Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:44:53.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Variations in marsh surface levels in the upper Tay Estuary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

J. McManus  and
S. A. K. Alizai
J. McManus
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The University, Dundee DD1 4HN, U.K.
S. A. K. Alizai
Affiliation:
Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Karachi, Pakistan
Get access

Synopsis

In the upper Tay Estuary the marshes bordering the northern intertidal mud-flats are dominated by Phragmites communis in the west, with Juncus gerardi becoming more important eastwards, where Aster tripolium is also significant. Sedimentation on the surface of the marshes at Kingoodie and Invergowrie has been measured at monthly intervals over a twenty-three month period, using stake implants to provide local marker levels. The marsh surfaces were at their greatest heights in early summer and fell during autumn and winter. Maximum accretion rates were measured in spring on the outer marshes at both sites, where net accretion over the entire period was greatest. The net accretion in the Phragmites marsh was 2.5 mm, in the Aster belt 5 mm, in established Juncus 9 mm and in newly colonising Juncus 8.7 mm, whereas on the adjacent Kingoodie mud flats there was net stability over the twenty-three-month interval. Accretion was less at Invergowrie (3–5 mm) than at Kingoodie (2.5–9 mm). Monthly analysis of the upper 0.5 cm of the surface sediments showed the Invergowrie marsh sediments to be sandier than those of Kingoodie. Silts and clays deposited on the outer marsh surface in spring migrate landward during the summer and autumn. The apparent annual net accretion varied greatly with the specific month used for comparison, with 13 mm net losses based on November figures and 10 mm gains using January data.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 92 , Issue 3-4: The Environment of the Tay Estuary , 1987 , pp. 345 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alizai, S. A. K & McManus, J. 1980. The significance of reed beds on siltation in the Tay Estuary. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 78B, 1–14.Google Scholar
Al-Ansari, N. A. & McManus, J. 1979. Fluvial sediments entering the Tay Estuary: Sediment discharge from the River Earn. Scottish Journal of Geology 15, 203–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, A. L. 1967. Coastal geomorphology of Connecticut. Final Report O.N.R. Contract N.R. 401 (45).Google Scholar
Buller, A. T. 1975. Sediments of the Tay Estuary II. Formation of ephemeral zones of high suspended sediment concentrations. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 75B, 65–89.Google Scholar
Buller, A. T., Charlton, J. A. & McManus, J. 1972. Data from physical and chemical measurements in the Tay Estuary for neap and spring tides, June 1972. Dundee: Tay Estuary Research Report No. 2, University of Dundee.Google Scholar
Chapman, V. J. 1938. Coastal movement and the development of some New England salt marshes. Proceedings of the Geological Association 49, 373–384.Google Scholar
Dobereiner, C. 1982. Aggregation and deposition of fine particles in the Tay Estuary. Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, University of Dundee.Google Scholar
Dobereiner, C. & McManus, J. 1983. Turbidity maximum migration and harbour siltation in the Tay Estuary. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 40, 117–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, G. 1965. Intertidal flat sediments and their environments of deposition in The Wash. Journal of the Geological Society of London 121, 209–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, G. 1970. Sediment balance of the Clyde Estuary. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, American Society of Civil Engineers 96, 2219–2230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guilcher, A. 1967. Origin of sediments in estuaries. In Estuaries, ed. Lauff, G. H., pp. 149–157. Washington D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science.Google Scholar
Hall, D. C. 1967. The pattern of sediment movement in the River Tyne. IAHS Journal 75, 117–142.Google Scholar
Inglis, C. C. & Allen, F. H. 1957. The regimes of the Thames estuary as affected by currents, salinities and river flow. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 9, 193–216.Google Scholar
McGregor, R. C. 1971. The influence of topography and pressure gradients on shoaling in a tidal estuary. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 25, 84–126.Google Scholar
Price, W. A. & Kendrick, M. P. 1963. Field and model investigation into the reasons of siltation in the Mersey Estuary. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers 24.Google Scholar
Ranwell, D. S. 1964. Spartina salt marshes of southern England IJ. Rate and seasonal pattern of sediment accretion. Journal of Geology 52, 79–94.Google Scholar
Reineck, H.-E. & Singh, I. B. 1978. Depositional sedimentary environments, 2nd edn. New York- Heidelberg-Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Richard, G. A. 1978. Seasonal and environmental variation in sediment accretion in a Long Island Salt Marsh. Estuaries 1, 29–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steers, J. A. 1948. Twelve years measurement of accretion on Norfolk salt marshes. Geological Magazine 85, 163–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weir, D. J. & McManus, J. (in press). The role of wind in generating ‘turbidity maxima’ in the Tay Estuary. Continental Shelf Research.Google Scholar