Lateral flows redistribute sediment and influence the morphodynamics of channel-shoal systems. However, our understanding of lateral transport of suspended sediment during high and low water slack is still fairly limited, especially in engineered estuaries. Human interventions such as dike-groyne structures influence lateral exchange mechanisms. The present study aims to unravel these mechanisms in a heavily engineered, turbid channel-shoal system in the Changjiang Estuary, using a high-resolution unstructured-grid three-dimensional model and in situ observations. Analysis of model results reveals two typical transport patterns during slack-water conditions, that is, shoal-to-channel transport during low water slack and channel-to-shoal transport during high water slack. A momentum balance analysis is carried out to explain mechanisms driving the lateral transport of suspended sediment during high water slack, revealing the importance of lateral pressure gradients, Coriolis force, and the curvature-induced term. Groyne fields play a crucial role in sediment transport, especially during low water slack. A model scenario in which one groyne is removed reveals that groyne fields strongly influence lateral sediment transport. The decomposition of the sediment transport flux reveals that the turbidity maximum is shaped by a balance between seaward advection by residual flows, and landward transport by tidal pumping and gravitational circulation. Within the turbidity maximum, sediment is laterally redistributed by lateral flows during slack-water conditions, greatly influencing estuarine channel morphology.@en

Existing knowledge about groyne-induced effects is primarily based on riverine or coastal environments where salinity gradients are absent or limited. However, in estuaries, salinity gradients drive physical processes such as longitudinal and lateral residual flows. The effect of groynes is much more complex because they can modulate channel hydrodynamics and directly affect lateral salinity gradients. In this study, an idealized model is applied to investigate the effects of groyne layouts in estuarine environments, including effects on (1) channel hydrodynamics, (2) lateral water exchange, (3) Coriolis effects, and (4) saltwater intrusion. Model results show that the aspect ratio (the width of groyne fields to the length of groynes) of groyne fields plays an important role. Groynes also induce asymmetry of lateral flows, for example, increasing near-bottom shoal-to-channel flows during low water slack. The aspect ratio has opposite effects on horizontal and vertical components of water exchange. A large aspect ratio strengthens horizontal exchange and weakens density-driven currents. For a large-scale groyne field (several kilometers), Coriolis effects introduce a substantial difference in exchange mechanisms along the north and south banks. A medium range of aspect ratio (2.0-3.0) leads to the strongest saltwater intrusion during both neap and spring tides.@en

The Krone–Partheniades (K-P) framework has been used for decades to quantify and analyze the sediment exchange at a water–bed interface. Measuring the erosion and deposition parameters that are part of this framework requires time-consuming field observations. Additionally, the erosion parameters are measured independently of deposition parameters, while in reality they are coupled. In numerical models applying the K-P framework these parameters are often assumed to be constant in time and mutually independent. In this study, we develop a relatively simple methodology to determine the erosion and deposition parameters, using conventional near-bed observations of bed level, sediment concentration and flow velocity. This methodology is subsequently applied to tripod observations collected in the Changjiang estuary, China, to compute continuous time-varying erosion and settling parameters. We propose a diagram to visualize the interdependency and accuracy of erosion and deposition parameters, which is the input for K-P framework models requiring this interdependency@en