Geo-Marine Letters

, Volume 33, Issue 6, pp 477–484 | Cite as

A test of the ADV-based Reynolds flux method for in situ estimation of sediment settling velocity in a muddy estuary

  • Grace M. Cartwright
  • Carl T. Friedrichs
  • S. Jarrell Smith
Original
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Under conditions common in muddy coastal and estuarine environments, acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) can serve to estimate sediment settling velocity (w s) by assuming a balance between upward turbulent Reynolds flux and downward gravitational settling. Advantages of this method include simple instrument deployment, lack of flow disturbance, and relative insensitivity to biofouling and water column stratification. Although this method is being used with increasing frequency in coastal and estuarine environments, to date it has received little direct ground truthing. This study compared in situ estimates of w s inferred by a 5-MHz ADV to independent in situ observations from a high-definition video settling column over the course of a flood tide in the bottom boundary layer of the York River estuary, Virginia, USA. The ADV-based measurements were found to agree with those of the settling column when the current speed at about 40 cm above the bed was greater than about 20 cm/s. This corresponded to periods when the estimated magnitude of the settling term in the suspended sediment continuity equation was four or more times larger than the time rate of change of concentration. For ADV observations restricted to these conditions, ADV-based estimates of w s (mean 0.48±0.04 mm/s) were highly consistent with those observed by the settling column (mean 0.45±0.02 mm/s). However, the ADV-based method for estimating w s was sensitive to the prescribed concentration of the non-settling washload, C wash. In an objective operational definition, C wash can be set equal to the lowest suspended solids concentration observed around slack water.

Keywords

Total Suspended Solid Settling Velocity Particle Tracking Velocimetry Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter Pump Sample 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgements

We thank VIMS personnel K. Fall, W. Reisner, and C. Wilkerson for their assistance. This work was first reported at the October 2012 “Particles in Europe” Conference in Barcelona, Spain, the main organizer being O. Mikkelsen of Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Bellevue, WA. The manuscript was substantially improved by the insightful reviewer comments of M. Green, G. Voulgaris, and the editors of Geo-Marine Letters. Funding for this research was provided by National Science Foundation grants OCE-0536572 and OCE-1061781. This paper is Contribution No. 3306 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Grace M. Cartwright
    • 1
  • Carl T. Friedrichs
    • 1
  • S. Jarrell Smith
    • 2
  1. 1.Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceCollege of William & MaryGloucester PointUSA
  2. 2.U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development CenterVicksburgUSA

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