A study of sediment transport in a shallow estuary using MODIS imagery and particle tracking simulation |
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| Authors: | Haihong Zhao Nan D. Walker Quanan Zheng Hugh L. MacIntyre |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA;2. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences , Coastal Studies Institute Earth Scan Laboratory, Louisiana State University , Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA;3. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science , The University of Maryland , College Park, MD, 20742-2425, USA;4. Dauphin Island Sea Lab , Dauphin Island, AL, 36528, USA |
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| Abstract: | The study utilized the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) red-channel reflectance with a spatial resolution of 250 m to estimate suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the Mobile Bay estuary, Alabama. Based on monthly in situ sampling, a new algorithm was developed using an exponential regression model. The concentration of inorganic suspended sediments (ISS) in Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound was concerned and mapped by applying the new algorithm. The ISS maps during a cold front passage have revealed how the resuspension and transport of sediments respond to the variable wind forcing in this micro-tidal system. Particle tracking based on a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was utilized to explain what was observed from the satellite imagery. It has been found that the rapid disappearance of the surface ISS after a cold front passage was mainly caused by settling of sediments rather than flushing out of the estuary. The study demonstrates that a combination of ISS mapped from the MODIS band-1 reflectance and three-dimensional numerical modelling is an effective tool to analyse sediment dynamics in the Mobile Bay estuary and other similar estuaries. |
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