Summertime conditions of a muddy estuarine environment: the EsCoSed project contribution

• Published in: Water science and technology Vol. 71; no. 10; pp. 1451 - 1457
• Main Authors: Brocchini, Maurizio, Calantoni, Joseph, Reed, Allen H, Postacchini, Matteo, Lorenzoni, Carlo, Russo, Aniello, Mancinelli, Alessandro, Corvaro, Sara, Moriconi, Giacomo, Soldini, Luciano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England IWA Publishing 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Boundary conditions; Brackish; Brackishwater environment; Chemical properties; Chemicophysical properties; Clay; Clay minerals; Cohesive sediments; Downstream effects; Environmental factors; Environmental Monitoring; Estuaries; Estuarine dynamics; Estuarine environments; Flow velocity; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Freshwater; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Hydrodynamics; Italy; Laboratories; Mineral assemblages; Montmorillonite; Montmorillonites; Morphology; Oceans; Physicochemical properties; River currents; River mouth; River mouths; Rivers; Rivers - chemistry; Salinity; Seasons; Sediment transport; Sediments; Settling velocity; Tidal motion; Tidal waves; Water - chemistry; Water column; Water Movements; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Wind waves; Italy; United States > US; MED, Italy
• ISSN: 0273-1223; 1996-9732
• DOI: 10.2166/wst.2015.116

As part of the Estuarine Cohesive Sediments (EsCoSed) project, a field experiment was performed in a highly engineered environment, acting as a natural laboratory, to study the physico-chemical properties of estuarine sediments and the associated hydro-morphodynamics during different seasons. The present contribution focuses on the results obtained from the summertime monitoring of the most downstream part of the Misa River (Senigallia, Italy). The measured hydrodynamics suggested a strong interaction between river current, wave forcing and tidal motion; flow velocities, affected by wind waves traveling upstream, changed significantly along the water column in both direction and magnitude. Surficial salinities in the estuary were low in the upper reaches of the estuary and exceeded 10 psu before the river mouth. Montmorillonite dominated the clay mineral assemblage, suggesting that large, low density flocs with high settling velocities (>1 mm s(-1)) may dominate the suspended aggregate materials.