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

Related authors

Estuarine morphodynamics and development modified by floodplain formation
Maarten G. Kleinhans, Lonneke Roelofs, Steven A. H. Weisscher, Ivar R. Lokhorst, and Lisanne Braat
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 367–381, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-367-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-367-2022, 2022
Short summary
Dynamics of salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta: results of field observations and integrated coastal–inland modelling
Sepehr Eslami, Piet Hoekstra, Herman W. J. Kernkamp, Nam Nguyen Trung, Dung Do Duc, Hung Nguyen Nghia, Tho Tran Quang, Arthur van Dam, Stephen E. Darby, Daniel R. Parsons, Grigorios Vasilopoulos, Lisanne Braat, and Maarten van der Vegt
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 953–976, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-953-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-953-2021, 2021
Short summary
Morphological effects of vegetation on the tidal–fluvial transition in Holocene estuaries
Ivar R. Lokhorst, Lisanne Braat, Jasper R. F. W. Leuven, Anne W. Baar, Mijke van Oorschot, Sanja Selaković, and Maarten G. Kleinhans
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 883–901, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-883-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-883-2018, 2018
Short summary
Turning the tide: comparison of tidal flow by periodic sea level fluctuation and by periodic bed tilting in scaled landscape experiments of estuaries
Maarten G. Kleinhans, Maarten van der Vegt, Jasper Leuven, Lisanne Braat, Henk Markies, Arjan Simmelink, Chris Roosendaal, Arjan van Eijk, Paul Vrijbergen, and Marcel van Maarseveen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 731–756, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-731-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-731-2017, 2017
Short summary

Related subject area

Physical: Geomorphology (including all aspects of fluvial, coastal, aeolian, hillslope and glacial geomorphology)
Haloturbation in the northern Atacama Desert revealed by a hidden subsurface network of calcium sulfate wedges
Aline Zinelabedin, Joel Mohren, Maria Wierzbicka-Wieczorek, Tibor Janos Dunai, Stefan Heinze, and Benedikt Ritter
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 257–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025, 2025
Short summary
An evaluation of flow-routing algorithms for calculating contributing area on regular grids
Alexander B. Prescott, Jon D. Pelletier, Satya Chataut, and Sriram Ananthanarayan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 239–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025, 2025
Short summary
Geometric constraints on tributary fluvial network junction angles
Jon D. Pelletier, Robert G. Hayes, Olivia Hoch, Brendan Fenerty, and Luke A. McGuire
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 219–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Automatic detection of floating instream large wood in videos using deep learning
Janbert Aarnink, Tom Beucler, Marceline Vuaridel, and Virginia Ruiz-Villanueva
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 167–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025, 2025
Short summary
Investigating uncertainty and parameter sensitivity in bedform analysis by using a Monte Carlo approach
Julius Reich and Axel Winterscheid
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 191–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Ahnert, F.: Estuarine meanders in the Chesapeake Bay area, Geogr. Rev., 50, 390–401, 1960.
Baas, J., Jago, C., Macklin, M., and CCCR Team: The river-estuarine transition zone (RETZ) of the Afon Dyfi (West Wales) as test bed for sediment transfer between river catchments and coastal environments, BSRG 2008, 14–17 December, Liverpool, 2008.
Bertin, X., Fortunato, A., and Oliveira, A.: A modeling-based analysis of processes driving wave-dominated inlets, Cont. Shelf Res., 29, 819–834, 2009.
Boyd, R., Dalrymple, R., and Zaitlin, B.: Classification of clastic coastal depositional environments, Sediment. Geol., 80, 139–150, 1992.
Brown, J. and Davies, A.: Methods for medium-term prediction of the net sediment transport by waves and currents in complex coastal regions, Cont. Shelf Res., 29, 1502–1514, 2009.
Download
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.
Share