Seasonal changes in sediment erodibility associated with biostabilization in a subarctic intertidal environment, St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada

Waqas, Atif; Neumeier, Urs; Rochon, André

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106935

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…5 and 6). Large variation in biostabilisation between seasons is reported in the literature, with the highest values in spring and the lowest in late autumn (Underwood and Paterson, 1993;Marcarelli et al, 2008;Thom et al, 2015;Schmidt et al, 2016;Waqas et al, 2020). This is due to the differences in biofilm growth and composition resulting in mechanically diverse responses to the increased bed shear stress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of hydro-climate variation on biofilm dynamics and its impact in intertidal environments

Bastianon

Hope²,

Dorrell³

et al. 2022

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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Abstract. Shallow tidal environments are very productive ecosystems but are sensitive to environmental changes and sea level rise. Bio-morphodynamic control of these environments is therefore a crucial consideration; however, the effect of small-scale biological activity on large-scale cohesive sediment dynamics like tidal basins and estuaries is still largely unquantified. This study advances our understanding by assessing the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on biologically cohesive sediment transport and morphology. An idealised benthic biofilm model is incorporated in a 1D morphodynamic model of tide-dominated channels. This study investigates the effect of a range of environmental and biological conditions on biofilm growth and their feedback on the morphological evolution of the entire intertidal channel. By carrying out a sensitivity analysis of the bio-morphodynamic model, parameters like (i) hydrodynamic disturbances, (ii) seasonality, (iii) biofilm growth rate, (iv) temperature variation and (v) bio-cohesivity of the sediment are systematically changed. Results reveal that key parameters such as growth rate and temperature strongly influence the development of biofilm and are key determinants of equilibrium biofilm configuration and development under a range of disturbance periodicities and intensities. Long-term simulations of intertidal channel development demonstrate that the hydrodynamic disturbances induced by tides play a key role in shaping the morphology of the bed and that the presence of surface biofilm increases the time to reach morphological equilibrium. In locations characterised by low hydrodynamic forces, the biofilm grows and stabilises the bed, inhibiting the transport of coarse sediment (medium and fine sand). These findings suggest biofilm presence in channel beds results in intertidal channels that have significantly different characteristics in terms of morphology and stratigraphy compared abiotic sediments. It is concluded that inclusion of bio-cohesion in morphodynamic models is essential to predict estuary development and mitigate coastal erosion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of hydro-climate variation on biofilm dynamics and its impact in intertidal environments

Bastianon

Hope²,

Dorrell³

et al. 2022

Earth Surf. Dynam.

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“…Permeable bottom sediments therefore act as filters, allowing the penetration and burial of materials, and playing a central role for global carbon and nutrient cycles (Battin et al, 2003;Hunter et al, 2006;Battin et al, 2008;Zhu et al, 2022). The intertidal sediments are also constantly subjected to abiotic disturbances (e.g., mixing by currents, waves, seasonal and temperature fluctuation) (Orvain et al, 2014;Passarelli et al, 2015;Hope et al, 2020;Waqas et al, 2020;Chen et al, 2021). Therefore, intertidal sediment properties and their variation in coastal area has been a great concern for many coastal engineering projects for decades, which has long been attracting the collaborative work among hydraulic and sedimentation engineers as well as ecologists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical contexture of coastal biofilm-sediments varies heterogeneously and seasonally at the centimeter scale across the bed-water interface

Chen

Kang²,

Zhang³

et al. 2023

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Coastal sediments filter and accumulate organic and inorganic materials from the terrestrial and marine environment, and thus provide a high diversity of microbial niches. However, sediment-based analyses typically examine bulk samples and seldom consider variation at a scale relevant to changes in environmental conditions, due to the lack of mid-long term field data which can cover both the seasonal and sediment depth variations. In this study, microbial production and bacterial community structure were determined together with grain parameters over 10 months of intertidal silty sands on Jiangsu Coast, China. We demonstrated that the microbiological effects did not merely present on the surface, but greatly varied and stratified in both physical and biological contexture within the top 4 cm layer. Bacterial community structure showed a clear vertical variation with higher operational taxonomic unit (OTU) numbers at 1~2 cm depth than in the top 2 mm, probably because of the decreasing disturbance by hydrodynamic forces. However, the microbial production rates and metabolic activities, represented by the production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), were always higher in the top. Seasonal changes were strongly reflected in the vertical patterns of EPS but could not explain the variation across sites. The overall EPS secretion in spring and summer was generally at high level than that in autumn and winter, with the maximum value of 5~6 times higher. Interestingly, the stratification of biological and physical properties followed a fixed relationship, where with the decrease of the grain size D50, the EPS content increased exponentially, and this relationship was independent of temporal or spatial variation. Despite the significant seasonal variation of microbial activity and sedimentary grain size individually, the basic function between EPS content and D50 however did not alter. Filling these knowledge gaps will not only help to decipher the fate of grain-biofilm aggregates and organic matter burial under global changes, but also provide field evidence for the development of sediment transport models as well as blue carbon models incorporating microbial processes.

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Biological Influences on Sediment Behavior and Transport

Andersen

Pejrup

2024

Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science (Second Edition)

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Seasonal changes in sediment erodibility associated with biostabilization in a subarctic intertidal environment, St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada

Cited by 7 publications

References 70 publications

Effect of hydro-climate variation on biofilm dynamics and its impact in intertidal environments

Effect of hydro-climate variation on biofilm dynamics and its impact in intertidal environments

Biophysical contexture of coastal biofilm-sediments varies heterogeneously and seasonally at the centimeter scale across the bed-water interface

Biological Influences on Sediment Behavior and Transport

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