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Sediment supplied by small mountainous rivers (SMRs) represents a major fraction of the global ocean sediment budget. Studies from the past two decades have shown that much of this sediment is dispersed by episodic wind and wave energy along storm-dominated coasts. In tidally dominated environments, however, different transport styles and deposits may result from persistent tidal dispersal. This study investigates episodic sediment releases generated by dam removal from a SMR in Washington State, in order to evaluate the mechanics of tidally dominated sediment dispersal in an energetic marine environment. The results indicate that asymmetric tidal currents with peak magnitudes of ∼50 to >80 cm/s produce daily sediment export in the direction of the dominant tidal phase (i.e., the semi-diurnal phase with faster currents and longer duration), resulting in dispersal of fluvially derived fine sediment to distal sinks. These effects are observed throughout all seasons in the presence or absence of wave events. During the first two years of dam removal, more than 8 million tonnes of sediment were discharged to the coast. The net result was little to no change in grain size at 10–60 m water depth across >70% of the seabed offshore of the river mouth. Over the remaining ∼2 to 3 km 2 of the subaqueous delta, several cm of mud and sand accumulated in a sheltered coastal embayment adjacent to the river mouth. These results demonstrate that SMR discharge events may form patchy, isolated deposits—or even no deposits—along coastlines with strong tidal currents, in contrast to the mid-shelf mud belts formed on storm-dominated shelves. Over longer timescales, knowledge of the erosional capacity of local and regional tidal currents may be key to interpreting the terrestrial event record preserved in (or possibly excluded from) marine SMR deposits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Small rivers commonly discharge into coastal settings with topographic complexities – such as headlands and islands – but these settings are underrepresented in river plume studies compared to more simplified, straight coasts. The Elwha River provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of coastal topography on a buoyant plume, because it discharges into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the western side of its deltaic headland. Here we show that this headland induces flow separation and transient eddies in the tidally dominated currents (O(100cm/s)), consistent with other headlands in oscillatory flow. These flow conditions are observed to strongly influence the buoyant river plume, as predicted by the “small-scale” or “narrow” dynamical classification using system. Because of the transient eddies and the location of the river mouth on the headland, flow immediately offshore of the river mouth is directed eastward twice as frequently as it is westward. This results in a buoyant plume that is much more frequently “bent over” toward the east than the west. During bent over plume conditions, the plume was attached to the eastern shoreline while having a distinct, cuspate front along its westernmost boundary. The location of the front was found to be related to the magnitude and direction of local flow during the preceding O(1h), and increases in alongshore flow resulted in deeper freshwater mixing, stronger baroclinic anomalies, and stronger hugging of the coast. During bent over plume conditions, we observed significant convergence of river plume water toward the frontal boundary within 1km of the river mouth. These results show how coastal topography can strongly influence buoyant plume behavior, and they should assist with understanding of initial coastal sediment dispersal pathways from the Elwha River during a pending dam removal project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]