A two-dimensional model for suspended sediment transport in the southern branch of the Rhine-Meuse estuary, The Netherlands

Abstract

For the southern branch of the Rhine±Meuse estuary, The Netherlands, a two-dimensional horizontal suspended sediment transport model was constructed in order to evaluate the complicated water quality management of the area. The data needed to calibrate the model were collected during a special field survey at high river runoff utilizing a number of techniques: (1) turbidity probes were used to obtain suspended sediment concentration profiles; (2) air-borne remote sensing video recordings were applied in order to obtain information concerning the spatial distribution of the suspended sediment concentration; (3) an acoustic probe (ISAC) was used to measure cohesive bed density profiles and (4) an in situ underwater video camera (VIS) was deployed to collect video recordings of the suspended sediment. These VIS data were finally processed to fall velocity and diameter distributions and were mainly used to improve insight into the relevant transport processes, indicating significant erosion of sand from the upstream Rhine branch. For quantitative calibration of the model, the data from the turbidity profiles were used. Sedimentation and erosion were modelled according to Krone and Partheniades. The model results showed a good overall fit to the measurements, with a mean absolute error of 18 per cent (standard fault = 1 per cent), corresponding to concentrations of about 0Á020 (upstream) to 0Á005 kg m À3 (downstream). The overall correlation between observed and simulated suspended sediment concentrations was 0Á85. The remote sensing video recordings were used for a qualitative calibration of the model. The distribution pattern of the suspended sediment on these photos was reproduced quite well by the model. However, a more accurate calibration technique is needed to enable the use of aerial remote sensing as a quantitative calibration method.

Analyse du transport solide en suspension dans le bassin versant de l'Oued El Hammam (Algérie du Nord)

“…La recherche de modèles reliant le flux des matières en suspension en transit à l'écoulement dans différents bassins mondiaux a fait l'objet de multiples études qui permettent de déterminer quelques principes de comportement de ces paramètres (Dickinson 1981, Walling et Webb 1981, Demmak 1982, Avoine 1986, Van Wijngaarden 1999, Restrepo et Kjerfve 2000, Rondeau et al 2000, Picouet et al 2001, Serrat 1999, Owens et Walling 2002, Megnounif et al 2003. Il s'agit des courbes de transport sédimentaire, «rating curves», utilisées pour estimer les concentrations et les flux de MES à partir des seules mesures de débit.…”

Nature rehabilitation by floodplain excavation: The hydraulic effect of 16 years of sedimentation and vegetation succession along the Waal River, NL

“…WAQUA is a grid-based model regularly used by the Dutch river authority to assess flood safety in the Rhine and Meuse rivers (NL), and also in scientific studies (Middelkoop and Van der Perk, 1998;Wijngaarden, 1999;Anonymous, 2001;Van het Hof and Vollebregt, 2005). In WAQUA, the water flow between grid cells is calculated by numerically solving the Saint-Venant equations of mass balance and of convective and diffusive motion in two dimensions (Van Rijn, 1993).…”

GLOBAL-FATE (version 1.0.0): A geographical information system (GIS)-based model for assessing contaminants fate in the global river network

“…These include microplastics and nanomaterials (Besseling et al, 2017), pharmaceuticals (Li et al, 2016), personal care products (Arlos et al, 2014), and even illegal drugs (Postigo et al, 2010). These down-the-drain chemicals reach the river network and affect both humans and biodiver-5214 C. Font et al: GLOBAL-FATE (version 1.0.0) sity and ecosystem function (Rudd, 1970), thus posing a risk to water security (Goldman and Koduru, 2000;Vörösmarty et al, 2010).…”