Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T17:40:56.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Turning the tide: experimental creation of tidal channel networks and ebb deltas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2014

M.G. Kleinhans ,
M. van der Vegt ,
R. Terwisscha van Scheltinga ,
A.W. Baar  and
H. Markies
M.G. Kleinhans*
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, the, Netherlands.
M. van der Vegt
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, the, Netherlands.
A.W. Baar
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, the, Netherlands.
H. Markies
Affiliation:
Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences, P.O. Box 80115, NL-3508 TC Utrecht, the, Netherlands.
*
*Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Tidal channel networks, estuaries and ebb deltas are usually formed over a period longer than observations cover. Much is known about their characteristics and formation from linear stability analyses, numerical modelling and field observations. However, experiments are rare whilst these can provide data-rich descriptions of morphological evolution in fully controlled boundary and initial conditions. Our objective is to ascertain whether tidal basins can be formed in experiments, what the possible scale effects are, and whether morphological equilibrium of such systems exists.

We experimentally created tidal basins with simple channel networks and ebb deltas in a 1.2 by 1.2 m square basin with either a fixed or self-formed tidal inlet and initially flat sediment bed in the tidal basin raised above the bed of the sea. Rather than create tides by varying water level, we tilted the entire basin over the diagonal. The advantage of this novel method is that the bed surface slopes in downstream direction both during flood and ebb phases, resulting in significant transport and morphological change in the flood phase as well as the ebb phase. This overcomes the major problem of earlier experiments which were entirely ebb-dominated, and reduces the experiment time by an order of magnitude.

Ebb deltas formed in sand were entirely bedload dominated whereas the lightweight plastic sediment was intermittently suspended. Channels bifurcated during channel deepening and backward erosion to form a network of up to four orders. For initially dry tidal plains, the tidal prism increased as more sediment eroded from basin to ebb delta, so that evolution accelerated initially. The rate of change, the size of the channels and the final length of channels and delta were very sensitive to the tidal amplitude, tidal period and initial water depth in the basin. Most experiments with sand terminated with all sediment below the threshold for motion, whilst lightweight sediment remained mobile in the inlet region and firstorder channels, suggesting that sustained morphodynamics are feasible in experiments. We discuss how this novel experimental setup can be extended to produce tidal deltas, estuaries and other tidal systems and study their dynamics as a function of their forcing.

Keywords

ebb-tidal deltatidal channelmorphodynamicsexperiment
Type
Research Article
Information
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 311 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2012

References

Biegel, E. & Hoekstra, P., 1995. Morphological response characteristics of the Zoutkamperlaag, Frisian inlet (the Netherlands), to a sudden reduction in basin area. Special Publications of the International Association for Sedimentology 24: 85–99.Google Scholar
Cayocca, F., 2001. Long-term morphological modeling of a tidal inlet: the Arcachon Basin, France. Coastal Engineering 42: 115–142.Google Scholar
Dalrymple, R.W. & Choi, K., 2007. Morphologic and facies trends through the fluvial-marine transition in tide-dominated depositional systems: A schematic framework for environmental and sequence-stratigraphic interpretation. Earth-Science Reviews 81: 135–174.Google Scholar
De Swart, H.E. & Zimmermann, J.T.F., 2009. Morphodynamics of tidal inlet systems. Annual Reviews of Fluid Mechanics 41: 203–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dissanayake, D.M.P.K., Roelvink, J.A., & Van der Wegen, M., 2009. Modelled channel patterns in a schematised tidal inlet. Coastal Engineering 56: 1069–1083.Google Scholar
Elias, E.P.L. & Van der Spek, A.J.F., 2006. Long-term morphodynamic evolution of Texel Inlet and its ebb-tidal delta (the Netherlands). Marine Geology 225: 5–21.Google Scholar
Fagherazzi, S., Gabet, E. & Furbish, D., 2004. The effect of bidirectional flow on tidal channel planforms. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 29: 295–309.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, D.M., 1984. Interactions between the ebb-tidal delta and landward shoreline: Price inlet, South Carolina. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 54: 1303–1318.Google Scholar
Garotta, V., Rummel, A.C. & Seminara, G., 2008. Long-term morphodynamics and hydrodynamics of tidal meandering channels. In: Dohmen-Janssen, C.M. & Hulscher, S.J.M.H. (eds): River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics conference (Enschede), Taylor and Francis/Balkema, Chapter 21: 163–168.Google Scholar
Hayes, M.O., 1980. General morphology and sediment patterns in tidal inlets. Sedimentary Geology 26: 139–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, S., 1993. Physical models and laboratory techniques in coastal engineering. Advanced Series on Ocean Engineering, Vol. 7, World Scientific.Google Scholar
Kleinhans, M.G., 2010. Sorting out river channel patterns. Progress in Physical Geography 34: 287–326.Google Scholar
Kleinhans, M.G., Schuurman, F., Bakx, W. & Markies, H., 2009. Meandering channel dynamics in highly cohesive sediment on an intertidal mud flat in the Westerschelde estuary, the Netherlands. Geomorphology 105: 261–276.Google Scholar
Kleinhans, M.G., Bierkens, M.F.P. & Van der Perk, M., 2010a. On the use of laboratory experimentation: ‘Hydrologists, bring out shovels and garden hoses and hit the dirt’. Hydrology and Earth System Science 14: 369–382, www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/14/369/2010.Google Scholar
Kleinhans, M.G., Van Dijk, W.M., Van de Lageweg, W.I., Hoendervoogt, R., Markies, H. & Schuurman, F., 2010b. From nature to lab: scaling self-formed meandering and braided rivers. In: Dittrich, A., Koll, K., Aberle, J. & Geisenhainer, P. (eds): River Flow conference 2010, Bundesanstalt für Wasserbau, vzb.baw.de/digitale_bib/riverflow2010/RiverFlow2010.html.Google Scholar
Lanzoni, S. & Seminara, G., 2002. Long-term evolution and morphodynamic equilibrium of tidal channels. Journal of Geophysical Research 107(C1): 3001–3013.Google Scholar
Lajeunesse, E., Malverti, L., Lancien, P., Armstrong, L., Métivier, F., Coleman, S., Smith, C.E., Davies, T., Cantelli, A. & Parker, G., 2010. Fluvial and submarine morphodynamics of laminar and near-laminar flows: a synthesis. Sedimentology 57: 1–26.Google Scholar
Marciano, R., Wang, Z.B., Hibma, A., De Vriend, H.J. & Defina, A., 2005. Modeling of channel patterns in short tidal basins. Journal of Geophysical Research 110: F01001.Google Scholar
O'Brien, M. P., 1969. Equilibrium flow areas of inlets in sandy coasts. Journal of Waterways and Harbors, ASCE, 95: 2261–2280.Google Scholar
Oost, A.P., 1995. Dynamics and sedimentary development of the Dutch Wadden Sea with emphasis on the Frisian inlet. Published Ph.D. thesis, Universiteit Utrecht, 455 pp.Google Scholar
Paola, C., Straub, K., Mohrig, D. & Reinhardt, L., 2009. The ‘unreasonable effectiveness’ of stratigraphic and geomorphic experiments. Earth-Science Reviews 97: 1–43.Google Scholar
Powell, M.A., Thieke, R.J. & Mehta, A.J., 2006. Morphodynamic relationships for ebb and flood delta volumes at Florida's tidal entrances. Ocean Dynamics 56: 295–306.Google Scholar
Reynolds, O., 1889. Report of the committee appointed to investigate the action of waves and currents on the beds and foreshores of estuaries by means of working models. British Association Report. Reprinted in: Papers on mechanical and physical subjects, Vol. II 1881-1900, Cambridge University Press, 1901, Chapter 57: 380–409.Google Scholar
Rinaldo, A., Fagherazzi, S., Lanzoni, S. & Marani, M., 1999. Tidal networks 2. Watershed delineation and comparative network morphology. Water Resources Research 35: 3905–3917.Google Scholar
Sha, L.P., 1989. Variation in ebb-delta morphologies along the West and East Frisian Islands, the Netherlands and Germany. Marine Geology 89: 11–28.Google Scholar
Stefanon, L., Carniello, L., D'Alpaos, A. & Lanzoni, S., 2010. Experimental analysis of tidal network growth and development. Continental Shelf Research 30: 950–962.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tal, M. & Paola, C., 2007. Dynamic single-thread channels maintained by the interaction of flow and vegetation. Geology 35: 347–50.Google Scholar
Tambroni, N., Bolla Pittaluga, M., & Seminara, G., 2005. Laboratory observations of the morphodynamic evolution of tidal channels and tidal inlets. Journal of Geophysical Research 110: F04009.Google Scholar
Temmerman, S., Bouma, T.J., Van de Koppel, J., Van der Wal, D., De Vries, M.B. & Herman, P.M.J., 2007. Vegetation causes channel erosion in a tidal landscape. Geology 37: 631–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Vegt, M., Schuttelaars, H.M. & De Swart, H.E., 2006. Modeling the equilibrium of tide-dominated ebb-tidal deltas. Journal of Geophysical Research 111: F02013.Google Scholar
Van der Vegt, M., Schuttelaars, H.M. & De Swart, H.E., 2009. The influence of tidal currents on the asymmetry of tide-dominated ebb-tidal deltas. Continental Shelf Research 29: 159–174.Google Scholar
Van der Wegen, M., & Roelvink, J.A., 2008. Long-term morphodynamic evolution of a tidal embayment using a two-dimensional, process-based model. Journal of Geophysical Research 113: C03016.Google Scholar
Van Heijst, M.W.I.M., & Postma, G., 2001. Fluvial response to sea-level changes: a quantitative analogue, experimental approach. Basin Research 13: 269–292.Google Scholar
Vila-Concejo, A., Ferreira, O., Matias, A. & Dias, J.M.A., 2003. The first two years of an inlet: sedimentary dynamics. Continental Shelf Research 23: 1425–1445.Google Scholar
Vlaswinkel, B.M. & Cantelli, A., 2011. Geometric characteristics and evolution of a tidal channel network in experimental setting. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 36: 739–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walton, T.L. & Adams, W.D., 1976. Capacity of inlet outer bars to store sand. Proceedings of the 15th Conference on Coastal Engineering: 1919–1937.Google Scholar
Warnaar, H.S., Derks, H., Vinjé, J.J. & Reinalda, M., 1971. Afsluiting Oosterschelde. Getijmodel zuidelijk bekken en detailmodel sluitgaten. Deel I. Ontwerp en bouw modellen. Report M1000-1001. Waterloopkundig Laboratorium, Delft, the Netherlands, 96 pp.Google Scholar