Sedimentary dynamics and topographic controls on the tidal-dominated Zagra Strait, early Tortonian, Betic Cordillera, Spain

The approximately 350 m-thick stratigraphic succession of the Zagra Strait records an important oceanographic phase of basin interconnection between the Atlantic Ocean (Guadalquivir Basin) and the Mediterranean Sea through the Betic Cordillera (southern Spain) during the early Tortonian. The Zagra Strait developed as a narrow structurally-controlled marine corridor. The sedimentary dynamics of the Zagra Strait was interpreted from the sedimentological features observed in six sections at well-exposed outcrops. Large-scale (>10 m high) compound and compound-dune complexes moved parallel to the strait margins under strong tidal currents generated by tidal amplification at the strait entrance and exit. Dune distribution can be divided in three sectors with different palaeocurrent migration, lithological and topographical characteristics. The northern and central sectors were separated by a deep depression (>75 m water depth) where tidal currents were weaker and dunes were not generated. The southern sector records a relative decrease in current strength compared with the northern and central sectors, and a significant increase in the bioclastic content in the sediment. Terrigenous content generally increases towards the strait margins, and reciprocally, carbonates towards its axis. The closure of the Zagra Strait resulted from tectonic uplift of that part of the Betic Cordillera before the late Tortonian.

Dispersion and Stratification Dynamics in the Upper Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel

Hydrodynamics control the movement of water and material within and among habitats, where time-scales of mixing can exert bottom-up regulatory effects on aquatic ecosystems through their influence on primary production. The San Francisco Estuary (estuary) is a low-productivity ecosystem, which is in part responsible for constraining higher trophic levels, including fishes. Many research and habitat-restoration efforts trying to increase primary production have been conducted, including, as described here, a whole-ecosystem nutrient addition experiment where calcium nitrate was applied in the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel (DWSC) to see if phytoplankton production could be increased and exported out of the DWSC. As an integral part of this experiment, we investigated the physical mechanisms that control mixing, and how these mechanisms affect the strength and duration of thermal stratification, which we revealed as critical for controlling phytoplankton dynamics in the relatively turbid upper DWSC. Analysis of a suite of mixing mechanisms and time-scales show that both tidal currents and wind control mixing rates and stratification dynamics in the DWSC. Longitudinal and vertical dispersion increased during periods of high wind, during which wind speed influenced dispersion more than tidal currents. Thermal stratification developed most days, which slowed vertical mixing but was rapidly broken down by wind-induced mixing. Stratification rarely persisted for longer than 24 hours, limiting phytoplankton production in the study area. The interaction between physical mechanisms that control mixing rates, mediate stratification dynamics, and ultimately limit primary production in the DWSC may be useful in informing habitat restoration elsewhere in the Delta and in other turbid aquatic environments.

Scale Model Experiment on Local Scour around Submarine Pipelines under Bidirectional Tidal Currents

In nearshore regions, bidirectional tidal flow is the main hydrodynamic factor, which induces local scour around submarine pipelines. So far, most studies on scour around submarine pipelines only consider the action of unidirectional, steady currents and little attention has been paid to the situation of bidirectional tidal currents. To deeply understand scour characteristics and produce a more accurate prediction method in bidirectional tidal currents for engineering application, a series of laboratory scale experiments were conducted in a bidirectional current flume. The experiments were carried out at a length scale of 1:20 and the tidal currents were scaled with field measurements from Cezhen pipeline in Hangzhou Bay, China. The experimental results showed that under bidirectional tidal currents, the scour depth increased significantly during the first half of the tidal cycle and it only increased slightly when the flow of the tidal velocity was near maximum flood or ebb in the following tidal cycle. Compared with scour under a unidirectional steady current, the scour profile under a bidirectional tidal current was more symmetrical, and the scour depth in a bidirectional tidal current was on average 80% of that under a unidirectional, steady current based on maximum peak velocity. Based on previous research and the present experimental data, a more accurate fitted equation to predict the tidally induced live-bed scour depth around submarine pipelines was proposed and has been verified using field data from the Cezhen pipeline.

Internal solitary waves in the Northwest Sumatra Sea-Indonesia: from observation and modeling

>The southern Andaman waters has been well known as one of the strongest generating and propagating area of internal solitary waves (ISWs), generated by semidiurnal barotropic tidal currents that impinge submarine ridge offshore western Weh. This study aims to investigate sea surface features of internal tides and tidal current around the submarine ridge and adjacent Weh-Aceh waters, derived from satellite imagery datasets (January-May 2018) and CROCO model-output datasets. The results show that sea surface signatures of ISWs are characterized by a strong radar signal backscattering of a dense ripple package in the generating area and two groups of ISWs arch in the propagating area, where the distance of the package groups and wavelengths vary 60-80 km and 9-163 km, respectively. Observed ISWs in March 2018 was 31. The satellite and model datasets suggest that generating area of internal waves is confined over the Breuh ridge. Here, the very strong semidiurnal (M2) barotropic tidal currents of 0.5-5.0 m/s are observed. During high-tide, amplified barotropic tidal currents acrossing the ridge flow partly southeastward into the Weh-Breuh passage. The model suggests that generating internal tidal waves over the ridge are manifested by strong vertical perturbation of isopycnal and current stratifications in the Lee-waves area.

Sediment Transport and Associated Long-term Bathymetric Changes due to Tidal Currents in The Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The topography of the seafloor is essential for determining physical phenomena such as ocean currents, favorable habitats for marine organisms, optimal vessel navigation, and so on. Prevailing currents and waves, as well as associated shear stresses acting on the ocean floor, are responsible for the formation of typical topographic features including sea caldrons and sandbanks through erosion of bedrock and sediments and their deposition processes. In the Seto Inland Sea (SIS), the most extensive semi-enclosed estuary in Japan, tidal currents affect pronouncedly the formation of seafloor topographic features; however, they have not been fully studied, particularly from a hydrodynamic viewpoint. This study aims to understand bathymetric formation under the predominance of tidal currents in the SIS. A 3-D high-resolution SIS circulation model based on the JCOPE2-ROMS system in a triple-nested configuration was utilized to examine the detailed hydrodynamic processes for the topography formations. A high correlation between the bottom shear stress and the scour depth of the erosive areas was observed, demonstrating that local tidal forcing has continuously been exerted on the seafloor to erode. A diagnostic sediment budget analysis was then conducted for sediments typical of the SIS, that is, gravel, sand, and clay, using the modeled circulation field. The horizontal divergence of the residual flows indicates consistency between divergence (convergence) and erosion (deposition). The sediment budget model also shows that these sediments are generally transported from deep to shallow areas in eroded terrains to form deposited terrains fringing the eroded terrains, whereas sedimentation tendency differs largely from location to location.

Generation Mechanism of Tidally-driven Whirlpools at A Narrow Strait in An Estuary

This study investigates the generation mechanism and influence of the whirlpools in the Naruto Strait on the surrounding marine environment using state-of-the-art high-resolution numerical ocean circulation modeling in a quadruple nested configuration. The Naruto whirlpools is recognized as an extraordinary seascape that the local governments and the citizens seek to register as a world natural heritage site. We found that the pronounced pressure gradient force associated with the meridional surface elevation difference was induced by a phase difference of two bifurcating major tidal waves. These waves originate from the Kitan Strait, and ultimately produce intense tidal currents at the Naruto Strait. One branch of the tidal waves propagates counter-clockwise along Awaji Island through the Akashi Strait, while the other occurs directly from the Kii Channel. As such, the whirlpool emerges as a large number of sub-mesoscale eddies, primarily due to the horizontal shear instability of tidal currents energized at the narrow topography between two headlands that extend into the strait. A dipole of overturning vertical circulations appears underneath the whirlpools with convergent downward transport at the strongest tidal current near the center of the strait; this causes efficient vertical mixing. This three-dimensional non-linear mixing promotes a time-averaged southeastward mass transport that extracts water and materials from the Harima-nada Sea into the Kii Channel.

Sedimentological data-driven bottom friction parameter estimation in modelling Bristol Channel tidal dynamics

Accurately representing the bottom friction effect is a significant challenge in numerical tidal models. Bottom friction effects are commonly defined via parameter estimation techniques. However, the bottom friction coefficient (BFC) can be related to the roughness of the sea bed. Therefore, sedimentological data can be beneficial in estimating BFCs. Taking the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary as a case study, we perform a number of BFC parameter estimation experiments, utilising sedimentological data in a variety of ways. Model performance is explored through the results of each parameter estimation experiment, including applications to tidal range and tidal stream resource assessment. We find that theoretically derived sediment-based BFCs are in most cases detrimental to model performance. However, good performance is obtained by retaining the spatial information provided by the sedimentological data in the formulation of the parameter estimation experiment; the spatially varying BFC can be represented as a piecewise-constant field following the spatial distribution of the observed sediment types. By solving the resulting low-dimensional parameter estimation problem, we obtain good model performance as measured against tide gauge data. This approach appears well suited to modelling tidal range energy resource, which is of particular interest in the case study region. However, the applicability of this approach for tidal stream resource assessment is limited, since modelled tidal currents exhibit a strong localised response to the BFC; the use of piecewise-constant (and therefore discontinuous) BFCs is found to be detrimental to model performance for tidal currents.