Sediment characteristics and sedimentation-erosion processes on Ketenisse polder one year after levelling
Verbessem, I.; Van den Bergh, E.; De Regge, N.; Soors, J.; De Belder, W.; De Groot, R. (2007). Sediment characteristics and sedimentation-erosion processes on Ketenisse polder one year after levelling. Aquat. ecosyst. health manag. 10(1): 87-92. dx.doi.org/10.1080/14634980701194027
In: Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management. Taylor and Francis: Oxford. ISSN 1463-4988; e-ISSN 1539-4077
TheKetenisse polder is a former intertidal brackish marsh of 30 ha situated between the fortress of Liefkenshoekand the Kallo sluice on the left bank of the Schelde estuary, Belgium. In the 19th century its central part wasembanked as a polder. During the construction of a traffic tunnel in the late eighties, the excavated soil wasdumped between a lower summer dike and the damming dike. The area was restored in 2002 as compensationfor the construction of a container terminal on a mudflat in 1994-1995. The rubble of the summer dike and thedumped material were removed and the area was levelled with the intention of creating the optimal startingconditions for the development of new tidal mudflats and marshes.Developments concerning morphology, sediment characteristics and sedimentation-erosion processes aremonitored. Six transects with sedimentation-erosion plots were placed perpendicular to the shoreline. Thisarticle discusses those monitoring results, mainly for the first year after levelling.Sedimentation as well as erosion between 0 and 30 cm was observed in the first year. Local changes in streamcurrent patterns caused erosion on some parts of the former mudflats; sheltered depressions filled up relativelyfast. Median grain size showed large variation, both spatial and temporal. Organic matter content of the sediment varied between 0.5 and 15% and was closely related to sediment median grain size.
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