Sediment Dynamics in Shallow-Bay Ship Channels
The objective of this effort is to study the causes of chronic and episodic shoaling near the flares of the Bayport and Barbour’s Cut ship channels (BSC & BBC), and in the Houston Ship Channel primarily focused between the Barbour’s Cut and Red Fish Island by means of a comprehensive field data collection effort.
Following a data gap analysis, an extensive field data collection campaign was completed as part of this project to help quantify sediment processes in Galveston Bay around the Bayport Flare area.
Collected
and analyzed data include surface sediment grab samples, gravity core and vibra core samples, water samples, and CTD information. Furthermore, in-situ deployments of ADCP, PT, TCM, and OBS systems were completed under energetic wave conditions during an entire spring tidal cycle. Vessel-mounted ADCP measurements along 27 survey tracks were completed as well, including tracks co-located in time and space with the in-situ measurements. Bed sediment samples were analyzed for grain size statistics and formed the basis for a sediment trend analysis (STA) of the immediate project area.
Hydrodynamic measurements were used to compute water level fluctuations, determine circulation patterns, and assess suspended sediment concentrations. Tributary influx assessments were made using previously published data as well as data from vessel-mounted ADCP transects across tributary inlets to Galveston Bay.
Additional laboratory tests related to salinity effects on sedimentation were carried out using simple settling column setups. The data and analyses are intended to inform numerical modeling efforts and the design of mitigation strategies to limit the sedimentation issues at the Bayport Flare.