Wind surge and saltwater intrusion in Atchafalaya Bay during onshore winds prior to cold front passage

Li, Chunyan; Roberts, Harry H.; Stone, Gregory W.; Weeks, Eddie; Luo, Yixin

doi:10.1007/s10750-010-0467-5

Cited by 49 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The coastal marshland perimeter of Atchafalaya Bay is subject to complex hydrodynamic processes and related energy regimes. In order to quantify the energy regimes of hydrostatic waves from the water level data, a power density spectral analysis was conducted using the fast Fourier transform, similar to Li et al (2011). This analysis involves the use of longterm (2012 and 2013) datasets of water level and horizontal velocity vectors.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This analysis involves the use of longterm (2012 and 2013) datasets of water level and horizontal velocity vectors. In Li et al (2011), the wind-induced surge is about half of the total surge (excess water level change on top of predicted tide), while the effect of waves and atmospheric pressure each contributed one-fourth of the total. The energy spectrum is divided into several bands (a narrow semidiurnal band, a similarly narrow diurnal band, over tidal band, interband, and a broad subtidal band).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Floods and Cold Front Passages: Impacts on Coastal Marshes in a River Diversion Setting (Wax Lake Delta Area, Louisiana)

Roberts

DeLaune²,

White³

et al. 2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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Roberts, H.H.; DeLaune, R.D.; White, J.R.; Li, C.; Sasser, C.E.; Braud, D.; Weeks, E., and Khalil, S., 2015. Floods and cold front passages: Impacts on coastal marshes in a river diversion setting (Wax Lake delta area, Louisiana). Journal of Coastal Research, 31(5), 1057-1068. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Diversion of the Mississippi River is considered the most effective way of offsetting Louisiana's coastal plain land loss. The Wax Lake delta, a man-made diversion that represents mostly sand-rich distributary mouth bar deposits, is cited as a model for land building from a large river diversion. The fine-grained suspended load is mostly deposited outside of ''the delta.'' Numerical simulations of diversion delta building focus primarily on sand deposition. The fine-grained suspended load is only secondarily considered. Research results reported here suggest that natural processes associated with the synergistic relationship between floods and cold front passages can effectively distribute suspended sediments to maintain and rebuild wetlands outside the sand-rich delta. Measurements (fixed acoustic Doppler current profilers) of current speed, current direction, and water level in a mainland marsh channel, north of Atchafalaya Bay, indicate that as cold fronts approach, local water levels can be elevated by as much as 1 m, and normal discharge into the bay is reversed so that flow is into the coastal plain marshes. LIDAR bank elevations indicate that overbank flow is initiated by these events. Streamside sediment accretion (2-y monitoring period) using feldspar plots indicates up to 6.8 cm. Longer term Cs-137 data reveal an average sediment accretion rate of .1 cm y À1 over 50þ years. Marsh flooding results in denitrification of nitrate in river water plus nutrient uptake resulting in increased plant productivity, considerably greater than for similar coastal plain marshes free of riverine sediment input. Fine-grained suspended sediments are important for rebuilding Louisiana's coastal plain, which is naturally constructed mostly of riverine silt and clay plus organic matter.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floods and Cold Front Passages: Impacts on Coastal Marshes in a River Diversion Setting (Wax Lake Delta Area, Louisiana)

Roberts

DeLaune²,

White³

et al. 2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…All these highlight the importance of the flushing of the bays and the suspended sediment transport between Louisiana bays and the Louisiana shelf. The flushing of the Louisiana bays in the winter is largely controlled by cold fronts formed by large‐scale weather systems that occur at 3–7 day intervals [ Roberts et al , 1989; Walker and Hammack , 2000; Feng and Li , 2010; Li et al , 2011]. This study provides the most detailed sample over a 24 h period for this system, quantifying the rate of flushing (or residence time) and the net transport of water and sediments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Summertime tidal flushing of Barataria Bay: Transports of water and suspended sediments

Li¹,

White²,

Chen³

et al. 2011

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] Inlets provide a critical ecological link between restricted bays and estuaries to the coastal ocean. The net fluxes of water and suspended sediment are presented in this study. These fluxes are obtained based on data from a multidisciplinary, full tidal cycle survey across Barataria Pass in southern Louisiana on 31 July to 1 August 2008. The velocity profiles were obtained with an acoustic Doppler current profiler mounted on a small boat continuously crossing the inlet, which contains swift and turbulent tidal currents. Water samples were collected six times in a 24 h period at three discrete depths and three locations across the inlet. The observations delineated a clear eddy on the western side of the inlet which causes a low R 2 value of the tidal harmonic analysis on the edges of the inlet. The net flux of total suspended sediment out of the bay was determined to be 8800 t of which 20% was organic matter, demonstrating a significant source of organic matter to the base of the coastal ocean detrital food chain. The time evolution and net fluxes of water, and suspended sediments showed that the net flow resembles conventional estuarine circulation patterns with net outward flow on the surface and shallow ends of the inlet and with net inward flow in the center and at the bottom of the center of the inlet. The west side has a much larger outward flow than the east side while the east side is fresher. These differences suggest that the Louisiana Coastal Current from around the Bird's Foot Delta derived from the mixing of shelf water with the Mississippi River freshwater may have entered the bay. This must have been mostly from the east side during the survey, which resulted in a smaller outward flow on the eastern side. A numerical experiment further confirmed this assumption and the model was verified by field observations on 5 May 2010.

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“…From October to the following April every year, the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) experiences intensified cold fronts, sometimes with severe storms (Roberts et al, ). These weather systems affect the coastal NGOM significantly (e.g., Feng & Li, ; Li et al, ; Lin et al, ; Siadatmousavi et al, ; Siadatmousavi & Jose, ; Walker & Hammack, ), as well as other areas (e.g., Li & Chen, ). The passage of cold fronts can result in wind regime shifts across the area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water quality can be affected by the wind induced water level oscillations. For instance, oyster farms can be polluted by wastewater from sewage treatment plants at low water under the influence of northerly winds (Li et al, ). For better monitoring the ecosystem health and coastal management for estuaries, it is important to study the corresponding hydrodynamic response to cold front events that occur in this area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cold Front Driven Flows Through Multiple Inlets of Lake Pontchartrain Estuary

Huang

2017

JGR Oceans

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With in situ observations using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and numerical experiments using the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM), this study investigates atmospheric cold front induced exchange of water between Lake Pontchartrain Estuary and coastal ocean through multiple inlets. Results show that the subtidal hydrodynamic response is highly correlated with meteorological parameters. Northerly and westerly winds tend to push water out of Lake Pontchartrain, while south and east winds tend to produce currents flowing into it. For most cases, the subtidal water level is inversely correlated with the east wind, with the correlation coefficient being ∼0.8. The most important finding of this work is that, contrary to intuition, the cold front induced remote wind effect has the greatest contribution to the overall water level variation, while the local wind stress determines the surface slope inside the estuary. It is found that wind driven flow is roughly quasi steady state: the surface slope in the north‐south direction is determined by the north‐south wind stress, explaining ∼83% of the variability but less so in the east‐west direction (∼43%). In other words, the north‐south local wind stress determines the water level gradient in that direction in the estuary while the overall water level change is pretty much controlled by the open boundary which is the “remote wind effect,” a regional response that can be illustrated only by a numerical model for a much larger area encompassing the estuary.

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Wind surge and saltwater intrusion in Atchafalaya Bay during onshore winds prior to cold front passage

Cited by 49 publications

References 38 publications

Floods and Cold Front Passages: Impacts on Coastal Marshes in a River Diversion Setting (Wax Lake Delta Area, Louisiana)

Floods and Cold Front Passages: Impacts on Coastal Marshes in a River Diversion Setting (Wax Lake Delta Area, Louisiana)

Summertime tidal flushing of Barataria Bay: Transports of water and suspended sediments

Cold Front Driven Flows Through Multiple Inlets of Lake Pontchartrain Estuary

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