The relative contributions of waves and tidal currents to marine sediment transport

Soulsby, R.L. (1987) The relative contributions of waves and tidal currents to marine sediment transport. Technical Report. Hydraulics Research Wallingford.

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Abstract

In many tidal sea areas the long-term mean sediment transport is the resultant of a wide range of different combinations of save and tidal current conditions occurring during the course of a year, from calm conditions during neap tides to extreme events of major storms coupled with Spring tides. It is shown, using wave and current data from the North Sea, that the most important contributions to the long-term transport are made by fairly large but not too infrequent waves, combined with tidal currents lying between the mean neap and spring maxima. Weak currents and low waves make small contributions because, although they occur very frequently, their potential for sediment transport is small. Equally the most extreme events do not make large contributions because, although they have a large potential for sediment transport, they occur too infrequently. As the wave climate becomes effectively weaker, due for example to increasing the water depth, the important events shift to smaller save-heights and larger currents.

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