Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sediment Delivery To A Tidal Marsh Platform Is Minimized By Source Decoupling And Flux Convergence, Daniel J. Coleman, Neil K. Ganju, Matthew L. Kirwan

VIMS Articles

Sediment supply is a primary factor in determining marsh response to sea level rise and is typically approximated through high‐resolution measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) from adjacent tidal channels. However, understanding sediment transport across the marsh itself remains limited by discontinuous measurements of SSC over individual tidal cycles. Here, we use an array of optical turbidity sensors to build a long‐term, continuous record of SSC across a marsh platform and adjacent tidal channel. We find that channel and marsh concentrations are correlated (i.e., coupled) within tidal cycles but are largely decoupled over longer time scales. We also find that …