An idealized model study of flocculation on sediment trapping in an estuarine turbidity maximum

Flocculation has an important impact on particle trapping in estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) through associated increases in particle settling velocity. To quantify the importance of the flocculation processes, a size-resolved flocculation model is implemented into an ocean circulation model to simulate fine-grained particle trapping in an ETM. The model resolves the particle size from robust small flocs, about 30 μm, to very large flocs, over 1000 μm. An idealized two-dimensional model study is performed to simulate along-channel variations of suspended sediment concentrations driven by gravitational circulation and tidal currents. The results indicate that the flocculation processes play a key role in generating strong tidal asymmetrical variations in suspended sediment concentration and particle trapping. Comparison with observations suggests that the flocculation model produces realistic characteristics of an ETM.