Hydrodynamic Properties of a Large Tidal Channel on the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, Bangladesh, with Implications for Channel Morphology and Sediment Transport

Abstract:

The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta hosts a dense network of tidal channels extending inland as far as 100 kilometers from the coast. With semidiurnal tides up to 6.7 meters in amplitude, this setting is ideal for testing hypotheses related to tidal meander morphology, intertidal sediment transport, and channel-platform linkages. We present results from two field surveys in March and September 2015, corresponding to the dry and monsoon seasons, respectively. Comparing acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data and pressure sensor measurements from the Sibsa River in southwest Bangladesh reveals a phase lag of as much as 1 hour between maximum discharge and mean water level. Variations in this phase lag at different points along the channel allow us to test an existing conceptual model of cuspate tidal meander formation. To address a related but separate question, we observe that the ratio of cumulative discharges Q_in/Q_out is approximately equal during both spring and neap tides at a strategically-placed ADCP transect south of the study area. In contrast, ADCP data obtained north of the study area shows that Q_in/Q_out=1.4 during spring tides and 0.85 during neap tides. We examine the degree to which this phenomenon is controlled by the establishment of a hydraulic gradient between the Sibsa and a parallel tidal channel, the Pussur, versus the exchange of water between the channel and the tidal flats during the ebb-flood cycle. These results have implications for identifying loci of sediment erosion and deposition within the network.