Tidally-induced sediment transport patterns in the upper Bay of Fundy: A numerical study

Wu, Yongsheng; Chaffey, Jason; Greenberg, David A.; Colbo, Keir; Smith, Peter C.

doi:10.1016/j.csr.2011.10.009

Cited by 41 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Recent multi-beam sonar data were used to supplement the bathymetry in the upper Bay of Fundy. The model mesh has 43 055 nodes and 79 082 triangular elements, and the horizontal resolution of the elements varies from 10s of km in the outer part of the model domain to about 20 m in Wu et al (2011). The bottom sediment at the farm site is composed almost entirely of mud (< 63 μm) with a small sand fraction of 1 to 2%.…”

Section: Study Area and Model Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for aquaculture: a case study in the Bay of Fundy

Wu¹,

Chaffey²,

Law³

et al. 2014

Aquacult. Environ. Interact.

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Impacts of aquaculture on the local current field and the erosion of the bottom sediment in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, have been investigated with a 3-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The model is evaluated against independent observations of the current. Model results show that the presence of fish cages restricts water flow and reduces the velocity in the surface layer occupied by the cages, but enhances the water velocity in the bottom layer beneath the cages. Sensitivity studies show that the change in the flow velocity beneath the cages is sensitive to variations in the drag coefficient and the height of the fish cages. As the drag coefficient increases, the bottom velocity also increases until a steady state value is reached. For the cage height, however, the tidal speed beneath the cages first increases with cage height and then significantly decreases with further increasing height. The maximum increase in velocity occurs when the cage height is about half the local water depth (H/H 0 = 0.5, where H is the cage height and H 0 is the water depth). The increase in bottom velocity significantly speeds up the erosion of the bottom sediment. The model results also indicate that there is an optimal drag coefficient and an optimal cage height for a specific farm site. By utilizing the optimal drag coefficient and height, it is possible to speed up sediment erosion beneath the cages and, thus, decrease the environmental problems caused by accumulated fish farm waste.

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Section: Study Area and Model Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for aquaculture: a case study in the Bay of Fundy

Wu¹,

Chaffey²,

Law³

et al. 2014

Aquacult. Environ. Interact.

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“…The bedload and suspended load transport rates were then vectorially added to derive the total sediment transport rate. Comparisons of model-predicted sediment transport rate and direction to limited measured suspended load transport (Amos and Joice 1977) and to predictions by a quasi-calibrated sediment transport model (Wu et al 2011a) in the section "Sediment transport" will further demonstrate that the sediment transport model used in this study has performed reasonably well. Given the focus of this study on the broader Bay of Fundy region, the results of the present study do not address the mobilization of cohesive sediments within intertidal flats and channels of the upper Bay (e.g., Mulligan et al 2013;Tao et al 2014).…”

Section: Seabed Shear Stress Sediment Mobility and Sediment Transpomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 and 9 for location names). The sediment transport predictions of this study are compared with limited field data (Amos and Joice 1977) and the simulations of a quasicalibrated model (Wu et al 2011a) to evaluate the performance of the sediment transport models used in the present study. Amos and Joice (1977) measured suspended sediment transport flux over 1-4 tidal cycles at 14 locations in Minas Basin in summer 1975 and in summer and fall 1976, respectively.…”

Section: Sediment Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10b), which is in reasonable agreement with the measured (fig. 16 of Wu et al (2011a)). Similar magnitude and direction of net total load flux are also predicted by this study (Fig.…”

Section: Sediment Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a study of the stability and dispersion of dredged material at an offshore disposal site in the central Bay of Fundy, Li et al (2009a) integrated a tidal model with a sediment transport model to study the tidal current and sediment transport patterns for the region around the disposal site. Wu et al (2011a) recently modelled sediment transport for Minas Channel and Minas Basin in the upper Bay of Fundy. However, bedload transport was calculated from an algorithm formulated for alluvial flows, and the suspended load transport was partially modelled using modelpredicted tidal currents and measured surface sediment concentration derived from remote-sensing images.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modelling seabed shear stress, sediment mobility, and sediment transport in the Bay of Fundy

et al. 2015

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Information about seabed stability and sediment dynamics is part of the fundamental geoscience knowledge required for the extraction of tidal energy in the Bay of Fundy and for the integrated management of the Bay. Waves, tidal currents, and wind-driven and circulation currents were obtained from oceanographic models to assess the wave and current processes for the broader Bay of Fundy. The wave and current outputs were coupled with observed grain size in a sediment transport model to predict, for the first time, the seabed shear stresses, sediment mobility, and sediment transport patterns for the entire Bay. The root mean square tidal current, highest in the upper Bay (>1.4 m·s −1 ), is reduced to moderate in the central Bay (0.5-0.8 m·s −1 ) and decreases further in the outer Bay (0.2-0.5 m·s −1 ). The maximum tidal current occurs in the Minas Passage and is >5 m·s −1 . The mean significant wave height, in contrast, is the greatest in the outer Bay (ϳ1.3 m) and gradually decreases to the northeast in the central and upper Bay (<0.5 m). Seabed shear in the Bay of Fundy is mostly due to tides, and wave effects are only important in coastal areas. The strongest mean shear velocity of 10 cm·s −1 occurs in the Minas Passage area. Strong shear velocity of 4-5 cm·s −1 also occurs in Minas Basin, in the central Bay, and in the narrows around Grand Manan Island. Sediment mobilization in the Bay of Fundy is predominantly by tidal current. Mobilization frequency is >30% of the time over most of the Bay and reaches 100% of the time in some areas. The maximum total-load sediment transport rate under spring tide can reach ϳ5 kg·m −1 ·s −1 and is to the northeast during flood and to the southwest during ebb. Net sediment transport flux, however, is dominantly to the northeast and reaches 2 kg·m −1 ·s −1 . Eddies of net transport are found to occur around headlands and at the narrows of Grand Manan Island, largely due to the occurrence of eddies of residual tidal flows. The regional distribution of substrate types and bedform fields and patterns of seabed erosion and deposition are well correlated with tidal current strength and sediment transport patterns.Résumé : Des données concernant la stabilité du plancher océanique et la dynamique des sédiments constituent une partie fondamentale des connaissances géologiques requises pour l'extraction de l'énergie marémotrice dans la baie de Fundy et pour une gestion intégrée de la baie. Les vagues, les courants de marée, les courants poussés par les vents et les courants de circulation ont été obtenus de modèles océanographiques afin d'évaluer les processus des vagues et des courants pour l'ensemble de la baie de Fundy. Les données de sortie sur les vagues et les courants ont été jumelées aux granulométries observées dans un modèle de transport de sédiments afin de prédire, pour la première fois, les contraintes de cisaillement sur le plancher océanique, la mobilité des sédiments et les patrons de transport pour toute la baie. Le courant de marée moyen quadratique, plus éle...

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Simulation of the Lagrangian tide-induced residual velocity in a tide-dominated coastal system: a case study of Jiaozhou Bay, China

Liu

Gao

et al. 2012

Ocean Dynamics

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Tidally-induced sediment transport patterns in the upper Bay of Fundy: A numerical study

Cited by 41 publications

References 34 publications

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for aquaculture: a case study in the Bay of Fundy

A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model for aquaculture: a case study in the Bay of Fundy

Modelling seabed shear stress, sediment mobility, and sediment transport in the Bay of Fundy

Simulation of the Lagrangian tide-induced residual velocity in a tide-dominated coastal system: a case study of Jiaozhou Bay, China

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