Data and Code for "Modeling Water and Sediment Transport in Arctic River Deltas to Estimate Fluxes to the Coast"

River fluxes to the Arctic Ocean impact sea ice extent, nutrient availability, and coastal ecosystems. Arctic river deltas modulate fluxes of water, sediment, and nutrients reaching the Arctic Ocean via discharge partitioning though distributary channels and sediment deposition and erosion in channels and on islands. These processes influence delta geomorphology and coastal biogeochemistry. Many large rivers have estimates or measurements of discharge and sediment concentration upstream of the delta apex, but the magnitude, timing, and spatial distribution of sediment fluxes to the Arctic coast are unknown. I developed a novel model of suspended sediment transport in Arctic deltas to address this knowledge gap. The model is network-based, reduced-complexity, and non-morphodynamic. It estimates suspended sediment delivery to the coast based on a computed channel network and sediment transport rules. I applied this model to six high-latitude deltas during their open water seasons with different boundary conditions to account for their differences in morphology, seasonality, and hydrology. Flux distributions at the coast are found to be more uneven in larger deltas due to uneven channel spacing and larger variability in channel widths compared to smaller deltas. The outlet flux magnitude varies with upstream changes in discharge and suspended sediment concentration. Given typical active season conditions, the deltas exhibit periods of deposition and erosion, but are net depositional overall. Net sediment trapping during the active season ranges from 10-70% due to differences in the deltas’ size, complexity, and upstream hydrograph and sediment supply. My results suggest that larger, more complex deltas with higher sediment supply and less flashy hydrographs may be more resilient to land loss by storing more sediment during the active season. The sediment flux distribution can be used in future studies of coastal biogeochemistry and geomorphology and in regional models to capture the impacts of fluxes on turbidity, marine primary productivity, and Arctic warming.

Citation

Hines, Claire; Piliouras, Anastasia (2024). Data and Code for "Modeling Water and Sediment Transport in Arctic River Deltas to Estimate Fluxes to the Coast" [Data set]. Scholarsphere. https://doi.org/10.26207/x8qe-xp35

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Work Title Data and Code for "Modeling Water and Sediment Transport in Arctic River Deltas to Estimate Fluxes to the Coast"
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Claire Hines
  2. Anastasia Piliouras
Keyword
  1. delta
  2. arctic
  3. sediment transport
  4. model
License CC BY 4.0 (Attribution)
Work Type Dataset
Publication Date 2024
DOI doi:10.26207/x8qe-xp35
Geographic Area
  1. Arctic
Deposited February 29, 2024

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Updated
  • Added Creator Claire Hines
  • Added Creator Anastasia Piliouras
  • Added README.txt
  • Added Data and Model Code.zip
  • Updated Keyword, License Show Changes
    Keyword
    • delta, arctic, sediment transport
    • delta, arctic, sediment transport, model
    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
  • Published
  • Updated

Version 2
published

  • Created
  • Deleted Data and Model Code.zip
  • Deleted README.txt
  • Added Data and Model Code.zip
  • Added README.txt
  • Deleted README.txt
  • Added README.txt
  • Updated
  • Updated
  • Published