion rate and sediment delivery ratio (SDR). Erosion rate modeling uses the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) that takes into account erosivity of rainfall, soil erodiability, topography, land cover, and land-use practices. While SDR is calculated based on its function as watershed area so that homogeneous value that causes the value of sediment export rate is directly proportional to the erosion rate value. The correlation between rainfall variability and sediment export rates is calculated based on rainfall variability correlation to erosion rate change. There is a direct relationship between rainfall variability and sediment export rates because the correlation coefficient is close to one. The rate of erosion in Peusangan watersheds falls into the light category based on the classification of erosion hazard levels according to the Ministry of Forestry in 1998. Based on the estimated rate of erosion and SDR, the total annual number of sediment exports obtained in the Peusangan watershed in 1995, 2005, 2015, and 2018 amounted to 1,066,027,426 tons, 909,914,623 tons, 1,075,759,133 tons, and 1,085,490,841 tons, respectively. Based on the spatial distribution of sediment export, Peusangan Watershed falls into the category of normal erosion.

Supplemental Material: Evidence for enhanced fluvial channel mobility and fine sediment export due to precipitation seasonality during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

A more-detailed explanation of the field methods used to collect the data for this study, and the statistical tools used to analyze the data, in addition to a description of how the data file is organized. This information should be applied in conjunction with the data and code if readers are interested in using these data for future work.<br>

Supplemental Material: Evidence for enhanced fluvial channel mobility and fine sediment export due to precipitation seasonality during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

A more-detailed explanation of the field methods used to collect the data for this study, and the statistical tools used to analyze the data, in addition to a description of how the data file is organized. This information should be applied in conjunction with the data and code if readers are interested in using these data for future work.<br>

Sediment export in marly badland catchments modulated by frost-cracking intensity, Draix-Bléone Critical Zone Observatory, SE France

At the interface between the lithosphere and the atmosphere, the critical zone records the complex interactions between erosion, climate, geologic substrate and life, and can be directly monitored. Long data records collected in the sparsely vegetated, steep marly badland catchments of the Draix-Bléone Critical Zone Observatory (CZO), SE France, allow analysing potential climatic controls on long-term regolith dynamics and sediment export. Although widely accepted as a first-order control, rainfall variability does not fully explain the observed inter-annual variability in sediment export, suggesting that regolith production and its controls may modulate the observed pattern of sediment export. Here, we define sediment-export anomalies as the residuals from a predictive model with annual rainfall intensity above a threshold as the control. We then use continuous soil-temperature data, recorded at different locations over multiple years, to highlight the role of frost weathering in regolith production. Several proxies for different frost-weathering processes have been calculated from these data and compared to the sediment-export anomalies, with careful consideration of field data quality. Our results suggest that frost-cracking intensity (linked to ice segregation) can explain about half (47–64 %) of the sediment-export anomalies. In contrast, the number of freeze-thaw cycles (linked to volumetric expansion) has only a minor impact on catchment sediment response. The time spent below 0 °C also correlates well with the sediment-export anomalies and requires fewer field data to be calculated than the frost-cracking intensity. Thus, frost-weathering processes modulate sediment export by controlling regolith production in these catchments and should be taken into account when building a predictive model of sediment export from these badlands under a changing climate.