Effects of Mud Supply and Hydrodynamic Conditions on the Sedimentary Distribution of Estuaries: Insights from Sediment Dynamic Numerical Simulation

Estuaries are important sediment facies in the fluvial-to-marine transition zone, strongly controlled by dynamic interactions of tides, waves, and fluvial flows, show various changes depositional processes distribution. Deep investigations on sand component estuaries have been conducted; however, understanding how mud supply affects estuaries’ sedimentary characteristics morphology is still vague. Herein, effects concentration, transport properties, discharge, tidal amplitude an estuary were systematically analyzed using numerical simulation. The results that concentration has significant channels estuaries, which become more braided with a lower straighter, reduced channel migration, higher concentration. namely, setting velocity, critical bed shear stress for sedimentation, erosion, mostly affect ratio between length width (RLW) bar; sheet-like bar RLW value develops settling while there obvious strip shaped bars high velocity case. Moreover, hydrodynamic conditions distribution changing amplitudes discharges. often accompanied stronger energy, induces seaward progradation, discharge usually yields deposition rate greater thickness. From above simulations, statistical interlayers further obtained, good agreement modern characteristics. This study suggests simulation can provide insights into efficient quantitative method analyzing components estuaries.