The diversion of fresh water and sediments from the Mississippi River to the Atchafalaya River is developing a new delta on the south-central Louisiana coast. The building of this new wetland area has prompted scientific interest in predicting delta evolution. This study reports the analytical prediction of future delta growth based on the theory of turbulent jets that issue from river outlets and discharge into quiescent bays. An integrated form of the hydrodynamics equations of flow continuity and momentum balance, coupled with the advection-diffusion mass transport equation, have been formulated into a two-dimensional spatial domain. Closed-form analytical solutions are obtained with the aid of similarity functions for the velocity and sediment concentration profiles, A numerical procedure for estimating the area and volume of deposition of the delta sediments is presented. The results show that the deposited sediment forms a saddle-shaped bottom, Rapid accumulation of suspended sediment near the river outlet and an abrupt decline of sediment deposition away from the outlet are observed. It is concluded that the riverine inflow has a significant influence of sediment deposition within a short longitudinal distance, and that beyond that distance the riverine inflow is insignificant. The analytical predictions are compared with the predictions made by other statistical and generic approaches; an agreement is found. A sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the relative importance of various parameters in the river-bay-delta system.
The Atchafalaya River Delta. Report 7: Analytical Analysis of the Development of the Atchafalaya River Delta
Technical Report ; HL-82-15 rept. 7
1985
3594778
Report
Electronic Resource
English
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