Articles | Volume 5, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-617-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-617-2017
Research article
 | 
09 Oct 2017
Research article |  | 09 Oct 2017

Effects of mud supply on large-scale estuary morphology and development over centuries to millennia

Lisanne Braat, Thijs van Kessel, Jasper R. F. W. Leuven, and Maarten G. Kleinhans

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Interactive discussion

Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision
AR by Lisanne Braat on behalf of the Authors (03 Jul 2017)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (08 Jul 2017) by Eric Lajeunesse
RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (23 Jul 2017)
ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by Editor) (26 Jul 2017) by Eric Lajeunesse
AR by Lisanne Braat on behalf of the Authors (10 Aug 2017)  Author's response   Manuscript 
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (30 Aug 2017) by Eric Lajeunesse
ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (31 Aug 2017) by Tom Coulthard (Editor)
AR by Lisanne Braat on behalf of the Authors (05 Sep 2017)  Manuscript 
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Short summary
Mud raises concern in the short-term management of estuaries, but it is not known whether cohesive mud affects the long-term development of estuaries. We discovered that a small supply of mud from the river confines the estuary by forming stable mudflats on the sides in centuries, whereas estuaries with only sand continue to grow. Mudflats also reduce the shifting of channels and bars. This implies that changes in mud supply in estuaries may have led to changes in shape and dynamics in the past.