Flow and solute fluxes in integrated wetland and coastal systems

Details are given of an experimental study of the flow and tracer transport processes in an integrated wetland and coastal basin. A novel physical model was constructed to enable observations and measurements to be made of groundwater transport through a sand embankment between a wetland and coastal area. This was an idealised scale model of the West Fleet Lagoon, Chesil Beach and the adjacent coastal waters, located in Dorset, UK. An extensive set of data of the seepage fluxes through the embankment was collected by monitoring the varying water level and velocity distributions on both sides of the embankment. The transport behaviour of a conservative tracer was also studied for a constant water level on the wetland side of the embankment, while running a continuous tide on the coastal side. Time series pictures of the concentration distributions of the tracer were filmed using a digital camcorder. An integrated surface and groundwater numerical model was also used in this study to assist in the analysis, with the numerical model predictions being compared with the images recorded from the experiments. Details of the physical model, experimental procedures and the equipment used in the study are reported in this paper.