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A method for the measurement of bedload sediment transport and passive faunal transport on intertidal sandflats

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Abstract

A simple and inexpensive sampler to measure bedload sediment transport in shallow subtidal or intertidal areas is described. The cylindrical sub-sediment trap with an aspect ratio of 20 (height: diameter) is an improvement over conventional bedload samplers which are difficult to use in shallow areas or fail to collect the biological material associated with bedload. Traps deployed on a low-energy intertidal sandflat for six months provided daily estimates of bedload transport (quartz grains: 0.001–40 kg m−1 d−1), passive infaunal transport (e.g., the bivalveMya arenaria, max: 800 ind m−1 d−1), and organic detrital flux (e.g., macrophyte fragments, max: 400 g dry wt m−1 d−1). Bedload rates estimated with traps were compared to predictions from a numerical bedload model to evaluate the trap’s collection and retention efficiency. A significant linear regression between observed (trap) and predicted (model) rates (r2=0.65, p<0.001, n=97) indicated that the traps were useful for the measurement of high- and low-frequency variability in bedload transport. Potential applications of the traps in benthic oceanography include recruitment and recolonization studies.

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  1. Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, B3H 4J1, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Craig W. Emerson

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Emerson, C.W. A method for the measurement of bedload sediment transport and passive faunal transport on intertidal sandflats. Estuaries 14, 361–371 (1991). https://doi.org/10.2307/1352261

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1352261

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