Current-controlled sedimentation in the north-western Weddell Sea

The sedimentary basins of the north-western Weddell Sea are characterized by a variety of contourite drifts. This study is aimed at their identification, spatial mapping and temporal evolution and based on the integration of a large amount of seismic data collected by different countries including the recent data of the Russian Antarctic Expedition. Most of the drifts in the region being studied are classified as separated, confined, plastered or sheeted. The chain of sediment wave fields is mapped in the western and northern Powell Basin. The earliest contourite drifts started to form in the Early Miocene or, possibly, in the Late Oligocene. The changes in the depositional pattern in the Middle Miocene and then in the Late Pliocene are thought to have resulted from successive intensification of the bottom currents.

WAVE AND SEAFLOOR SPECTRA PREDICTIONS WITH THE COUPLED SWAN-NSEA MODELING SYSTEM

The existence and evolution of bedforms on the seafloor have significant effects in the areas of oceanography, marine geophysics, and underwater acoustics including the transport of sediment, wave energy attenuation, and seabed sonar scattering and penetration. Here, we present a wave-seafloor modeling system that couples a spectral seafloor boundary layer model (NSEA) with an operational wave model (SWAN) that includes the dynamic feedback between the predicted wave spectra and the wave generated bedforms on the seafloor through a bottom roughness parameter. NSEA is a seafloor spectral model that uses hydrodynamic input forcing forecasted by the wave model SWAN to predict the evolving seafloor spectra given a sediment grain diameter and an estimation of the biologic activity. The system can be used to determine the spatially and temporally varying bottom roughness under given wave forcing important for coastal morphology and acoustic applications.Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/u66k6lZbEbw

Geomorphic effects of gravel augmentation on the Old Rhine River downstream from the Kembs dam (France, Germany)

During the last 30 years, river restoration activities aiming to improve the functionality of degraded fluvial ecosystems increased markedly. For large rivers, it remains difficult to evaluate restoration efficiency and sustainability due to the lack of standardized monitoring metrics. From 2010 to 2016, three gravel augmentations were performed on the Old Rhine, a by-passed reach downstream from the Kembs dam (France- Germany). A geomorphic monitoring combining topo-bathymetric surveys, bedload tracking and hydraulic modelling allows to evaluate the successfulness of these actions. Results show that, to be mobilized, artificial sediment deposit should be located in concavity rather than convexity areas, due to higher shear stresses for moderate floods (Q2). Sediment starvation appeared rapidly on the restored reaches once the sediment wave moved downstream, as a consequence of limited upstream sediment supply. Bathymetric homogenization was observed along and downstream from the restored reaches without creation of new fluvial forms. This research highlights that future actions should include channel enlargement downstream of gravel augmentations, which would promote sediment deposition and habitat diversification. Sediments excavated during artificial widening could be stored and injected progressively into the upstream part of the Old Rhine to benefit the downstream sections.