How does the tide impact the long thin line?
Answers
Explanation:
A calibrated suspended sediment transport model has been setup to simulate suspended sediment dynamics in the Ems Estuary. This model suggests that the observed increase in the suspended sediment concentration can be mainly related to the increase in up-estuary transport of sediment due to estuarine circulation caused by deepening of tidal channels. It is also possible that the large-scale reclamation of intertidal areas increased the suspended sediment concentrations in the past centuries. Discontinuing the large-scale sediment extraction from the port of Emden produced an additional pronounced increase in SSC because the imported sediment was not further removed from the system. The effect of the ports themselves, including dredging and dumping, is lower than deepening and consequent extraction. Compared to an estuary without ports, the sediment concentration in the present-day estuary is higher near disposal sites, but lower elsewhere in the estuary (because the ports act as sinks). The Ems estuary provides an example of a heavily impacted estuary for which a relatively large amount of data is available, but may be representative for many estuaries worldwide.