Numerical Modeling of Sediment Transport during the 2011 Summer Flood in the Youngsan River Estuary, Korea

The hydrodynamics in the Youngsan River Estuary has changed due to coastal developments such as the estuary dam and two tidal barriers. As the freshwater discharge is artificially controlled, the circulation pattern is different from those of natural estuaries and the river-born sediment supply is restricted. 3D numerical modeling system EFDC was applied to investigate the sediment transport pattern and budget in summer with river floods. The real-time driving forces and the fluvial sediment discharges from the watershed modeling were assigned for the simulation period. The size classes of sand, silt and clay were adopted based on the grain-size distribution of bottom sediments. The modeling results were calibrated and validated with the observed tides, tidal currents and suspended sediment concentrations. The suspended sediments are transported to the offshore at surface layer, whereas upstream toward the dam at mid-and bottom layers in August 2011. The characteristic estuarine circulation induced by the freshwater discharge from the dam, causes the deposition of silt-sized sediments on the whole and the sustained suspension of clay-sized sediments.