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Grain size dependency in the occurrence of sand waves

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Abstract

Sandy shallow seas, like the North Sea, are very dynamic. Several morphological features are present on the bed, from small ripples to sand waves and large tidal sandbanks. The larger patterns induce significant depth variations that have an impact on human activities taking place in this area. Therefore, it is important to know where these large-scale features occur, what their natural behaviour is and how they interact with human activities. Here, we extend earlier research that compares the results of an idealized model of large-scale seabed patterns with data of seabed patterns in the North Sea. The idealized model is extended with a grain size dependency. The adaptations lead to more accurate predictions of the occurrence of large-scale bed forms in the North Sea. Therefore, grain size dependency and, in particular, critical shear stress are important to explain the occurrence of sand waves and sandbanks in the North Sea.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank René Buijsrogge and Blanca Pérez Lapeña for their help with the GIS. This research is co-financed by the EU-project HUMOR (EVK3-CT-2000-00037) and the project PhD@Sea, which is substantially funded under the BSIK-programme of the Dutch Government and supported by the consortium WE@Sea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Engineering & Management, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Hennie Henriët van der Veen & Suzanne Jacqueline Marie Hélène Hulscher

  2. Centre for Coastal Processes, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Michiel Adrianus Frederik Knaapen

Authors
  1. Hennie Henriët van der Veen
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  2. Suzanne Jacqueline Marie Hélène Hulscher
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  3. Michiel Adrianus Frederik Knaapen
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Correspondence to Hennie Henriët van der Veen.

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Responsible Editor: Alejandro Souza

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van der Veen, H.H., Hulscher, S.J.M.H. & Knaapen, M.A.F. Grain size dependency in the occurrence of sand waves. Ocean Dynamics 56, 228–234 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0049-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-005-0049-7

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