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Long-term measurements of near-bottom currents and suspended sediment concentration on the outer Texas-Louisiana continental shelf

1988; Elsevier BV; Volume: 8; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0278-4343(88)90022-2

1873-6955

Fern B. Halper, David W. McGrail,

Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics

Abstract Long-term measurements of near-bottom current velocity, water temperature and transmissivity were collected on the outer Texas-Louisiana shelf, near the shelf-edge, during the spring-summer of 1980 and the winter of 1980–1981. The sediments on this part of the shelf consist primarily of silt and clay and a bottom nepheloid layer is well developed. The winter deployment coincided with the passage of seven northers and Hurricane Jeanne. The spring-summer deployment was relatively quiet in comparison. The observations show that current direction is strongly related to changes in suspended sediment concentration. Flow to the south corresponds to increases in suspended matter concentration, flow to the north corresponds to decreases in suspended sediment concentration, suggesting that suspended sediment concentration is modulated primarily by advective processes. The passage of the northers did not cause an increase in current speed or suspended sediment concentration. However, oscillations that propagate through the area during the winter are important in modulating suspended sediment concentration.