This thesis integrates existing work on surface accretion rates with more recent advances in the understanding of creek hydrodynamics. Concepts drawn from various disciplines are formulated into a revised framework within which marsh sedimentation may be better understood. Channel flux studies that treat the marsh as a 'black box' contribute little to our understanding of marsh functioning, whatever the accuracy of their execution. Marshes are better conceptualised as complex bio-sedimentary systems, characterised not only by an intimate relationship with adjacent tidal waters, but also by numerous internal pathways along which transport of water and materials may take place. Data relating to surface sediments, surface sedimentation, channel and over-marsh hydrodynamics, and suspended sediment composition and settling behaviour have been obtained within a relatively mature back-barrier marsh, 54 ha in area, at Scolt Head Island, on the north Norfolk coast. Tidal range averages 3.2m at neaps and 6.4m at springs. The annual sediment input to the marsh surface is estimated at 675 tonnes, equivalent to a mean accretion rate of approximately 0.26 cm/year. The broad pattern in sedimentation reflects surface topography via its control over inundation frequency. Locally, however, proximity to the creek system as an intermediate sediment source determines the rate and nature of sedimentation. The formation of composite particles via the action of flocculation and organic binding agents determines the depositional behaviour of fine cohesive sediment introduced to the marsh. Particle fall velocities are thereby enhanced, with settling from over-marsh tidal flows being a continuous process and not confined to slack water. Reworking of newly deposited material by deposit feeding gastropods appears to be intense over much of the marsh, and may be an explanation for the paucity of sedimentary structures. The marsh surface acts as a topographic threshold separating markedly different spring and neap creek flow regimes. Morphological development of the creeks is effectively confined to ebb-dominated spring tides, when export of sand occurs. Though the creeks act as effective conduits for material transport, a large proportion of the total spring tidal prism may be exchanged directly over the marsh edge. These results may be viewed in the context of present concern over rising sea levels linked to human-induced global warming. Scenarios for future sea-level change vary widely, though most estimates put the present rate of eustatic rise at approximately 1-2 mm/year. Subsidence along this coast is around 1mm/year. Thus many marshes exist in delicate equilibrium with present relative sea level. A numerical model incorporating quasi-continuous deposition, annual tide data, and eustatic and crustal movements successfully simulates historic marsh sedimentation along the north Norfolk coast and provides an insight into the possible effects of future eustatic changes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:235907 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | French, Jonathan Rupert |
| Publisher | University of Cambridge |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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