The role of flow asymmetry and mud properties on tidal flat sedimentation

It is well known that landward transport of fine sediments on tidal flats is caused by lag effects, of which the scour lag and the settling lag are the best known. These lag effects result from a combination of sediment properties and hydrodynamic asymmetries. However, it is not well-understood how, in a quantitative way, these lag effects depend on the sediment properties and the hydrodynamic forcing, and what the relative importance of these sediment properties and hydrodynamics is. As a result, it is not known which lag effect is more important under which conditions. We therefore set out to explore the relative importance of hydrodynamics and sediment properties on tidal-flat sedimentation using a schematized 2DV cross-shore profile model with a tidal range of 6 m and an intertidal width of ∼5 km. The effect of hydrodynamics is parameterized through a varying offshore tidal asymmetry and four different cross-shore profiles (a horizontal, convex, linear and concave profile). The effect of sediment properties is examined by evaluating a range of settling velocities ws and critical bed shear stresses for erosion τcr. The main findings of this work are that (1) conditions of maximum sediment deposition rates exist for ws ∼0.5 mm/s and τcr ∼0.1 Pa, (2) deposition rates due to slack tide asymmetry are comparable to symmetric tides, while peak flow asymmetry produces the greatest deposition rates, (3) tidal flat deposition rates are greatest for concave profiles and least for convex profiles mainly due to the horizontal velocity gradient, and (4) the type of lag effect dominating landward transport varies spatially.

► Hydrodynamic conditions for maximum tidal flat deposition rates exist.
► Peak flow tidal asymmetry results in the greatest deposition rates.
► Deposition rates due to slack tide asymmetry and symmetric tides are similar.
► Deposition rates are greatest for concave profiles and smallest for convex profiles.
► The type of lag effect dominating landward transport varies spatially.