Deposition Of Suspended Particulate Matter Research Articles

Resuspension of benthic fluff by tidal currents in deep stratified waters, northern North Sea

Suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentration and properties (particle size and settling velocity), water column and boundary layer dynamics were measured during a 60-d period at a site in 110 m water depth in the northern North Sea. The site was in stratified waters and measurements were made during September–November as the seasonal thermocline was progressively weakening. SPM concentration was low, c. 1 mg dm −3 in the surface mixed layer and maximum values of 2 mg dm −3 in the bottom mixed layer. The bottom layer was characterised by larger mean particle size. SPM signals in the two layers were decoupled at the start of the period, when the thermocline was strong, but were increasingly coupled as the thermocline progressively weakened. A spring-neap cycle of resuspension and deposition of SPM was observed in the bottom mixed layer. Bed shear stresses were too small to entrain the bottom sediment (a fine sand) but were competent to resuspend benthic fluff: threshold bed shear stress and threshold current velocity at 10 mab were 0.02–0.03 Pa. and 0.18 m s −1, respectively. Maximum SPM concentration in the bottom layer preceded peak spring tide currents by 3 d. Simulation of fluff resupension by the PROWQM model confirms that this was due to a finite supply of benthic fluff: the fluff layer was stripped from the seabed so that fluff supply was zero by the time of peak spring flow. SPM was redeposited over neap tides. Fluff resuspension must have been enhanced by intermittent inertial currents in the bottom layer but unequivocal evidence for this was not seen. There was some resuspension due to wave activity. Settling velocity spectra were unimodal or bimodal with modal values of 2×10 −4–2×10 −3 mm s −1 (long-term suspension component) and 0.2–5.7 mm s −1 (resuspension component). The slowest settling particles remained in suspension at peak spring tides after the fluff layer had been exhausted. There was evidence of particle disaggregation during springs and aggregation during neaps.

Changing sedimentation in tidal flat sediments of the southern North Sea from the Holocene to the present: a geochemical approach

This study presents geochemical evidence for a change in depositional energy conditions of tidal flat sediments (southern North Sea) from the Holocene, i.e. human unaffected, to present-day conditions. We investigated Holocene and present tidal flat sediments and suspended particulate matter (SPM) from the NW German coastal area (Spiekeroog Island back-barrier area and Jade Bay), as well as sediments from the Helgoland Island mud hole area. Samples were analysed for bulk parameters (TC, TIC), major (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, K, P, Si, Ti), and trace elements (Ba, Pb, Rb, Sr, V, Zn, Zr). Enrichment factors versus average shale reveal four groups of elements for the investigated Holocene and present sediments. Fe, Mg, K, Ba, Rb, and V show a shale-like behaviour and enrichments of Ca and Sr reflect the occurrence of carbonate, whereas higher levels of P, Pb, and Zn in the present samples are due to pollution. The fourth group consists of Si, Ti, and Zr, which may be used as indicators of depositional energy because these elements are concentrated by particle sorting effects. The most pronounced geochemical difference between the Holocene and present tidal flat sediments is an enrichment of Zr in the present samples. As Zr is commonly associated with heavy minerals, this enrichment indicates a higher depositional energy environment in the present sediments, which can be traced to modern dike building. The same effect, i.e. increasing current velocities, is responsible for a general depletion of fine-grained, Al-rich, material in the present sediments. The examination of SPM shows that large amounts of this fine-grained material are present in the water column and may be transported from the intertidal system into the open North Sea. The comparison of a calculated Holocene clay accumulation rate with modern estimates of SPM deposition in the German Bight reveals about a two-fold higher deposition of fine material in the Holocene tidal flats. As the sediments from the Helgoland mud hole show a geochemical composition similar to Holocene tidal flat sediments, we assume that the Helgoland mud hole may serve as a proximal depocentre in the southern North Sea for the SPM exported from the back-barrier systems.