The Environmental Implications of Sediment Transport in the Waters of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada: A Comparison Between Kinematic and Dynamic Approaches

Abstract

ABSTRACT McLaren, P., 2016. The environmental implications of sediment transport in the waters of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada: A comparison between kinematic and dynamic approaches. A Sediment Trend Analysis (STA®) was performed on 2474 grain-size distributions taken from the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. The analysis was commissioned by the Lax Kw'alaams First Nations Band because of environmental concerns associated with future large-scale development plans, including a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal associated with Flora Bank. Located at the mouth of the Skeena River, Flora Bank has long been considered an important nursery area for juvenile salmon. STA is an empirical technique to determine patterns of net sediment transport, which may provide a qualitative assessment of the possible environmental changes that could be expected following port construction. The patterns of transport revealed that sediments throughout the study area are derived from underlyi...