Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF08049
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 60(7)

Multigrain seabed sediment transport modelling for the south-west Australian Shelf

F. Li A D , C. M. Griffiths A , C. P. Dyt A , P. Weill A , M. Feng B , T. Salles A and C. Jenkins C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Petroleum Resources, 26 Dick Perry Avenue, Kensington, WA 6151, Australia.

B CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Underwood Avenue, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia.

C Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado at Boulder, 1560 30th Street, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: fangjun.li@dpi.wa.gov.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 60(7) 774-785 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF08049
Submitted: 25 February 2008  Accepted: 15 February 2009   Published: 28 July 2009

Abstract

With increasing concerns about climate change and sea-level rise, there is a need for a comprehensive understanding of the sedimentary processes involved in the erosion, transport and deposition of sediment on the continental shelf. In the present paper, long-term and large-scale seabed morphological changes on the south-west Australian continental shelf were investigated by a comprehensive sediment transport model, Sedsim. The investigated area covers the continental shelf and abyssal basins of the south-western region. The regional seabed is sensitive to environmental forces and sediment supply, and most terrigenous sediment carried down by major rivers is trapped in inland lakes or estuaries. Only a small fraction of fine-grain sediment reaches the continental shelf. The simulation has also confirmed that the Leeuwin Current and high-energy waves play the most important roles in regional long-term seabed evolution. Although the numerical implementation only approximates some forcing and responses, it represents a significant step forward in understanding the nature of potential long-term seabed change as a response to possible climate change scenarios. The 50-year forecast on the seabed morphological changes provides a reference for the management of coastal and offshore resources, as well as infrastructure, in a sustainable way.

Additional keywords: climate change, continental shelf, morphological change, seabed.


Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Martin Rutherford (Defence Oceanographic Data Centre) for meteorological data. Peter Harris and Alix Post (Geosciences Australia) provided useful discussions on the data and model verification. Special thanks to Donna Hayes and Peter Oke (CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research) for the wave hindcast data and bottom current data. Also thanks to James Chittleborough (National Tidal Centre) for the tidal range and tidal current data. The National Oceans Office provided encouragement over the life of the project, and the Directors of the Wealth from Oceans Flagship, Craig Roy and Kate Wilson, have supported this work from its inception. Finally, we would like to thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.


References

Bagnold R. A. (1963). Mechanics of marine sedimentation. In ‘The Sea’. (Ed. M. N. Hill.) pp. 507–527. (Wiley-Interscience: New York.)

CMAR (2008). ‘BLUElink, Ocean Forecasting Australia.’ Available at http://www.cmar.csiro.au/bluelink [accessed 10 March 2008].

Collins, L. C. (1988). Sediments history of the Rottnest shelf, southwest Australia: a swell-dominated, non-tropical carbonate margin. Sedimentary Geology 60, 15–49.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Griffiths C. M., Dyt C., Paraschivoiu E., and Liu K. (2001). Sedsim in hydrocarbon exploration. In ‘Geologic Modeling and Simulation: Sedimentary Systems’. (Eds D. F. Merriam and J. C. Davis.) pp. 71–117. (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Hayes D., Lyne V., Condie S., Griffiths B., Pigot S., and Hallegraeff G. (2005). Collation and analysis of oceanographic datasets for national marine bio-regionalisation. Report to the Australian Government, National Oceans Office, Canberra.

James, N. P. , Bone, Y. , von der Borch, C. C. , and Gostin, V. A. (1992). Modern carbonate and terrigenous clastic sediments on a cool water, high energy, mid-latitude shelf: Lacepede, Southern Australia. Sedimentology 39, 877–903.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Jenkins C. J., Kettner A. J., Moore C., and Sharman G. (2003). ‘dbSEABED World Seabed Data Browser.’ Available at http://instaar.colorado.edu/~jenkinsc/dbseabed/goseabed/interactive [accessed 6 June 2005].

Koltermann, C. E. , and Gorelick, S. M. (1992). Palaeoclimatic signature in terrestrial flood deposits. Science 256, 1775–1782.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Li F., Dyt C., and Griffiths C. (2003). A coastal morphodynamic model for cross-shore sediment transport. In ‘Coastal Engineering VI, Computer Modelling and Experimental Measurements of Seas and Coastal Regions, Cadiz, Spain, 23–25 June 2003’. (Eds C. A. Brebbia, D. Almorza and F. Lopez-Aguayo.) pp. 335–344. (WIT Press: Southampton.)

Li, F. , Dyt, C. , Griffiths, C. , Jenkins, C. , Rutherford, M. , and Chittleborough, J. (2005a). Seabed sediment transport and offshore pipeline risks in the Australian southeast. APPEA Journal 45, 523–534.
Li F., Dyt C., and Griffiths C. M. (2005b). Long-term coastal sedimentation model. In ‘Proceedings of the 17th Australasian Coastal and Ocean Engineering Conference and the 10th Australasian Port and Harbour Conference, Adelaide, South Australia, 20–23 September 2005’. pp. 281–286.

Li, F. , Dyt, C. , and Griffiths, C. (2006a). Multigrain coastal sedimentation model based on equilibrium sediment distribution: application to nourishment design. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 67, 664–672.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Li F., Dyt C., Griffiths C., and Jenkins C. (2006b). ‘Wind-driven water circulation and its impact on seabed sediment transport in the Australian Northeast’. In ‘Proceedings of the 7th Pacific/Asia Offshore Mechanics Symposium, 17–21 November 2006, Dalian, China’. The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE PACOMS).

Li F., Dyt C., Griffiths C., and McInnes K. (2007). Predicting seabed change as a function of climate change over the next 50 years in the Australian southeast. In ‘Coastline Changes: Interrelation of Climate and Geological Processes’. (Eds J. Harff, W. W. Hay and D. M. Tetzlaff.) pp. 43–64. (Geological Society of America: Boulder, CO, USA.)

Martinez P., and Harbaugh J. W. (1993). ‘Simulating Nearshore Environments.’ (Pergamon Press: New York.)

McGowran B., Li Q., and Moss G. (1997). The Cenozoic neritic record in southern Australia: the biogeohistorical framework. In ‘Cool-Water Carbonates’. (Eds N. P. James, and J. Clarke.) pp. 185–203. SEPM Special Publication, vol. 56. (SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology): Tulsa, OK, USA.)

Oke, P. R. , Schiller, A. , Griffin, D. A. , and Brassington, G. B. (2005). Ensemble data assimilation for an eddy-resolving ocean model. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 131, 3301–3311.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Soulsby R. (1997). ‘Dynamics of Marine Sands.’ (Thomas Telford Publications: London.)

Sternberg R. W. (1972). Predicting initial motion and bedload transport of sediment particles in the shallow marine environment. In ‘Shelf Sediment Transport, Process and Pattern’. (Eds D. J. P. Swift, D. B. Duane and O. H. Pilkey.) pp. 61–83. (Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross: Stroudsburg.)

Tetzlaff D. M., and Harbaugh J. W. (1989). ‘Simulating Clastic Sedimentation, Computer Methods in Geosciences.’ (Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York.)

Whitehouse R., Soulsby R., Roberts W., and Mitchener H. (2000). ‘Dynamics of Estuarine Muds.’ (Thomas Telford Publications: London.)

Wu, B. , Molinas, A. , and Shu, P. (2003). Fractional transport of sediment mixtures. International Journal of Sediment Research 18, 232–247.