Validation of modelled intertidal flat bed sediment transport using asimple tracer method
Cronin, K.; Devoy, R.J.D.; Montserrat, F. (2011). Validation of modelled intertidal flat bed sediment transport using asimple tracer method. J. Coast. Res. 1: 741-745
In: Journal of Coastal Research. Coastal Education and Research Foundation: Fort Lauderdale. ISSN 0749-0208; e-ISSN 1551-5036, more
Cronin, K., Devoy, R.J.D., and Montserrat, F., 2011. Validation of modelled intertidal flat bed sediment transport using a simple tracer method. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 64 (Proceedings of the 11th International Coastal Symposium), 741 - 745. Szczecin, Poland, ISSN 0749-0208 On short timescales of days to weeks, sediment transport in coastal and estuarine environments may be investigated using a tracer technique. This paper describes a set of experiments using fluorescent tracer particles on the intertidal sand flats of the Argideen Estuary, south coast of Ireland, to examine the use of a fluorescent tracer to determine sediment transport patterns as part of a validation dataset for a morphological model. The spatial and temporal limits of this methodology were also assessed. Fluorescent tracer particles were mixed with sand taken from the site and moulded into 0.3 m by 0.3 m plates, deployed at different locations on the sand flats, at different times of the year. A lagrangian sampling approach was used to assess the direction and to estimate the magnitude of tracer transport. A series of short cores were taken over a gridded network of points around each plate, at different time intervals after each deployment. The number of tracer particles found in each core was semi-quantified. Several experiments were carried out throughout the estuary to test the method and it is shown that it was useful to both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively determine the dominant direction of sediment transport at each location. Tracer patterns are clear and consistent enough between the experiments to justify the determination of the sediment transport pathways and therefore provided a useful method of validating the sediment transport pathways simulated with the model.
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