Modelling Morphological Changes and Migration of Large Sand Waves in a Very Energetic Tidal Environment: Banks Strait, Australia

Christelle Auguste, Philip Marsh, Jean-Roch Nader, Irene Penesis and Remo Cossu
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Christelle Auguste: Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia
Philip Marsh: Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia
Jean-Roch Nader: Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia
Irene Penesis: Australian Maritime College, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS 7250, Australia
Remo Cossu: School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-30

Abstract: Banks Strait, Tasmania, Australia, has been identified as a potential site for the deployment of tidal turbines. In this study, the characterization of sediment transport and large sand waves for this site is performed. Observations of bed level change collected from surveys in 2018 showed a migration of large sand waves over a period of nine months. Migration rates in an excess of one hundred meters for nine months were found, which are large compared to the rate reported at other coastal sites, by several meters per year. A validated hydrodynamic model is coupled with a morphodynamic model to perform sensitivity tests and identify what parameters influence migration to better understand sediment dynamic in the Banks Strait. Numerical analysis showed a constant shift of the sand waves profile in an eastward direction, consistent with the observations. This migration was strongly linked with tidal asymmetry, with a residual current flowing towards the east. The principal parameters driving the migration of sand waves in the Banks Strait were found to be sediment sorting, bed friction and residual current. This study gives new insights for the seabed of Banks Strait and provides an assessment of the natural variability of sediment for futures tidal farms deployments.

Keywords: sediment transport; sand waves migration; tidal energy; numerical modelling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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