Intertidal Creeks and Overmarsh Circulation in a Small Salt Marsh Basin

Sullivan, Jessica Chassereau; Torres, Raymond; Garrett, Alfred

doi:10.1029/2018JF004861

Title: Intertidal Creeks and Overmarsh Circulation in a Small Salt Marsh Basin

Journal Article · Fri Jan 25 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004861· OSTI ID:1501351

^[1]; Torres, Raymond ^[2]; Garrett, Alfred ^[3]

Univ. of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC (United States)
Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)
Savannah River National Lab., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Site (SRS).

The role of intertidal creek networks in overmarsh circulation is not well constrained. In this study, we systematically remove intertidal creeks from a high-resolution salt marsh digital elevation model and conduct new flow simulations with each iteration. Overall, removal of first- and second-order creeks reduced drainage density by 65%, and this had a negligible effect on overmarsh circulation and tracer distribution. However, upon removal of third- and fourth-order creeks, drainage density was reduced by 80% of the original value, and changes in peak velocity magnitude across various spatial and temporal scales reveal a system-wide switch from ebb to flood dominance. This response coincides with the interruption of topographically connected creeks that facilitate the direct exchange of water and tracer between the marsh interior and the larger subtidal system. Further, this reduction in hydraulic connectivity gives rise to less expansive tracer dispersal and a systematic decline in tracer residence time. Together, these results reveal that for the Groves Creek marsh, lower-order intertidal creeks have a minor role in overmarsh circulation, while higher-order creeks increase the potential for short circuiting of flow; they greatly influence overall flood and ebb dominance, and net tracer dispersal and associated retention time. Moreover, results reported here provide new insight on, for example, salt marsh restoration and the requisite digital elevation model bathymetry for robust simulations of overmarsh circulation.

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Research Organization:: Savannah River National Lab., Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Site (SRS).

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; PADI Research Foundation

Grant/Contract Number:: AC09-08SR22470; AC09-96SR1850; 10911

OSTI ID:: 1501351

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1494161; OSTI ID: 1766453

Report Number(s):: SRNL-STI-2019-00065; SRNL-STI-2017-00381

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Earth Surface; ISSN 2169-9003

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 11 works

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58 GEOSCIENCES
intertidal creeks
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tracer exchange
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Title: Intertidal Creeks and Overmarsh Circulation in a Small Salt Marsh Basin

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