Print Email Facebook Twitter A 2-D process-based model for suspended sediment dynamics Title A 2-D process-based model for suspended sediment dynamics: A first step towards ecological modeling Author Minikowski Achete, F. (IHE Delft Institute for Water Education) van der Wegen, M. (IHE Delft Institute for Water Education; Deltares) Roelvink, D. (TU Delft Coastal Engineering; IHE Delft Institute for Water Education; Deltares) Jaffe, BE (Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center) Date 2015-06-19 Abstract In estuaries suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is one of the most important contributors to turbidity, which influences habitat conditions and ecological functions of the system. Sediment dynamics differs depending on sediment supply and hydrodynamic forcing conditions that vary over space and over time. A robust sediment transport model is a first step in developing a chain of models enabling simulations of contaminants, phytoplankton and habitat conditions. This works aims to determine turbidity levels in the complex-geometry delta of the San Francisco estuary using a process-based approach (Delft3D Flexible Mesh software). Our approach includes a detailed calibration against measured SSC levels, a sensitivity analysis on model parameters and the determination of a yearly sediment budget as well as an assessment of model results in terms of turbidity levels for a single year, water year (WY) 2011. Model results show that our process-based approach is a valuable tool in assessing sediment dynamics and their related ecological parameters over a range of spatial and temporal scales. The model may act as the base model for a chain of ecological models assessing the impact of climate change and management scenarios. Here we present a modeling approach that, with limited data, produces reliable predictions and can be useful for estuaries without a large amount of processes data. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:212ba25f-762d-4f52-96d8-2f913bf137e1 DOI https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2837-2015 ISSN 1027-5606 Source Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 19 (6), 2837-2857 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2015 F. Minikowski Achete, M. van der Wegen, D. Roelvink, BE Jaffe Files PDF hess_19_2837_2015.pdf 7.5 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:212ba25f-762d-4f52-96d8-2f913bf137e1/datastream/OBJ/view