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Variability of residual fluxes of suspended sediment in a multiple tidal-inlet system: the Dutch Wadden Sea

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Abstract

In multiple tidal-inlet systems such as the Dutch Wadden Sea, the exchange of sediments between the coastal lagoon and the adjacent sea is controlled by the combined effect of the tides, wind-driven flows, and density-driven flows. We investigate the variability of residual (tidally averaged) fluxes of suspended sediment with the three-dimensional numerical model GETM in relation to forcing mechanisms and model parameters. Sediment transport is modeled with three sediment classes. A modified Partheniades-Krone formulation describes the erosion and deposition fluxes from a single-layer sediment pool. The model is initialized with a uniform sediment pool for each class and the spin up period amounts to six months. Simulations span 1 year. Comparisons with observations show that model results are fairly realistic. Residual fluxes of water and suspended sediment are episodic in nature and vary strongly throughout the year, mainly due to wind variability. The net balance between import and export of material is very sensitive to model parameters. Residual fluxes are sensitive to the geographical orientation and location of the inlets, and the effect of driving mechanisms on the residual fluxes and concentrations can be organized hierarchically, with wind forcing having the largest effect on concentration levels and variability.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported through the project PACE. (The future of the Wadden Sea sediment fluxes: still keeping pace with sea level rise?) by Netherlands organization for scientific research (NWO, ZKO-project 839.11.003). The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Public Works (Rijkswaterstaat) for making publicly available the data employed in this study, and Ulf Gräwe for fruitful discussions on the implementation of the sediment transport module. This manuscript has benefited from the comments and suggestions from two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Oceanography, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, The Netherlands

    Maximiliano Sassi & Theo Gerkema

  2. Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and J.M. Burgers Center, Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Matias Duran-Matute

  3. Department of Estuaries and Coasts, Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands

    Thijs van Kessel

Authors
  1. Maximiliano Sassi
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  2. Matias Duran-Matute
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  3. Thijs van Kessel
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  4. Theo Gerkema
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Correspondence to Maximiliano Sassi.

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Responsible Editor: Charitha Pattiaratchi

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas 2014 in Porto de Galinhas, PE, Brazil, 19-23 October 2014

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Sassi, M., Duran-Matute, M., van Kessel, T. et al. Variability of residual fluxes of suspended sediment in a multiple tidal-inlet system: the Dutch Wadden Sea. Ocean Dynamics 65, 1321–1333 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0866-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0866-2

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