A mouth bar is an element of a deltaic system, which refers to the typically mid-channel deposition of the sediment transported by the river channel at the river mouth. [1]
River mouth bars form because the cross-sectional area of the expanding sediment-laden outflow increases, and consequently, the sediment transport rate down the jet centerline decreases basinward as flow progresses from confined to unconfined. [1] More specifically, four stages of the river mouth bar formation are: (1) Turbulent jet, expanding into a shallow and sloping basin, first creates parallel subaqueous levees extending basinward and starting a river mouth bar basinward of the levee tips due to the decrease in jet momentum flux and resulting the high sedimentation rate in this region; (2) The subaqueous levees extend basinward and the river mouth bar aggrades and progrades since its presence causes flow acceleration on streamlines over the bar, and subsequently, this acceleration changes the sediment transport gradient over the bar triggering erosion on the upstream bar face and deposition in the downstream bar wake; (3) River mouth bar progradation stops and it stagnates when depth over the bar is shallow enough to create a fluid pressure on the upstream side of the bar forcing flow around the bar, and consequently decreasing velocity and shear stress over the bar top; (4) Finally, as the levees continue to grow and spread due to the presence of the bar, increased water and sediment discharges around the bar cause widening and creation of a classic triangular river mouth bar in plan view. [1]
Sediment erosion and deposition dynamics in estuarine region, consequently the formation and growth of mouth bars, are affected by several natural and artificial factors. Human activities, such as reservoir construction, large-scale reclamation and embankment construction completely disturb the hydrodynamic balance of the system and permanently interfere with the morphology of mouth bars. [2] Moreover, hydrodynamic factors such as water runoff, discharge fluctuations of the rivers, i.e., non-uniform flow conditions linked to the river hydrograph, sediment flux, sediment characteristics, river mouth geometry, vegetation, existence of tides and waves, play a vital role in sediment erosion and deposition dynamics at river mouths and activate serious geomorphologic controls on mouth bar development. [2] [3]
Regarding sediment characteristics, mass and cohesiveness play important roles in river mouth bar evolution. Since coarser sediments are not well suspended by the jet, they are likely to deposit close to the river mouth and lead to mouth bar construction. On the other hand, since fine sediments are generally transported in a suspended form, they can be carried further and disperse widely, and most of the time, lead to levee construction. [2] [4] Moreover, sediment cohesion, and similarly vegetation, play a role in the morphology of river mouth deposits by enhancing the stabilization, consequently changing the hydraulic geometry of the mouth and altering the hydrodynamics of the jet. [2] [5] [6] Grain size, which controls the settling velocity of the particles, also influences the location of the river mouth bar basinward of the outlet. [7] In addition, model results [1] recently suggest that river channel width, depth, outflow velocity, and basin slope are the most important variables influencing distance to the river mouth bar.
In addition to the controls related to fluvial processes, the effects of marine controls, such as wave activity and tides, on river mouths are significant on the mouth bar evolution. Waves have a double effect on mouth bar growth; while small and locally generated waves favor the bar formation by increasing the jet spreading, large, swell waves suppress bar development. [2] The complex effects of tides, on the other hand, depend on the relative strength of river inertia with respect to the tidal energy. When tidal energy is much higher than the fluvial one, hydrodynamics of the jet exiting the river mouth, dominating the sediment deposition, are highly affected. [8] Continuously altered tidal wave velocity, width of spreading jet, water depth, and therefore, bottom friction throughout the tidal cycle, cause the development of distinct mouth bar morphologies. [9] [10] [11] River discharge, tides and waves can also simultaneously affect the outflow dynamics depending on buoyancy, which play an important role on the evolution of mouth bars. [10] [12]
When a river-dominated delta is considered, formation and evolution of terminal distributary channels of the delta, which are the most active parts of the distributive channel network, are closely related to mouth bar formation. [13] Bifurcation of the channel flow due to initial mouth bar formation forms new distributary channels and they extend as the mouth bar migrates. Lateral and upstream growth of mouth bar reduces the flow velocity and sediment flux, i.e., flow capacity to carry sediments, through that channel resulting in filling and abandonment of the terminal distributary channel. The active channel, where the flow is diverted into, bifurcates again, following formation of another mouth bar, and creates another unit of channels.
Moreover, river mouth bars are important hydrocarbon reservoirs, [14] [15] and have been widely interpreted in the geologic record. [16] [17] Analyses of the hydraulic and sedimentologic conditions of river mouth bar formation, progradation and aggradation, and prediction on their shape, size and spacing are incredibly valuable for reservoir prediction.
Eventually, in estuarine regions, there is a mutual interaction between morphology and flow dynamics. While mouth bar morphology is shaped and affected by flow and sediment dynamics or wave and current patterns, mouth bars also modify those dynamics and change the morphology of estuaries. [13] Therefore, the understanding of mouth bar evolution is key for further and better quantification of the changes in river hydraulics and morphodynamics due to mouth bar existence.
Mouth bars are categorized based on the primary forces dominating their formation: [10] (1) outflow inertia, (2) turbulent bed friction, (3) effluent buoyancy, (4) wave-induced, and finally, (5) tidal forces.
Processes linked to high outflow velocities at deep water outlet and dispersion of sediment due to turbulent jet produce narrow, elongated lunate bars with a flat or gently ascending back, which are also called as “Gilbert-type” mouth bars, commonly in deep-water areas of the delta.
Lateral spreading of turbulent jet enhanced by increasing frictional resistance in shallow inshore waters, also associated with high bed load, produces almost triangular “middle ground bar” in the mouth of the river causing the channel to bifurcate. As progradation continues, new bars develop at the mouths of the bifurcated channels and enhance basinward the delta growth. Mississippi Delta is composed of shallow-water friction-dominated types in the east (Northeast Pass).
Dominance of buoyancy processes at the river mouth associated with strong outflow density stratification and fine-grained sediment load rather than bed load, produces laterally restricted, narrow radial bars with gently dipping slopes in shallow water areas of the delta. Mississippi delta is composed of widely separated buoyancy-dominated mouth bar types in the south (Southwest Pass and South Pass).
Powerful and persistent wave energy and corresponding processes such as wave reworking, refraction of outflow, mixing due to wave breaking, longshore and cross-shore dispersion of sediment generate regular, commonly sand-filled, crescentic bars located at short distances from the mouth. The shape and location of the mouth bar also changes with normal or oblique wave incidence.
The development of tidal-dominated river mouth bars highly depends on the bidirectional sediment transport by tidal currents causing significant upstream return of sediment into channel. Flood and ebb-dominated sediment transports generate a broad, discontinuous, radial mouth bar dominated by large tidal ridges separated by deep channels.
River mouth bar evolution is extremely significant within the coastal landscape. Most of the time, they are subaqueous and inaccessible. However, after they emerge and their subaerial portion becomes visible, they evolve into deltaic islands. Consequently, by promoting land expansion, they restore artificially modified shorelines and mitigate coastal erosion, [18] [19] [20] protect coastal communities, [21] promote vegetation growth, provide habitat for rich and productive estuarine ecosystems, [22] and potentially be utilized for farming, living and engineering. Moreover, mouth bar deposits offer a strategic location for the research projects regarding estuarine and delta restoration which makes them ideal for studying the effects of river sediment reduction and relative sea level rise and for estimating the evolution, including land loss and inundation, of the river deltas. [23]
A serious example is the Mississippi River Delta where coastal wetlands are disappearing at a rate of approximately 1% of land per year. [24] [25] On the Mississippi Delta, in order to eliminate land loss and mitigate coastal erosion, artificial diversions, reconnecting river to the deltaic wetland, have been constructed. [18] [26] [27] Essentially, these diversions are expected to generate mouth bars at downstream end. Therefore, the restoration plans and studies by many scientists and engineers aim ultimately to promote mouth bar deposition by strategically selecting diversion sites and diversion geometries, and consequently stabilizing jet, enhancing bottom friction and sediment trapping efficiencies. [6] [28] [29] [30] This example shows how extremely essential is to understand the dynamics of river mouth bars and the physics behind their formation for future discussions of new land development, estuary restoration, as well as mitigation measures for loss of deltaic wetlands.
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge. The soils usually consist of clays, silts, sands, and gravels deposited during floods.
A braided river consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in British English usage, aits or eyots.
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by the deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs at a river mouth, when it enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or another river that cannot carry away the supplied sediment. It is so named because its triangle shape resembles the uppercase Greek letter delta, Δ. The size and shape of a delta are controlled by the balance between watershed processes that supply sediment, and receiving basin processes that redistribute, sequester, and export that sediment. The size, geometry, and location of the receiving basin also plays an important role in delta evolution.
Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming wave direction. Oblique incoming wind squeezes water along the coast, and so generates a water current which moves parallel to the coast. Longshore drift is simply the sediment moved by the longshore current. This current and sediment movement occur within the surf zone. The process is also known as littoral drift.
Barrier islands are a coastal landform, a type of dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen. They are subject to change during storms and other action, but absorb energy and protect the coastlines and create areas of protected waters where wetlands may flourish. A barrier chain may extend for hundreds of kilometers, with islands periodically separated by tidal inlets. The largest barrier island in the world is Padre Island of Texas, United States, at 113 miles (182 km) long. Sometimes an important inlet may close permanently, transforming an island into a peninsula, thus creating a barrier peninsula, often including a beach, barrier beach. Though many are long and narrow, the length and width of barriers and overall morphology of barrier coasts are related to parameters including tidal range, wave energy, sediment supply, sea-level trends, and basement controls. The amount of vegetation on the barrier has a large impact on the height and evolution of the island.
An inlet is a indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea.
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration, or electromagnetism. Settling is the falling of suspended particles through the liquid, whereas sedimentation is the final result of the settling process.
Coastal morphodynamics refers to the study of the interaction and adjustment of the seafloor topography and fluid hydrodynamic processes, seafloor morphologies, and sequences of change dynamics involving the motion of sediment. Hydrodynamic processes include those of waves, tides and wind-induced currents. Anthropogenic climate change is causing changes in the coastal changes and processes that are interconnected with those caused by natural processes.
A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are caused by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it had been given a separate and another title name.
Abyssal channels are channels in Earth's sea floor. They are formed by fast-flowing floods of turbid water caused by avalanches near the channel's head, with the sediment carried by the water causing a build-up of the surrounding abyssal plains. Submarine channels and the turbidite systems which form them are responsible for the accumulation of most sandstone deposits found on continental slopes and have proven to be one of the most common types of hydrocarbon reservoirs found in these regions.
In sedimentary geology and fluvial geomorphology, avulsion is the rapid abandonment of a river channel and the formation of a new river channel. Avulsions occur as a result of channel slopes that are much less steep than the slope that the river could travel if it took a new course.
A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carrying capacity of the water. The water from a river can enter the receiving body in a variety of different ways. The motion of a river is influenced by the relative density of the river compared to the receiving water, the rotation of the Earth, and any ambient motion in the receiving water, such as tides or seiches.
A bar in a river is an elevated region of sediment that has been deposited by the flow. Types of bars include mid-channel bars, point bars, and mouth bars. The locations of bars are determined by the geometry of the river and the flow through it. Bars reflect sediment supply conditions, and can show where sediment supply rate is greater than the transport capacity.
Spur and groove formations are a geomorphic feature of many coral reefs. They are ridges of reef formed by coral "spurs" separated by channels "grooves" which often have sediment or rubble bed. Spur and groove formations vary in their size and distribution worldwide but are a common feature on many forereefs of fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls which are exposed to moderate wave energy. Spur and groove formations are influenced by the incoming surface waves, and the waves induce a circulation pattern of counter rotating circulation cells.
A river plume is a freshened water mass that is formed in the sea as a result of mixing of river discharge and saline seawater. River plumes are formed in coastal sea areas at many regions in the World. River plumes generally occupy wide-but-shallow sea surface layers bounded by sharp density gradients. The area of a river plume is 3-5 orders of magnitude greater than its depth; therefore, even small rivers with discharge rates ~1–10 m/s form river plumes with horizontal spatial extents ~10–100 m. Areas of river plumes formed by the largest rivers are ~100–1000 km2. Despite the relatively small volume of total freshwater runoff to the World Ocean, river plumes occupy up to 21% of shelf areas of the ocean, i.e., several million square kilometers.
A hapua is a river-mouth lagoon on a mixed sand and gravel (MSG) beach, formed at the river-coast interface where a typically braided, although sometimes meandering, river interacts with a coastal environment that is significantly affected by longshore drift. The lagoons which form on the MSG coastlines are common on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand and have long been referred to as hapua by Māori people. This classification differentiates hapua from similar lagoons located on the New Zealand coast termed waituna.
Beaches in estuaries and bays (BEBs) refer to beaches that exist inside estuaries or bays and therefore are partially or fully sheltered from ocean wind waves, which are a typical source of energy to build beaches. Beaches located inside harbours and lagoons are also considered BEBs. BEBs can be unvegetated or partially unvegetated and can be made of sand, gravel or shells. As a consequence of the sheltering, the importance of other sources of wave energy, including locally generated wind waves and infragravity waves, may be more important for BEBs than for those beaches on the open coast. Boat wakes, currents driven by tides, and river inflow can also be important for BEBs. When BEBs receive insufficient wave energy, they can become inactive, and stabilised by vegetation; this may occur through both natural processes and human action. BEBs exist in all latitudes from beaches located in fjords and drowned river valleys (rias) in high latitudes to beaches located in the equatorial zone like, for example, the Amazon estuarine beaches.
Sedimentation enhancing strategies are environmental management projects aiming to restore and facilitate land-building processes in deltas. Sediment availability and deposition are important because deltas naturally subside and therefore need sediment accumulation to maintain their elevation, particularly considering increasing rates of sea-level rise. Sedimentation enhancing strategies aim to increase sedimentation on the delta plain primarily by restoring the exchange of water and sediments between rivers and low-lying delta plains. Sedimentation enhancing strategies can be applied to encourage land elevation gain to offset sea-level rise. Interest in sedimentation enhancing strategies has recently increased due to their ability to raise land elevation, which is important for the long-term sustainability of deltas.
A deltaic lobe is a wetland formation that forms as a river empties water and sediment into other bodies of water. As the sediment builds up from this delta, the river will break away from its single channel and the mouth will be pushed outwards, forming a deltaic lobe.
Cyclic steps are rhythmic bedforms associated with Froude super-critical flow instability. They are a type of sediment wave, and are created when supercritical sediment-laden water travels downslope through sediment beds. Each ‘step’ has a steep drop, and together they tend to migrate upstream. On the ocean floor, this phenomenon was first shown to be possible in 2006, although it was observed in open-channel flows over a decade earlier. Geological features appearing to be submarine cyclic steps have been detected in the northern lowlands of Mars in the Aeolis Mensae region, providing evidence of an ancient Martian ocean.