Changes in Sediment Transport

Changes in Sediment Transport

Ocean sediments originate from rivers and coastlines and are naturally moved around by tidal flows and waves, fulfilling necessary ecosystem processes such as coastal protection and resupplying habitats. As marine renewable energy devices are placed in the water, flows will change around this new obstruction and alter sediment transport and distribution. Bottom-mounted devices will typically cause sediment deposition behind the device (by the direction of flow), remove sediment along the sides of the device, and localized scour directly around the device footings. While the effects of individual devices may be very localized, arrays may have a greater impact in the farfield. Numerical models are often used to estimate changes in sediment transportation, but it is difficult to quantify change in an environment with so much natural variation.

_{Photo Credit: "Sediment in the Gulf of Mexico" by Jeff Schmaltz}