Waves and tidal currents can interact to produce strong seabed shear stress and mobilization of sediments on continental shelves. Modelled wave and tidal current data for a 3-year period were used in a combined-flow sediment transport model to simulate the seabed shear stresses and the mobilization of uniform medium sand on the continental shelves of Canada. The modelling results are presented to establish the first national framework of seabed disturbance and sediment mobility on the continental shelves of Canada. Strong waves and tidal currents on the Canadian continental shelves produce mean bed shear velocity >5 cm·s−1. Medium sand can be mobilized >50% of the time over many areas on the shelves. The mobilization by tidal currents occurs over 36% and by waves over 50% of the shelf area, demonstrating that mobilization of sediments is dominated by waves on the Canadian continental shelves. Combined shear stresses due to wave and tidal current interaction further increase sediment mobilization to over 68% of the shelf area. The spatial variation of the relative importance of wave and tidal disturbances allows classification of the continental shelves into six disturbance types. Innovative Seabed Disturbance (SDI) and Sediment Mobility (SMI) indices are proposed to quantify the seabed exposure to oceanographic processes and sediment mobilization, incorporating both the magnitude and frequency of these processes. The proposed SDI and SMI, together with the disturbance type classification, can be used as standard parameters to best quantify seabed disturbance and sediment mobility on other shelves of the world.
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Research Article|
April 27, 2021
Seabed disturbance and sediment mobility due to tidal current and waves on the continental shelves of Canada
Michael Z. Li;
a
Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.Corresponding author: Michael Z. Li (email: Michael.Li@Canada.ca).
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Yongsheng Wu;
Yongsheng Wu
b
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
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Charles G. Hannah;
Charles G. Hannah
c
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, P.O. Box 6000, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada.
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Will A. Perrie
Will A. Perrie
b
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
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a
Geological Survey of Canada (Atlantic), Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
Yongsheng Wu
b
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.
Charles G. Hannah
c
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, P.O. Box 6000, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada.
Will A. Perrie
b
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada.Corresponding author: Michael Z. Li (email: Michael.Li@Canada.ca).
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Received:
15 Jul 2020
Accepted:
13 Apr 2021
First Online:
10 Nov 2021
Online ISSN: 1480-3313
Print ISSN: 0008-4077
Published by NRC Research Press
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2021) 58 (11): 1209–1232.
Article history
Received:
15 Jul 2020
Accepted:
13 Apr 2021
First Online:
10 Nov 2021
Citation
Michael Z. Li, Yongsheng Wu, Charles G. Hannah, Will A. Perrie; Seabed disturbance and sediment mobility due to tidal current and waves on the continental shelves of Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2021;; 58 (11): 1209–1232. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2020-0139
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Arctic Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean
- Canada
- continental shelf
- currents
- East Pacific
- ice
- marine sedimentation
- marine sediments
- North Atlantic
- North Pacific
- Northeast Pacific
- Northwest Atlantic
- numerical models
- ocean floors
- ocean waves
- Pacific Ocean
- sea ice
- sediment transport
- sedimentation
- sediments
- sensitivity analysis
- shear stress
- tidal currents
- transport
Latitude & Longitude
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