Interaction between suspended sediment and tidal amplification in the Guadalquivir Estuary

Water level records at two stations in the Guadalquivir Estuary (Spain), one near the estuary mouth (Bonanza) and one about 77 km upstream (Sevilla), have been analysed to study the amplification of the tide in the estuary. The tidal amplification factor shows interesting temporal variation, includi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocean dynamics 2014-10, Vol.64 (10), p.1487-1498
Main Authors: Wang, Zheng Bing, Winterwerp, Johan C., He, Qing
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric Sciences
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Estuaries
Floods
Flow velocity
Fluid mechanics
Fluid- and Aerodynamics
Fluvial sediments
Geophysics/Geodesy
Hydraulics
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Oceanography
Rivers
Sediment concentration
Sediment transport
Suspended sediments
Tides
Topical Collection on Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas 2012
Water levels
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Summary:Water level records at two stations in the Guadalquivir Estuary (Spain), one near the estuary mouth (Bonanza) and one about 77 km upstream (Sevilla), have been analysed to study the amplification of the tide in the estuary. The tidal amplification factor shows interesting temporal variation, including a spring-neap variation, some extreme low values, and especially the anomalous behaviour that the amplification factor is larger during a number of periods. These variations are explained by data analysis combined with numerical and analytical modelling. The spring-neap variation is due to the quadratic relation between the bottom friction and the tidal flow velocity. The river flood events are the direct causes of the extreme low values of the amplification factor, and they trigger the non-linear interaction between the tidal flow and suspended sediment transport. The fluvial sediment input during a river flood causes high sediment concentration in the estuary, up to more than 10 g/l. This causes a reduction of the effective hydraulic drag, resulting in stronger tidal amplification in the estuary for a period after a river flood. After such an event the tidal amplification in the estuary does not always fall back to the same level as before the event, indicating that river flood events have significant influence on the long-term development of this estuary.
ISSN:1616-7341
1616-7228
DOI:10.1007/s10236-014-0758-x