Sediment transport pathways in Burrard Inlet

Sediment transport pathways in Burrard Inlet

Meijers, Carlijn (TU Delft Civil Engineering & Geosciences)

Wang, Zhengbing (mentor)
Pearson, S.G. (mentor)
van Prooijen, Bram (mentor)
Elias, Edwin P.L. (mentor)

Delft University of Technology

Civil Engineering | Hydraulic Engineering | Coastal Engineering

2021

Burrard Inlet (Vancouver, Canada) has been the home of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) for thousands of years. Over the past decades, ongoing erosion has been observed along the shores of Burrard Inlet and the TWN reserve specifically. This leads to loss of land for the TWN community, damage to infrastructure, and exposure of historic sites with cultural value. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge concerning both the governing processes for sediment transport and transport pathways into, within, and out of Burrard Inlet. This knowledge is needed to propose and evaluate effective measures to prevent further erosion. This study aims to investigate the transport pathways in Burrard Inlet and give more insight into the mechanisms governing sediment transport in this inlet.

For this purpose, a Delft3D FM model of the area is set up and calibrated. This model is used to analyze sediment transport in the inlet under various forcing conditions. Transport pathways are visualized using SedTRAILS.

The model shows that flows and sediment transport in Burrard Inlet are tide-dominated and governed by the topography. Flows are strongly accelerated in constricted areas (First Narrows and Second Narrows), which leads to large velocity differences. Following the velocity field, sediment transport patterns are correspondingly dominated by these topographical restrictions. In the wider basins, flows slow down and form eddies. The model results suggest that these eddies act as sediment sinks. Additionally, sediment is lost into Indian Arm, a deep fjord with low flow velocities at the eastern end of Burrard Inlet. The possible pathways for sediment originating from the eroding shorelines at the TWN reserve are visualized. As soon as sediment from these banks is mobilized, it tends to move away from the shore with a final destination either in one of the eddies or in Indian Arm. The impact of wind and waves on the sediment transport patterns is limited.

Since first European contact in 1792, the shoreline of Burrard Inlet has changed significantly due to dredging activities, land developments, and industrial development as the city of Vancouver was built. Reconstructed historic shorelines are implemented in the model to assess the consequences of these shoreline changes on the sediment transport. Model results show that the tidal prism and the velocities in the Narrows have decreased since 1792, while the tidal range has increased. Moreover, sediment mobilized along the eroding shorelines showed greater potential for deposition along these same shores in 1792, compared to the present-day situation.

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Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Carlijn Meijers