Sediment transport in a surface-advected estuarine plume.

The interplay between suspended-sediment transport and plume hydrodynamics in a surface-advected estuarine plume is studied using a three-dimensional numerical model. Our analysis focuses on the formation of a sediment-rich alongshore current and on the effect of sediments on the structure of the recirculating freshwater bulge. We introduce the ratio Y between the traveling time of sediment along the bulge edge and the settling timescale. When Y <1, suspended sediments enter the alongshore coastal current. When Y >1 the sediments are deposited within the bulge. We find that a critical range of settling velocities exist above which no transport in the costal current is allowed. Critical settling-velocity values increase with river discharge. Therefore, low magnitude and long-lasting floods promote sediment sorting in the continental shelf. We further find that, for a given flood duration, intermediate flood magnitudes at the limit between subcritical and supercritical flow maximize the alongshore sediment transport. Similarly, for a fixed input of water and sediments, intermediate discharge durations maximize alongshore sediment transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]