Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure
Abstract Short-term bed-level dynamics has been identified as one of the main factors affecting biota establishment or retreat on tidal flats. However, due to a lack of proper instruments and intensive labour involved, the pattern and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics are largely unexplored in a s...
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doaj-c3e0a76151ab4611b12a85059ea926db2020-12-08T00:51:25ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222017-08-01711910.1038/s41598-017-07515-yPatterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposureZhan Hu0Peng Yao1Daphne van der Wal2Tjeerd J. Bouma3Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Marine Science, Sun Yat-sen UniversityInstitute of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Marine Science, Sun Yat-sen UniversityRoyal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)Abstract Short-term bed-level dynamics has been identified as one of the main factors affecting biota establishment or retreat on tidal flats. However, due to a lack of proper instruments and intensive labour involved, the pattern and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics are largely unexplored in a spatiotemporal context. In this study, 12 newly-developed automatic bed-level sensors were deployed for nearly 15 months on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure, proving an unique dataset of daily bed-level changes and hydrodynamic forcing. By analysing the data, we show that (1) a general steepening trend exists on both tidal flats, even with contrasting wave exposure and different bed sediment grain size; (2) daily morphodynamics level increases towards the sea; (3) tidal forcing sets the general morphological evolution pattern at both sites; (4) wave forcing induces short-term bed-level fluctuations at the wave-exposed site, but similar effect is not seen at the sheltered site with smaller waves; (5) storms provoke aggravated erosion, but the impact is conditioned by tidal levels. This study provides insights in the pattern and drivers of daily intertidal bed-level dynamics, thereby setting a template for future high-resolution field monitoring programmes and inviting in-depth morphodynamic modelling for improved understanding and predictive capability.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07515-y |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Zhan Hu Peng Yao Daphne van der Wal Tjeerd J. Bouma |
spellingShingle |
Zhan Hu Peng Yao Daphne van der Wal Tjeerd J. Bouma Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure Scientific Reports |
author_facet |
Zhan Hu Peng Yao Daphne van der Wal Tjeerd J. Bouma |
author_sort |
Zhan Hu |
title |
Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
title_short |
Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
title_full |
Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
title_fullStr |
Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
title_full_unstemmed |
Patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
title_sort |
patterns and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
series |
Scientific Reports |
issn |
2045-2322 |
publishDate |
2017-08-01 |
description |
Abstract Short-term bed-level dynamics has been identified as one of the main factors affecting biota establishment or retreat on tidal flats. However, due to a lack of proper instruments and intensive labour involved, the pattern and drivers of daily bed-level dynamics are largely unexplored in a spatiotemporal context. In this study, 12 newly-developed automatic bed-level sensors were deployed for nearly 15 months on two tidal flats with contrasting wave exposure, proving an unique dataset of daily bed-level changes and hydrodynamic forcing. By analysing the data, we show that (1) a general steepening trend exists on both tidal flats, even with contrasting wave exposure and different bed sediment grain size; (2) daily morphodynamics level increases towards the sea; (3) tidal forcing sets the general morphological evolution pattern at both sites; (4) wave forcing induces short-term bed-level fluctuations at the wave-exposed site, but similar effect is not seen at the sheltered site with smaller waves; (5) storms provoke aggravated erosion, but the impact is conditioned by tidal levels. This study provides insights in the pattern and drivers of daily intertidal bed-level dynamics, thereby setting a template for future high-resolution field monitoring programmes and inviting in-depth morphodynamic modelling for improved understanding and predictive capability. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07515-y |
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