Modeling Sediment Resuspension in Coastal Areas
J. Lou, T. Wolf and W. Rosenthal
A quasi-3D suspended sediment transport model under waves and current has
been developed. The nonlinear wave-current interaction has been taken into
account by the changes in turbulent viscosity and enhancement in bottom stresses.The model has been applied in Cleveland Bay, Australia, to study suspended
sediment distribution in January and March 1993 when two high turbidity
events (> 100 mg/l) were observed. The model was able to predict these high
sedimentconcentration events. Swell was found to be the dominant suspension
mechanism in the bay. In addition, the model was improved and applied to the
Oder Estuary, which forms the border between Germany and Poland. The concentration levels are clearly related to the higher waves and water depth. The
model results agree with known values and data images in the Oder Estuary.
1
Introduction
Understanding sediment transport processes is of fundamental importance in
coastal dynamics and environmental evolution. Numerical modeling is one
method that may be used to study sediment transport. The research in this
field is still in its infancy and the model results are therefore usually of rather
limited value. Although the vertical concentration structure can be explicitly
taken into account by two-dimensional vertical (2DV) models (Van Rijn 1986;
Celik and Rodi 1988), 2D horizontal (2DH) sediment transport models based
on the depth averaged formula are still widely used (De Vriend 1987; Nairn
and Southgate 1993; Ziegler and Nisbet 1994), with the disadvantage of neglecting the concentration profiles. Since suspended sediment transport in
coastal areas is a three dimensional phenomenon, it should be described by
three-dimensional models. However, most 3D models are expensive to run
and they are thus commonly used to predict short-term sediment transport
only (Koutitas and O'Connor 1980; O'Connor and Nicholson 1988; Miller
1984). An alternative to 3D modeling is the application of a depth-integrated
approach (Galappatti and Vreugdenhil 1985).
This chapter focuses on the development of a quasi-3D numerical model for
suspended sediment transport in coastal waters under wave-current movement. The wave-current interactions and the quasi-3D sediment concentration
J. Lou, T. Wolf and W. Rosenthal
A quasi-3D suspended sediment transport model under waves and current has
been developed. The nonlinear wave-current interaction has been taken into
account by the changes in turbulent viscosity and enhancement in bottom stresses.The model has been applied in Cleveland Bay, Australia, to study suspended
sediment distribution in January and March 1993 when two high turbidity
events (> 100 mg/l) were observed. The model was able to predict these high
sedimentconcentration events. Swell was found to be the dominant suspension
mechanism in the bay. In addition, the model was improved and applied to the
Oder Estuary, which forms the border between Germany and Poland. The concentration levels are clearly related to the higher waves and water depth. The
model results agree with known values and data images in the Oder Estuary.
1
Introduction
Understanding sediment transport processes is of fundamental importance in
coastal dynamics and environmental evolution. Numerical modeling is one
method that may be used to study sediment transport. The research in this
field is still in its infancy and the model results are therefore usually of rather
limited value. Although the vertical concentration structure can be explicitly
taken into account by two-dimensional vertical (2DV) models (Van Rijn 1986;
Celik and Rodi 1988), 2D horizontal (2DH) sediment transport models based
on the depth averaged formula are still widely used (De Vriend 1987; Nairn
and Southgate 1993; Ziegler and Nisbet 1994), with the disadvantage of neglecting the concentration profiles. Since suspended sediment transport in
coastal areas is a three dimensional phenomenon, it should be described by
three-dimensional models. However, most 3D models are expensive to run
and they are thus commonly used to predict short-term sediment transport
only (Koutitas and O'Connor 1980; O'Connor and Nicholson 1988; Miller
1984). An alternative to 3D modeling is the application of a depth-integrated
approach (Galappatti and Vreugdenhil 1985).
This chapter focuses on the development of a quasi-3D numerical model for
suspended sediment transport in coastal waters under wave-current movement. The wave-current interactions and the quasi-3D sediment concentration