Cohesive Sediment Transport. I: Process Description

Abstract

Physical processes constituting fine, cohesive sediment transport in estuarial waters are described. These processes, which include settling and depo- sition, consolidation, erosion and transport in suspension, are typically interlinked by the cyclic nature of the tide dominated environment. Complexities in process characterization arise as a consequence of the dual dependence of sediment ag- gregate properties on the physico-chemical properties of the sediment-water mix- ture as well as the turbulent flow field. Present day knowledge of the processes enables reliable predictions of rates of sedimentation and erosion in navigable chan- nels, waterways and harbors through numerical modeling. Further research is re- quired for improving procedures for measuring settling velocities, identification of depth at which a definable bed is encountered, and the behavior of near-bed high density suspensions.