Abstract
Abstract The influence of biological activity on sediment erodibility was studied in the Dollard estuary, The Netherlands. The sediment erodibility was measured with an in situ flume on an intertidal flat. The hydrodynamics and suspended sediment concentrations above the flat were monitored from a measuring-bridge and in the tidal channel from a platform, using conventional instrumentation. The data from the flume, bridge and platform show that erosion resistance varied considerably from March until August 1996. A diatom bloom at the beginning of April appears to have resulted in an increase in resistance. Currents and waves were no longer able to resuspend sediment from the flat. This resulted in very low mean suspended sediment concentrations. The increase in erosion resistance did not only occur at the research site but on all flats in the Dollard. At the beginning of June, sediment erodibility increased and consequently the suspended sediment concentrations increased. This coincided with the disappearance of diatoms in May and with an increasing density of the amphipod Corophium volutator on the flat in June.
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