ABSTRACT
The morphology of an estuary is affected by the complex mechanisms due to waves, (wave-induced) current, tidal and river flow. As far as the authors are aware of, no numerical simulations have been able to consider all the interacting forces. Some contributing factors, such as suspended loads from a river, are usually neglected for simplicity. However, sediment transports are important for the morphology around an estuary. This is especially true for Taiwan, where during typhoon seasons, large amount of the debris can be carried down from the rivers, and as a result, the morphologies around an estuary will sometimes have drastic changes. In this study, the Lagrangian method was used to track the suspended loads carried and deposited as sediments by the fluvial outflows. The effect of coastal sediment transport is then added to estimate the total change of bathymetry around an estuary. It is shown that simulated changes in bathymetry agreed reasonably well with the results of field survey. We suggest that this methodology can be a valuable aid for integrated coastal managements.
