Abstract
A process-based model for the Yangtze Estuary is constructed to study the sediment transport in the estuary. The proposed model covers the entire tidal region of the estuary, the Hangzhou Bay and a large part of the adjacent sea. The dominant processes, fluvial and tidal, are included in the model. The calibration of the model against extensive flow, water level, salinity and suspended sediment data shows a good representation of observed phenomena. With the present calibrated and validated model, the residual flow field and the residual sediment transport field are obtained. The residual sediment transport pattern gives insight into the morphological behaviour of the mouth bars.
Highlights
The morphological development of an estuary is affected by both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water and marine sediments, and fluvial influences, such as flows of fresh water and fluvial sediment
Most quantitative morphological predictions for the Yangtze Estuary rest mainly on data driven methods, e.g. the extrapolation of measured data (Wang 1986; Yu and Lou 2004; Hu 2005; Yang et al 2005; Fan et al 2006;Wang et al 2007) and empirical input/output relationships (Ding and Shi 2000). This approach has been widely applied in studies on estuarine morphology, it is restricted by the availability and the quality of data
A process-based model describes the relevant physical processes starting from first physical principles, where necessary combined with empirical closure submodels (e.g. De Vriend et al 1993)
Summary
A process-based model for the Yangtze Estuary is constructed to study the sediment transport in the estuary. The proposed model covers the entire tidal region of the estuary, the Hangzhou Bay and a large part of the adjacent sea. The dominant processes, fluvial and tidal, are included in the model. The calibration of the model against extensive flow, water level, salinity and suspended sediment data shows a good representation of observed phenomena. With the present calibrated and validated model, the residual flow field and the residual sediment transport field are obtained. The residual sediment transport pattern gives insight into the morphological behaviour of the mouth bars. Key word: Yangtze Estuary; mouth bar; morphology; sediment transport; process-based model
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