TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantifying spit growth and its hydrodynamic drivers in wind-dominated lake environments
AU - van Kouwen, Niels C.
AU - Ton, Anne M.
AU - Vos, Sander E.
AU - Vijverberg, Thomas
AU - Reniers, Ad J.H.M.
AU - Aarninkhof, Stefan G.J.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Many sand spits are morphodynamically complex landforms, that are either analysed with complex and expensive computational models or at a conceptual level. Therefore, most case studies on spits in different environments are descriptive. A novel method based on the use of polar coordinates was devised to quantitatively analyse spit morphodynamics in a non-tidal, wind-dominated lake environment, using the Marker Wadden islands in Lake Markermeer, the Netherlands, as a case study. A high-resolution morphological data set allowed for the quantification of sedimentation processes around two spits, in two distinctive depth zones. Spit-platform growth is governed by alongshore currents that transport sediment over the spit-platform into deeper waters; the size of the spit-platform in turn affects the growth of the spit around the mean water level. Insight in this complex interplay of processes is crucial to understand spit behaviour in low-energy lake environments. At the Marker Wadden the submerged spit-platform grows during high energy wind events while the emerged spit part grows under mild to moderate energy conditions. With this new method we can quantitatively explore the role of different wave and flow conditions and predict spit growth direction in non-tidal, wind-dominated environments, beyond the level of conceptual descriptions.
AB - Many sand spits are morphodynamically complex landforms, that are either analysed with complex and expensive computational models or at a conceptual level. Therefore, most case studies on spits in different environments are descriptive. A novel method based on the use of polar coordinates was devised to quantitatively analyse spit morphodynamics in a non-tidal, wind-dominated lake environment, using the Marker Wadden islands in Lake Markermeer, the Netherlands, as a case study. A high-resolution morphological data set allowed for the quantification of sedimentation processes around two spits, in two distinctive depth zones. Spit-platform growth is governed by alongshore currents that transport sediment over the spit-platform into deeper waters; the size of the spit-platform in turn affects the growth of the spit around the mean water level. Insight in this complex interplay of processes is crucial to understand spit behaviour in low-energy lake environments. At the Marker Wadden the submerged spit-platform grows during high energy wind events while the emerged spit part grows under mild to moderate energy conditions. With this new method we can quantitatively explore the role of different wave and flow conditions and predict spit growth direction in non-tidal, wind-dominated environments, beyond the level of conceptual descriptions.
KW - Low-energy
KW - Marker Wadden (Lake Markermeer, the Netherlands)
KW - Spit growth
KW - Spit-platform
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164360774&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108799
DO - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2023.108799
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85164360774
SN - 0169-555X
VL - 437
JO - Geomorphology
JF - Geomorphology
M1 - 108799
ER -