Observations Of Suspended Particle Size Distribution On An Energetic Ebb-Tidal Delta

Sustainable management of barrier islands and tidal inlet systems requires a knowledge of sediment transport pathways throughout the system. This paper places in situ suspended sediment observations (obtained using a LISST) in context with seabed sediment samples and hydrodynamic measurements to identify such pathways. The results indicate two distinct populations of sediment in suspension on the ebb-tidal delta: locally resuspended fine sand and (largely flocculated) mud exported from the Wadden Sea on ebb tide. This reinforces the notion of the strong dependence of sediment pathways on particle size. Future work will combine additional lines of evidence to better distinguish suspended sand from sand-sized flocs and provide a more robust definition of these pathways.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Coastal EngineeringEnvironmental Fluid Mechanic