Three-Dimensional Flow and Sediment Transport at River Mouths

Three-dimensional flow processes of a river emptying into the sea were analyzed. The basic equations which were derived to describe this flow included the effects of buoyancy caused by density differences between fresh and salt water, inertia of river and coastal currents, and differences in hydrost...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Waldrop,William R, Farmer,Richard C
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
COMPUTER PROGRAMS
DELTAS
FLOW FIELDS
Hydrology, Limnology and Potamology
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OCEAN CURRENTS
RIVER CURRENTS
RIVERS
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS
THREE DIMENSIONAL FLOW
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Summary:Three-dimensional flow processes of a river emptying into the sea were analyzed. The basic equations which were derived to describe this flow included the effects of buoyancy caused by density differences between fresh and salt water, inertia of river and coastal currents, and differences in hydrostatic head throughout the mixing region. Turbulence effects were included through an appropriate eddy viscosity model. Combinations of river stages and tidal currents were represented as systems of steady-state flow fields. A numerical procedure was developed and implemented on a digital computer for the solution of the equations. This numerical procedure is classified as an asymptotic time-dependent finite-difference technique but includes certain features of a relaxation technique. Computed flow fields were used to track a distribution of nominal particles representing the suspended load of the river as determined from field data. Deposition of these particles was primarily governed by convective processes and particle settling velocities, which included the effect of a local turbulence level. Deposition rates were used to compute deltaic growth. Results were compared to a delta for which experimental data were available. (Author)