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Abstract Land reclamations influence the morphodynamic evolution of estuaries and tidal basins, because an altered planform changes tidal dynamics and associated residual sediment transport. The morphodynamic response time to land reclamation is long, impacting the system for decades to centuries. Other human interventions (e.g., deepening of fairways or port construction) will add more morphodynamic adaptation timescales. Our understanding of the cumulative effects of anthropogenic interference with estuaries is limited because observations usually do not cover the complete morphological adaptation period. We aim to assess the impact of land reclamation works and other human interventions on an estuarine system by means of digital reconstructions of historical morphologies of the Ems Estuary over the past 500 years. Our analysis demonstrates that the intertidal‐subtidal area ratio altered due to land reclamation works and that the ratio partly restored after land reclamation ended. The land reclamation works have led to the degeneration of an ebb and flood channel system, transitioning the estuary from a multichannel to a single channel system. We infer that the 20th‐century intensification of channel dredging and re‐alignment works accelerated rather than caused this development. The centennial‐scale observations show that the Ems estuary evolution corresponds to a land reclamation response following tidal asymmetry‐based stability theory as it moves toward a new equilibrium configuration with modified tidal flats and channels. Considering the long history of land reclamation in the Ems Estuary, it provides an analogy for expected developments in comparable tidal systems where land reclamations were recently carried out.

Abstract In rivers worldwide, multiple scales of dunes coexist. It is unknown how the larger, primary dunes interact with secondary bedforms that are superimposed. We test the hypothesis that streamwise variability in the sediment flux inferred from the downstream migration of secondary bedforms explains migration of the host dune, based on bathymetric data from a lowland, sand‐bedded river. Results indicate that transport estimated from secondary bedform migration increases along the host dune stoss, eroding the stoss slope. When the superimposed bedforms disintegrate at the primary lee slopes, results indicate that all sediment transport associated to secondary bedform migration is arrested in the lee of the host dune, explaining migration of the host dune. When secondary dunes persist however, only part of the sediments transport linked to secondary dunes contributes to the migration of the host dune. This study gives novel insight into the fundamental mechanisms controlling the kinematics of compound dunes.

A secondary scale of bedforms, superimposed on larger, primary dunes, has been observed in fluvial systems worldwide. This notwithstanding, very little is known about the morphological behavior and characteristics of this secondary scale. This study aims to better characterize and understand how two dune scales coexist in fluvial systems and how both scales adapt over time and space, considering their interdependence. The study is based on analysis of a large biweekly multibeam echo sounding dataset from the river Waal, a lowland sand-bedded river. Results reveal that the secondary dune scale is ubiquitous across space and time and not limited to specific flow or transport conditions. Whereas primary dunes lengthen during low flows, secondary dune height, lee slope angle, and length correlate with discharge. Secondary dune size and migration strongly depend on the primary dune lee slope angle and height. Secondary dunes can migrate over the lee slope of low-angled primary dunes, and their height is inversely correlated to the upstream primary dune height and lee slope angle. In the Waal river, a lateral variation in bed grain size, attributed to shipping, largely affects dune morphology. Primary dunes are lower and less often present in the southern lane, where grain sizes are smaller. Here, secondary bedforms are more developed. At peak discharge, secondary bedforms even become the dominant scale, whereas primary dunes entirely disappear but are re-established during lower flows.

Systematic identification and characterization of bedforms from bathymetric data are crucial in many studies of fluvial processes. Automated and accurate processing of bed elevation data is challenging where dune fields are complex or irregular and (especially) where multiple scales co-exist. Here, we introduce a new tool to quantify dune properties from bathymetric data representing large primary and smaller superimposed secondary dunes. A first step in the procedure is to decompose the bathymetric data using a LOESS algorithm. Steep lee-side slopes of primary dunes are preserved by implementing objective breaks in the algorithm, accounting for discontinuities in the bed elevation profiles at the toe of the lee-side slope. The steep lee slopes are then approximated by fitting a sigmoid function. Following the decomposition of the bathymetric data, bedforms are identified based on a zero crossing, and morphological properties are calculated. The approach to bedform decomposition presented herein is particularly applicable where secondary dunes are large and filtering using conventional continuously differentiable functions could thus easily lead to undesired smoothing of the primary morphology. Application of the tool to two bathymetric maps demonstrates that it successfully decomposes bathymetric data, identifies primary and secondary dunes, and preserves steeper lee-side slopes of primary dunes.

Abstract River deltas, where ocean tides can often freely propagate into the river, are focal points of human settlement. Beneath the delta surface, groundwater stored in the soil strata fluctuates with river tides, resulting in pressure variations within the soil strata. Here, we introduce a novel ultra‐weak fiber‐optic instrument to test the hypothesis that tide‐induced groundwater level variations induce periodic soil stratum deformation. Using borehole deployments ranging over 70 m in the subsurface of the Yangtze Delta, we observe semidiurnal and spring–neap cycles of soil stratum deformation and reveal its dependence on lithology and depth. This allows us to coin the new term “soil stratum tide,” defined as the periodic deformation of soil strata in response to pressure fluctuations induced by tides in open water. High‐accuracy monitoring of the breathing of tidal deltas enables calibrating Earth observation systems, analysis of delta subsidence, and safeguarding of infrastructure jeopardized by soil stratum deformation.

Knowledge of the processes governing salt intrusion in estuaries is important, since it influences the eco-environment of estuaries as well as its water resource potential in many ways. Analytical models of salinity variation offer a simple and efficient method for studying salt intrusion in estuaries. In this paper, an unsteady analytical solution is presented to predict the spatio-temporal variation in salinity in convergent estuaries. It is derived from a one-dimensional advection–diffusion equation for salinity, adopting a constant mixing coefficient and a single-frequency tidal wave, which can directly reflect the influence of the tidal motion and the interaction between the tide and runoff. The deduced analytical solution is illustrated with an application to the Humen estuary of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and proves to be an efficient and accurate approach for predicting the salt intrusion in convergent estuaries. The unsteady analytical solution is tested against observations from six study sites to validate its capability to predict intratidal variation in salt intrusion. The results show that the proposed unsteady analytical solution can be successfully used to reproduce the spatial distribution and temporal processes governing salinity dynamics in convergent, well-mixed estuaries. The proposed method provides a quick and convenient approach for deciding on water-fetching methods to make good use of water resources.

Abstract Deltas and estuaries worldwide face the challenge of capturing sufficient sediment to keep up with relative sea‐level rise. Knowledge about sediment pathways and fluxes is crucial to combat adverse effects on channel morphology, for example, erosion which enhances bank collapse and increasing tidal penetration. Here, we construct sediment budgets which quantify annual changes for the urbanized Rhine‐Meuse Delta of the Netherlands, a typical urban delta experiences changing fluvial and coastal fluxes of sediment, engineering works and dredging and dumping activities. The delta shows a negative sediment budget (more outgoing than incoming sediment) since the 1980s, due to anthropogenic intervention. Following a large offshore port expansion, dredging in ports and harbors in the region has doubled in the past 5 years, likely due to the induced change in net sediment fluxes. In addition, the deeper navigation channels, ports, and harbors are now trapping siltier sediment, changing the sediment composition in the mouth. The removal of sediment by dredging is adverse to the necessity for sediment in heavily eroding branches. To allow for sustainable sediment management in the future and to cope with sea‐level rise, further measurements are required to properly quantify the amount of incoming sediment at the boundaries of the system and the internal mechanisms of transport. The varied response of the branches has important consequences for navigation, ecology and flood safety and management of the sediment in the system. These effects will be of pivotal importance in coming decades with similar implications for many urbanized deltas worldwide.

Lowlands are vulnerable to flooding due to their mild topography in often densely populated areas with high social and economic value. Moreover, multiple physical processes coincide in lowland areas, such as those involved in river–sea interactions and in merging rivers at confluences. Simultaneous occurrence of such processes can result in amplifying or attenuating effects on water levels. Our aim is to understand the mechanisms behind simultaneous occurrence of discharge waves in a river and its lowland tributaries. Here, we introduce a new way of analyzing lowland discharge and water level dynamics, by tracing individual flood waves based on dynamic time warping. We take the confluence of the Meuse River (∼ 33 000 km2) with the joining tributaries of the Dommel and Aa rivers as an example, especially because the January 1995 flood at this confluence was the result of the simultaneous occurrence of discharge peaks in the main stream and the tributaries and because independent observations of water levels and discharge are available for a longer period. The analysis shows that the exact timing of the arrival of discharge peaks is of little relevance because of the long duration of the average discharge wave compared to typical time lags between peaks. The discharge waves last on average 9 days, whereas the lag time between discharge peaks in the main river and the tributaries is typically 3 days. This results in backwaters that can rise up to 1.5 m over a distance of 4 km from the confluence. Thus, local measures to reduce the impact of flooding around the confluence should account for the long duration of flood peaks in the main system.

Wetlands are important reservoirs of water, carbon and biodiversity. They are typical landscapes of lowland regions that have high potential for water retention. However, the hydrology of these wetlands in tropical regions is often studied in isolation from the processes taking place at the catchment scale. Our main objective is to study the hydrological dynamics of one of the largest tropical rainforest regions on an island using a combination of satellite remote sensing and novel observations from dedicated field campaigns. This contribution offers a comprehensive analysis of the hydrological dynamics of two neighbouring poorly gauged tropical basins; the Kapuas basin (98 700 km2) in West Kalimantan and the Mahakam basin (77 100 km2) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Both basins are characterised by vast areas of inland lowlands. Hereby, we put specific emphasis on key hydrological variables and indicators such as discharge and flood extent. The hydroclimatological data described herein were obtained during fieldwork campaigns carried out in the Kapuas over the period 2013–2015 and in the Mahakam over the period 2008–2010. Additionally, we used the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall estimates over the period 1998–2015 to analyse the distribution of rainfall and the influence of El-Niño – Southern Oscillation. Flood occurrence maps were obtained from the analysis of the Phase Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) images from 2007 to 2010. Drought events were derived from time series of simulated groundwater recharge using time series of TRMM rainfall estimates, potential evapotranspiration estimates and the threshold level approach. The Kapuas and the Mahakam lake regions are vast reservoirs of water of about 1000 and 1500 km2 that can store as much as 3 and 6.5 billion m3 of water, respectively. These storage capacity values can be doubled considering the area of flooding under vegetation cover. Discharge time series show that backwater effects are highly influential in the wetland regions, which can be partly explained by inundation dynamics shown by flood occurrence maps obtained from PALSAR images. In contrast to their nature as wetlands, both lowland areas have frequent periods with low soil moisture conditions and low groundwater recharge. The Mahakam wetland area regularly exhibits low groundwater recharge, which may lead to prolonged drought events that can last up to 13 months. It appears that the Mahakam lowland is more vulnerable to hydrological drought, leading to more frequent fire occurrences than in the Kapuas basin.

With the aim to establish and understand morphological changes in response to channel reconstruction, a detailed monitoring plan was implemented in a lowland stream called Lunterse Beek, located in the Netherlands. Over a period of almost 2 years, the monitoring programme included serial morphological surveys, continuous discharge and water level measurements, and riparian vegetation mapping, from photographs and field surveys. Morphological processes occurred mainly in the initial period, before riparian vegetation developed. The initial period was largely dominated by upstream sediment supply, which was associated with channel incision upstream from the study area. Herbaceous vegetation started to develop approximately 7 months after channel reconstruction. The monitoring period included two growing seasons. A clear increase of riparian vegetation cover from first to the second year was observed. Detailed morphological and hydrological data show a marked difference in morphological behaviour between the pre-vegetation and post-vegetation stage. A linear regression procedure was applied to relate morphological activity to time-averaged Shields stress. In the initial stage after channel reconstruction, with negligible riparian vegetation, channel morphology adjusted, showing only a weak response to the discharge hydrograph. In the subsequent period, morphological activity in the channel showed a clear relation with discharge variation. The two stages of morphological response to the restoration measures may be largely associated with the upstream sediment supply in the initial period. Riparian vegetation may have played a substantial role in stabilizing the channel banks and floodplain area, gradually restricting the morphological adjustments to the channel bed.

Forest clearing for reasons of timber production, open pit mining and the establishment of oil palm plantations generally results in excessively high sediment loads in tropical rivers. The increasing sediment loads pose a threat to coastal marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs. This study presents observations of suspended sediment loads in the Berau River (Kalimantan, Indonesia), which debouches into a coastal ocean that is a preeminent center of coral diversity. The Berau River is relatively small and drains a mountainous, still relatively pristine basin that receives abundant rainfall. In the tidal zone of the Berau River, flow velocity was measured over a large part of the river width using a horizontal acoustic Doppler current profiler (HADCP). Surrogate measurements of suspended sediment concentration were taken with an optical backscatter sensor (OBS). Averaged over the 6.5 weeks covered by the benchmark survey period, the suspended sediment load was estimated at 2 Mt yr−1. Based on rainfall-runoff modeling though, the river discharge peak during the survey was supposed to be moderate and the yearly averaged suspended sediment load is most likely somewhat higher than 2 Mt yr−1. The consequences of ongoing clearing of rainforest were explored using a plot-scale erosion model. When rainforest, which still covered 50–60% of the basin in 2007, is converted to production land, soil loss is expected to increase with a factor between 10 and 100. If this soil loss is transported seaward as suspended sediment, the increase in suspended sediment load in the Berau River would impose a severe stress on this global hotspot of coral reef diversity.

Floodplain lakes and peatlands in the middle Mahakam lowland area are considered as ecologically important wetland in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. However, due to a lack of data, the hydrological functioning of the region is still poorly understood. Among remote sensing techniques that can increase data availability, radar is well-suitable for the identification, mapping, and measurement of tropical wetlands, for its cloud unimpeded sensing and night and day operation. Here we aim to extract flood extent and flood occurrence information from a series of radar images of the middle Mahakam lowland area. We explore the use of Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) imagery for observing flood inundation dynamics by incorporating field water level measurements. Water level measurements were carried out along the river, in lakes and in peatlands, using pressure transducers. For validation of the open water flood occurrence map, bathymetry measurements were carried out in the main lakes. A series of PALSAR images covering the middle and lower Mahakam area in the years 2007 through 2010 were collected. A fully inundated region can be easily recognized on radar images from a dark signature. Open water flood occurrence was mapped using a threshold value taken from radar backscatter of the permanently inundated river and lakes areas. Radar backscatter intensity analysis of the vegetated floodplain area revealed consistently high backscatter values, indicating flood inundation under forest canopy. We used those values as the threshold for flood occurrence mapping in the vegetated area.

Variable effects of backwaters complicate the development of rating curves at hydrometric measurement stations. In areas influenced by backwater, single-parameter rating curve techniques are often inapplicable. To overcome this, several authors have advocated the use of an additional downstream level gauge to estimate the longitudinal surface level gradient, but this is cumbersome in a lowland meandering river with considerable transverse surface level gradients. Recent developments allow river flow to be continuously monitored through velocity measurements with an acoustic Doppler current profiler (H-ADCP), deployed horizontally at a river bank. This approach was adopted to obtain continuous discharge estimates at a cross-section in the River Mahakam at a station located about 300 km upstream of the river mouth in the Mahakam delta. The discharge station represents an area influenced by variable backwater effects from lakes, tributaries and floodplain ponds, and by tides. We applied both the standard index velocity method and a recently developed methodology to obtain a continuous time-series of discharge from the H-ADCP data. Measurements with a boat-mounted ADCP were used for calibration and validation of the model to translate H-ADCP velocity to discharge. As a comparison with conventional discharge estimation techniques, a stage-discharge relation using Jones formula was developed. The discharge rate at the station exceeded 3250 m3 s−1. Discharge series from a traditional stage-discharge relation did not capture the overall discharge dynamics, as inferred from H-ADCP data. For a specific river stage, the discharge range could be as high as 2000 m3 s−1, which is far beyond what could be explained from kinematic wave dynamics. Backwater effects from lakes were shown to be significant, whereas interaction of the river flow with tides may impact discharge variation in the fortnightly frequency band. Fortnightly tides cannot easily be isolated from river discharge variation, which features similar periodicities.

Abstract Recent research highlights the abundance of floccule (flocs) in rivers, formed by aggregation of clay particles with organic matter. These flocs affect the transport and the eventual fate of clay. Flocs exhibit distinct behaviour from the unflocculated sedimentary counterparts: they can deform and break, and have higher settling velocities, which may in turn cause flocs to deposit and possibly interact with the riverbed. Here, we conducted systematic experiments in a laboratory flume to identify the mechanisms by which flocs and bedforms interact. Flocs showed a saltating (bouncing) behaviour, and were incorporated in the sediment bed as single flocs, clusters, or strings, via deposition and burial in the lee of a dune. Dune geometry was negligibly impacted by the presence of flocs. In natural systems, the burial of flocculated clay particles can affect contaminant spreading, aquatic ecology, the interpretation of deposition patterns, and clay transport.