Hydrology of some tidal channels in estuarine marshland near San Francisco

Leopold, Luna Bergere; Collins, Joshua N.; Collins, Larry

doi:10.1016/0341-8162(93)90043-o

Cited by 62 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…As observed by BaylissSmith et al (1979), Leopold et al (1993), Myrick and Leopold (1963), Healey et al (1981) and Green et al (1986), the two velocity peaks are not identical and occur at different water stages, producing the characteristic velocity asymmetry. This velocity asymmetry is a direct consequence of over-marsh flow, with a flood peak occurring for water elevation higher than the marsh surface and ebb peak for water depths below bankfull (BaylissSmith et al, 1979;Healey et al, 1981;Green et al, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…These limited data suggest that the creek is probably ebb-dominated, partly confirming the results obtained from the planimetric data. Ebb-dominated channels were also reported in San Francisco Bay by Leopold et al (1993) and Pestrong (1965). In this study, we are applying an evolution model based on theoretical results valid for rivers.…”

Section: Location Of Bank Erosion In Tidal Channelsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…Moreover, differential resistance coefficients for the channel and over-marsh portions of the flow attenuate the transient above-bankfull stage (French and Stoddart, 1992) favouring a shorter slack near high water and ebb dominance (Friedrichs and Perry, 2001). Often the ebb velocity exceeds the flood velocity (BaylissSmith et al, 1979;Leopold et al, 1993;Myrick and Leopold, 1963;Healey et al, 1981;Green et al, 1986), but this is not a strict rule, since several tidal channels are flood-dominated particularly when the corresponding marsh areas are limited (Ayles and Lapointe, 1996). In other cases peak flooding currents are, on average, stronger than ebb currents, but with peak ebb velocities maintained for a longer period of time (Leonard et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

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The effect of bidirectional flow on tidal channel planforms

Fagherazzi¹,

Gabet²,

Furbish³

2004

Earth Surf Processes Landf

114

104

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Salt marsh tidal channels are highly sinuous. For this project, field surveys and aerial photographs were used to characterize the planform of tidal channels at China Camp Marsh in the San Francisco Bay, California. To model the planform evolution, we assume that the topographic curvature of the channel centreline is a key element driving meander migration. Extraction of curvature data from a planimetric survey, however, presents certain problems because simple calculations based on equally distanced points on the channel axis produce numerical noise that pollutes the final curvature data. We found that a spline interpolation and a polynomial fit to the survey data provided us with a robust means of calculating channel curvature. The curvature calculations, combined with data from numerous cross-sections along the tidal channel, were used to parameterize a computer model. With this model, based on recent theoretical work, the relationship between planform shape and meander migration as well as the consequences of bidirectional flow on planform evolution have been investigated. Bank failure in vegetated salt marsh channels is characterized by slump blocks that persist in the channel for several years. It is therefore possible to identify reaches of active bank erosion and test model predictions. Our results suggest that the geometry and evolution of meanders at China Camp Marsh, California, reflect the ebb-dominated regime.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Location Of Bank Erosion In Tidal Channelsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The effect of bidirectional flow on tidal channel planforms

Fagherazzi¹,

Gabet²,

Furbish³

2004

Earth Surf Processes Landf

114

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In tidal networks one faces the challenge of the interaction of ebb and flood flows in shaping the morphology of the network, and thus we wonder whether watershed areas have as strong a morphodynamic meaning. In particular, the relationship between channel width and basin area is likely to be strongly affected by the very rapid along-stream changes typical of tidal estuaries [Leopold et al, 1984[Leopold et al, , 1993Myrick and Leopold, 1963] and by the complex dynamics of water storage exchange with the marsh and tidal flats.…”

Section: Scale Dependence and Scale Invariance In Tidal Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tidal networks: 2. Watershed delineation and comparative network morphology

Rinaldo¹,

Fagherazzi²,

Lanzoni³

et al. 1999

Water Resources Research

194

285

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Abstract. Through the new method for automatic extraction of a tidal network from topographic or bathymetric fields described in a companion paper [Fagherazzi et al., this issue], we analyze the morphology of aggregated patterns that we observe in nature in different tidal environments. Specifically, we define, on the basis of a hydrodynamic analysis, a procedure for watershed delineation and for the identification of the "divides" for every subnetwork and look at the resulting drainage density and its related scaling properties. From the systematic, large-scale plots of drainage density and channel width versus watershed area we address the issue of a possible geomorphic criterion that corresponds to the parts of the tidal landscape that are characterized by river-like features. We also analyze the relationship of total contributing tidal basin area to channel widths and to mainstream lengths (Hack's law). We study comparatively probability distributions of total drainage areas and of "botanical" mass (the area of the channelized landscape upstream of a given section) for tidal and fluvial patterns and find altered scaling features of tidal landforms that reflect the complex interactions of different mechanisms that shape their geometry. Simple geomorphic relationships of the types observed in the fluvial basin (e.g., power laws in the watershed area versus drainage density, mainstream length, or channel width relationships) do not hold throughout the range of scales investigated and are site-specific. We conclude that tidal networks unlike rivers exhibit great diversity in their geometrical and topological forms. This diversity is suggested to stem from the pronounced spatial gradients of landscape-forming flow rates and from the imprinting of several crossovers from competing dynamic processes. IntroductionIn this paper, the second in a series of three, we quantify various tidal network properties including common power law relationships which have been well documented for terrestrial river systems [Rodriguez-Iturbe and Rinaldo, 1997]. Our goals here are both to explore tidal channel scaling properties and to infer, based on scaling breaks, possible changes in dominant formative process through a network. We anticipate that spatial variation in the dominance of ebb versus flood tides and in erosional resistance associated with vegetation and sediment texture could give rise to limited scaling compared to that found in terrestrial systems (where single power law relationships typically apply across many orders of magnitude). Hence we propose to apply common power law relationships quantified for terrestrial systems to tidal systems and use these analyses to identify possible geomorphic "signatures" of dominant processes. In order to perform morphometric analysis of tidal networks, we need an objective procedure for delineating the drainage area to any link. Here we first introduce a new method, based on flow hydrodynamics, for delineating drainage directions and contributing areas throughout the tidal network...

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“…Previous observations of tidal channels have focused on flows in marshes (Bayliss-Smith et al, 1979, Healey et al 1981, Leopold et al 1993Fagherazzi et al, 2008), geomorphology (Bridges and Leeder 1976, Fagherazzi and Furbis 2001, Fagherazzi and Sun 2004, and many others), internal waves , tidal constituents (Blanton et al 2002), stratification Stacey 2005a,b, 2006), and turbulence Stacey 2005a,b, 2006). Numerical models suggest that flows in larger channels are stronger than the flows across the flats (Fagherazzi et al 2003, D'Alpaos et al 2006, resulting in complicated 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 3 patterns of circulation and channel-flat exchanges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%