Sand‐Mud Tidal Flat Morphodynamics Influenced by Alongshore Tidal Currents

Tidal flats, where significant land‐ocean interactions take place, are often abstracted as a cross‐shore bed profile with sediment zonation from the lower sand flat to the upper mud flat. However, in addition to cross‐shore tidal currents, the impact of the alongshore components on cross‐shore sediment transport, morphological evolution, and...

The relationship between inundation duration and Spartina alterniflora growth along the Jiangsu coast, China

The above-ground biomass of Spartina alterniflora salt marsh meadows is influenced by numerous interacting factors, among them elevation, tidal range and inundation duration. Bio-geomorphological models make use of either linear or quadratic equations, but it is important to be aware that the variables are area specific and hence not generic. In...

Morphodynamics of the Qiantang Estuary, China: Controls of river flood events and tidal bores

The importance of seasonal variations in river discharge on the morphological development of estuaries has been recognized in recent years, yet in situ observations about such variations are rare. Here we report a long-term dataset of bathymetry in the middle reach of the Qiantang Estuary, China, characterized by the presence of a large inner...

Local human activities overwhelm decreased sediment supply from the Changjiang River: Continued rapid accumulation in the Hangzhou Bay-Qiantang Estuary system

We investigate the morphological responses of the Hangzhou Bay, China, located immediately south of the Changjiang Estuary, to the drastic reduction of the sediment load from the Changjiang River and the large-scale coastal embankment schemes over past decades. The spatial patterns of deposition and erosion, sediment volume changes, and the...

Morphodynamic modeling of a large inside sand bar and its dextral morphology in a convergent estuary: Qiantang Estuary, China

We investigate the evolution of a large-scale sand body, a unique type of sandbars in a convergent estuary. Specifically, we analyze and simulate the sand deposition system (defined as an inside bar) in the Qiantang Estuary (QE) in China. The deposit is 130 km long and up to 10 m thick, and is characterized by a dextral morphology in the lower...

Is “Morphodynamic Equilibrium” an oxymoron?

Morphodynamic equilibrium is a widely adopted yet elusive concept in the field of geomorphology of coasts, rivers and estuaries. Based on the Exner equation, an expression of mass conservation of sediment, we distinguish three types of equilibrium defined as static and dynamic, of which two different types exist. Other expressions such as...