ARTICLE IN PRESS

Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514

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Continental Shelf Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/csr

Methods for medium-term prediction of the net sediment transport by waves

and currents in complex coastal regions
Jennifer M. Brown a,, Alan G. Davies b
a
Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Joseph Proudman Building, 6 Brownlow Street, Liverpool L3 5DA, UK
b
School of Ocean Sciences, College of Natural Science, Bangor University, Anglesey, Wales LL59 5AB, UK

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Medium-term prediction of sediment transport and morphological behaviour in the coastal zone is
Received 4 December 2008 becoming increasingly important as a result of human interference and changing environmental
Received in revised form conditions. The interaction of waves and tides is shown to play a pivotal role in the net (annual)
17 February 2009
sediment transport and morphodynamics of the coastal zone. The TELEMAC Modelling System has been
Accepted 27 March 2009
applied to the Dyfi Estuary and neighbouring coastline, mid Wales, to recreate the annual wave–current
Available online 17 April 2009
conditions and the resulting sediment fluxes. ‘Input reduction’ methods have been required to produce
Keywords: realistic schematisations of events in practical computation times. A field campaign carried out in 2006
TELEMAC provided data for validation of the flow module (TELEMAC-2D) and also observations to verify the patterns
Sand transport
predicted by the wave module (TOMAWAC). To improve model accuracy refinements were implemented
Wave–current interaction
with regard to the sand transport formulation used in the sand transport module (SISYPHE). Here, a
Medium-term prediction
Dyfi Estuary Wales parameterisation of the results from the UWB 1DV sand transport ‘research’ model, for the conditions in
the Dyfi Estuary, has been introduced, allowing SISYPHE to provide greater realism in the morphological
predictions. The model predictions are presented along with a discussion of the success/failure and
limitations of the modelling methods applied.
Crown Copyright & 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Coastal morphology results from complex interactions be-
tween a number of constituent processes (waves, currents,
sediment transport, Villaret and Davies, 2004) and the topogra-
phical change that they produce. Currents can both stir up and
transport sediments, while waves enhance stirring. Although
storm events are likely to cause the greatest sediment transport
rates, the largest contributions to medium-term transport result
from fairly large, frequent waves combined with currents lying
roughly between spring and neap tidal maxima (Soulsby, 1997).
Over the last four decades coastal morphological modelling has
made significant progress (Briand and Kamphuis, 1993). Such
models consider the initial shape of the bed and update it at
regular intervals, along with re-computing the wave, current and
sediment transport patterns (Soulsby, 1997). The state-of-the-art
process-based models have now shown the capability of accurate
prediction (Elias et al., 2006) and are capable of predicting
estuarine morphology, but not yet on time scales as long as
decades or centuries (Stive and Wang, 2003).
The TELEMAC Modelling System (Hervouet and Bates, 2000) is
applied to the Dyfi Estuary and neighbouring coastline in Cardigan
Bay, Wales. The coastal area is influenced by tides, rivers, waves
and wave-induced currents. The objective here has been to use a
deterministic approach to recreate the (annual) wave–current
conditions in order to predict the medium-term (annual) net
sediment transport in the region. In order to simulate an annual
cycle ‘input reduction’ methods have been required to produce
realistic schematisations of events in feasible computation times.
Further application of this newly developed methodology has
been given by Davies and Brown (2007).
This paper is focused on procedures to predict annual sediment
transport pathways. The main goals are: (i) to simulate an annual
scenario in feasible computation times, while (ii) representing the
typical annual wave–current conditions by the use of reduction
applied to the input data, and (iii) to implement a relatively
sophisticated sediment transport model and ripple prediction
routine. The important interaction between the wave field and
tidal asymmetry is also highlighted with regard to ‘sediment
pumping’ at the estuary mouth. In Section 2 the study site is
introduced followed, in Section 3, by a description of the model,
its validation and the boundary conditions used. The model
application is discussed with regard to the Dyfi Estuary in Section
4 and the conclusions are presented in Section 5.
2. Study site

 Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 151795 4971; fax: +44 151795 4801. The Dyfi Estuary is one of the largest estuaries within Cardigan
E-mail address: jebro@pol.ac.uk (J.M. Brown). Bay, mid Wales, UK (Fig. 1), and has been a shallow water, low-energy

0278-4343/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright & 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.csr.2009.03.018
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514
estuary since 3500 years BP (Shi and Lamb, 1991). Typically a net
sediment drift approaches the estuary from the south (Borth)
resulting in shoal formation at the estuary mouth (Gwynedd
Council, 2003). The effective width of the estuary mouth is 0.8 km
due to the restriction caused by Ynyslas spit, which extends from the
southern shore. The River Dyfi enters the estuary from the east and
the River Leri joins the main channel of the Dyfi just inside Ynyslas
spit. The lower part of the estuary consists of banks and channels
shaped by the tide, while the inner estuary consists of a meandering
river channel. Presently the estuary is considered to be in a state of
dynamic equilibrium (Pethick, 1996). Sand (D50 ¼ 240–350 mm) is
the dominant sediment type.
At low tide on springs the estuary dries out with exception
of the main channel, which meanders through the sandbanks
(Fig. 1). A consequence of the shallow nature of the estuary is that
the tide is asymmetric, taking 5 h to flood and 7 h to ebb at
Aberdyfi. The dominance of the tidal flow in the circulation
patterns combined with the shallow nature of the estuary
produces vertically well-mixed waters. Weak vertical stratifica-
tion is sometimes evident, but only during slack water neap tide.
A strong ebb flow occurs in the northern channel past Aberdyfi,
while the flood flow is stronger along the south side of the mouth
and in the southern channel (Haynes and Dobson, 1969). A field
study in January 2006 indicated that this situation still persists
today. At present, it is hypothesised that there is a net sediment
loss through the estuary mouth in response to the dominant ebb
flow.
Compared with the currents, waves are of little importance in
relation to sediment movement within the estuary, but they are
important in the growth and decay of Ynyslas spit and ‘pumping’
the sediment through the estuary mouth. At low tide the waves
are kept out of the estuary by the presence of sandbanks, and so
have a minimal effect. Waves generated internally in the estuary
are limited because the fetch over which the wind can act is
restricted (Jarvis, 1970). Winds also play a major role in sediment
movement, especially at low tide. Sandbanks exposed on the
ebbing tide dry quickly, and thus become a source for sub-aerial
movement in suitable conditions.
Considerable channel migration has occurred in the past,
as has the dominance of a particular channel. Generally two
channels have been present (Fig. 1), namely the northern
channel, that passes Aberdyfi, and a southern channel, that
varies its position over time (Fisher, 1991). These channels persist
today and are represented in the model domain described in
Section 3.
Fig. 1. The Dyfi Estuary, Wales, UK (Haynes and Dobson, 1969).
1503
3. Model description
The following TELEMAC (version 5.5) modules have been used in
the present application: TELEMAC-2D (2DH current field prediction),
TOMAWAC (wave field prediction) and SISYPHE (sand transport and
seabed morphology prediction). The modules were run in a
repeated sequence (Fig. 2), which is explained later, to predict
annual sediment fluxes in the study area.
The model domain (Fig. 3), which included both the coastline
and an area of open sea, was represented using a triangular,
unstructured, finite element grid. A high resolution (20–100 m)
mesh was applied within the estuary and also in the surf zone to
allow high resolution of the significant bathymetric features,
while a coarser grid resolution (500 m) was applied offshore to
reduce computation times. The estuarine bathymetry was
obtained from LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data collected
in 2004 and hydrographic surveys performed in 2002 and 2006.
The offshore data was obtained by digitizing Admiralty charts.
The POLCOMS model of the Irish Sea (Holt and Proctor, 2003),
with a 1 nautical mile grid size, was used to predict the depth-
averaged velocity and elevation components around the outer
offshore boundary of the model domain for a spring–neap tidal
cycle. Only the M2 and S2 components were used in TELEMAC-2D to
predict the tide in order to allow a closed average spring–neap
cycle to be modelled. Elevation and velocity components were
T ELEMAC_2D
(Tide + river simulation)
Tidal data
passed on
New bed profile fedback in
TOMAWAC
(Wave simulation with tidal effects)
Tidal + wave
data passed on
TELEMAC_2D
(Tide + river combined with wave induced
currents, also containing wave information)
Tidal, wave +
long shore
current data SISYPHE
passed on
[Sediment transport simulation]
Continuity flow
correction loop [Resulting bed morphology]
Fig. 2. The long-term sequence of TELEMAC module simulations. Bed roughness is
imposed with variable roughness across the model domain in TELEMAC-2D, and
predicted due to wave–current interaction in SISYPHE.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1504 J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514

Easting, m simulated on top of the time-varying tidal elevations for the

duration of either a single (average) tide or the full spring–neap

00

00

00

00

00

00

00
tidal cycle.

50

75

00

25

50

75

00
25

25

26

26

26

26

27
Following each wave simulation TELEMAC-2D was run again to
predict the wave-induced current patterns due to wave breaking
300000 Tywyn
(and wave set-up) combined with the tidal field and river flow
Dyfi
4 Bathymetry, m (Fig. 2). A 1 s model time step was here required in TELEMAC-2D to
Junction
1 2 3
10.0 spin-up the longshore current using the radiation stress informa-
297500 8.2
Aberdyfi 6.4
tion provided by TOMAWAC. For correct simulation, the code within
4.6 TELEMAC-2D had to be modified to update the wave field in time, in
Northing, m

295000
292500 Ynyslas Spit
5 -8.2
290000
Borth
287500
Fig. 3. The Dyfi Estuary bathymetry, where 0 m ¼ Ordinance Datum Newlyn. The
dashed lines show the cross-sections used to analyse the net transport over the
estuary domain and the crosses show the locations of the data plotted in Fig. 12.
Table 1
River data before and after ‘input reduction’ for 2004.
River Dyfi Q (m3/s)
Full 2004 data set
Maximum 188.71
Minimum 1.58
Mean 17.00
Reduced 2004 data set
Maximum 106.81
Minimum 2.08
Mean 17.87
imposed along both the western and northern boundary, while
only the velocity was prescribed along the southern boundary.
Thompson boundary adjustments (a procedure incorporated in
TELEMAC-2D) were applied to the western and northern boundary,
modifying the velocity for consistency with the elevations. This
prevented over-prescription of the boundary conditions, resulting
in smooth tidal streams across the domain. An annual river
discharge representative of the year 2004 (Table 1) was imposed
at the river boundaries, using data collected by the UK
Environment Agency from gauging stations in the rivers Dyfi
and Leri. A 10 s model time step was used to simulate a full
spring–neap cycle in a reasonable computation time. TELEMAC-2D
allows ‘wetting and drying’ of inter-tidal areas to be modelled.
This key feature is carried through into SISYPHE such that sand
transport, and hence morphological change, can only be simulated
at grid nodes covered by the tide at that instance in time.
A wave climate for the study area was obtained by applying a
JONSWAP model using measured wind records over fetches off the
estuary mouth. The model uses simple engineering formulae
developed by Carter (1982), using re-analysed JONSWAP data, for the
estimation of wave height and period as a function of wind
conditions. TOMAWAC, a third generation spectral wave model, was
used to simulate the wave field locally, based upon these
prescribed wave inputs around the model boundary. The simula-
tion included wave breaking and dissipation due to bottom
friction. Including wind effects is a further option in TOMAWAC, but
requires a significantly reduced time step. The model time step
was taken here as 30 s and each prescribed wave event was
2.7
response to the tidal elevation, to allow a varying (in shoreline
0.9
-0.9 position and magnitude over time) longshore current to be
-2.7 predicted. The boundary conditions in the nearshore were
-4.5
modified such that the current conditions of the nearest internal
-6.3
point were imposed. This allowed the longshore current to flow
-10.0
in/out of the coastal system. Finally SISYPHE used the hydrodynamic
-11.8
-13.6 and wave predictions to simulate the sediment transport and
-15.4 resulting change in bed morphology (resulting from 2D flows) for
the prescribed number of tidal cycles during which a defined wave
event persisted. At this stage an enhanced wave–current bottom
friction is used. The new bed profile was then implemented in
TELEMAC-2D and TOMAWAC to update the hydrodynamics.
In SISYPHE a ripple prediction subroutine was implemented to
predict the local seabed roughness arising mainly from the
occurrence of small-scale ripples. This procedure used the method
of Wiberg and Harris (1994) to predict the ripple geometry due to
waves and the correction factor of Tanaka and Dang (1996) to
River Leri Q (m3/s)
account for the superposition of a co-linear current on top of the
wave field. This correction factor was modified here to allow for
10.90 wave attack at any angle to the current flow. A ripple steepness
0.25 criterion based on Nielsen’s (1992) empirical model was also
1.520
imposed to limit the maximum steepness in the presence of
currents that are sufficiently strong to flatten the ripple profile
5.19 (Davies and Villaret, 2003).
0.31
A 30 min time step was applied in SISYPHE for the duration of
1.517
each wave event in a defined annual sequence. During each wave
event the waves (orbit velocity) remained constant (i.e. based on
the bathymetry at the start of the event), while in SISYPHE the flow
was modified successively via a ‘continuity correction’. This
correction modifies the depth-averaged velocity, u, predicted by
TELEMAC-2D for the bed elevation at the start of a wave event, such
that the water flux, uh, is maintained at its fixed value at each
node during the wave event as the bed elevation changes.
In the present study SISYPHE was implemented as a ‘local
equilibrium’ model. This meant that the change in bed level
resulted from gradients in the total sediment transport, computed
by the bed continuity equation
@Z f
ð1  nÞ ¼ r  ðQ t Þ (1)
@t
where n is the bed porosity, Zf the bottom elevation, Qt the solid
volume transport per unit width, t the time and r the gradient
operator. This assumes that equilibrium transport conditions have
been achieved and that changes in the suspended load, as well as
bed load, are associated directly with changes in bed elevation. No
account has been taken here of the lag effects in the suspended
sediment load. These effects could be important with regard to
the morphological change within the estuary, but SISYPHE version
5.5 was found to be give unrealistic predictions when set-up to
include lag effects for a coastal domain.
User-options available in SISYPHE, implemented in this study, are
the ability to include a non-uniform bed mixture, bed slope effects
on the transport rate and ‘hiding and exposure’ effects on the
sediment. In a mixture large particles, more exposed to the flow,
provide shelter to the smaller grains, a formulation by Karim and
Kennedy (1982) was applied to represent this. The sediment
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514
transport rate for each sediment size is computed and weighted
depending on the proportion of the sediment in the mixture. The
combined total sediment transport is then output by SISYPHE.
Sediment samples taken within the estuary for this study, and also
in previous years by Gwynedd Council for the surrounding
coastline, revealed that the region of interest consisted mainly
of sand. For this study an equal mix of 300 and 240 mm sediment
grain sizes (the dominant sizes, D50, in the samples across the
domain) was applied in SISYPHE. Spatially varying sediment
fractions and grain sizes were initially applied across the domain,
but generated numerical instability. The model simulation was
therefore simplified to use the observed dominant grain sizes in
an equal mix.
3.1. Sand transport formulation
SISYPHE has the option of using a variety of wave–current sand
transport formulae, for example Bijker’s (1992) formulation being
on option. ‘Practical’ sand transport models such as Bijker’s model
are commonly used within large-scale domains, but ‘research’
models, such as the local one-dimensional vertical (1DV) intra-
wave research model of the University of Wales Bangor (UWB),
play an important role in understanding the physical processes
involved at a more fundamental level. Background theory and
running procedures for the UWB 1DV model has been given by
Malarkey and Davies (2005).
In the sand transport simulations presented here, the UWB
1DV model has been parameterised for the conditions in the Dyfi
Estuary and programmed into SISYPHE to replace the existing
procedures. The rationale for replacing the existing engineering
formulae is that the UWB 1DV model predicts the transport
magnitude and direction (in both the current and the cross-
current directions) above differing bed types when waves are
superimposed at any angle onto a current (Malarkey and Davies,
2005). The UWB 1DV model includes intra-wave processes,
accounting for Stokes second-order wave effects and directional
effects due to wave–current interaction on the transport. It also
includes the same ripple prediction scheme as that in SISYPHE
(Section 3). A parameterisation of the transport rates predicted
by this model contains the fuller picture of the physical
processes involved, potentially improving local sand transport
predictions. Although the detailed physical processes themselves,
for example vortex shedding, have not been parameterised
in SISYPHE directly, the method of predicting the transport rate
for a given flow and wave condition captures the model’s
behaviour and so includes the effects of such processes implicitly.
The model has been validated using both field and laboratory data
(Davies et al., 2002).
The UWB 1DV model was parameterised here by adapting the
Soulsby–van Rijn transport formula (Soulsby, 1997), which has the
form
"  #2:4
2 0:018 2 0:5
Q b;s ¼ Ab;s ū ū þ 2 ūw  ucr (2)
CD
where
0:005hðD50 =hÞ1:2 0:012D50 D0:6

Ab ¼ ; As ¼
ððs  1ÞgD50 Þ1:2 ððs  1ÞgD50 Þ1:2
where Ab determines the bed load transport, As determines the
suspended component of the transport, u% is the depth-averaged
current velocity, u% w the root mean square wave orbital velocity, ucr
the threshold velocity for sediment motion, CD the drag
coefficient, D50 the median grain diameter, D* the non-dimen-
sional grain diameter, h the water depth, s the relative density and
g the acceleration due to gravity. The different structure of
1505
the leading (Ab,s) term is due to the different transport modes.
The initial template represented by Eq. (2) has been recalibrated
using 200 local wave and/or current conditions that occurred in
the Dyfi model domain, for which the UWB 1DV model has been
run. A trial and error method was used to tune the powers and
constants within the equation to obtain the best fit with the
UWB 1DV model output. This included adding a wave–current
directional component to the equation, since transport predicted
by the original Soulsby–van Rijn formula is in the current
direction only. Here, the net sediment transport predicted by
SISYPHE when using the new parameterisation was not only in the
current direction, but also included a transverse transport
component. For the annual wave climate in the Dyfi this
transverse transport potentially contributed to beach stabilisation
due to a weak onshore-directed component of the net transport
(see Davies and Villaret, 2002). If the sediment transport is
assumed to be in the current direction alone, then only longshore
drift will occur during wave events as a result of the alongshore
current.
The transport rates predicted by the parameterisation based on
Eq. (2) had an average goodness of fit to the UWB 1DV model
output data within a factor of 72 over the full range of conditions.
The comparison shown in Fig. 4 represents intermediate (h ¼ 5 m,
D50 ¼ 0.25 mm) conditions occurring in the Dyfi Estuary. The
% and
transport increases significantly with both current velocity, u,
also increasing wave size, while some of the irregularity in the
transport curves can be attributed to the predicted bed form sizes
(Davies and Villaret, 2002). The new parameterisation becomes
less accurate as the bed conditions become steeply rippled (lower
% due to the majority of the parameterised conditions in
values of u)
the Dyfi Estuary being for flat bed or low ripples. The UWB 1DV
model results themselves, through comparison with field and
laboratory data (Davies et al., 2002), are believed to be correct on
average and often to be accurate to within a factor of 72 in
individual cases. By using the parameterised UWB 1DV model
the sand transport predictions made by SISYPHE are improved
over the annual period considered. An example of improved
accuracy is the inclusion of wave-effects on the net transport
direction. The standard SISYPHE procedure assumes that the net
transport always occurs in the current direction alone and waves
only act to enhance the transport rates.
102
Bed
101 Plane
Qt (kg/ms)
100
d Bed
Ripple
10-1
Current only
H = 1m T = 6s
H = 2m T = 7s
H = 3m T = 8s
10-2 Current alone
H = 0.5m T =5s
H = 1m T = 6s
H = 2m T = 7s
10-3
0.5 1 1.5 2
Uc (m/s)
Fig. 4. The magnitude of the sand transport predicted by the UWB 1DV model
(solid lines) and the new parameterisation (dashed lines) for the wave–current
conditions in the Dyfi Estuary. The results shown here are for intermediate water
depth (5 m) and grain diameter (0.25 mm) values within the Dyfi Estuary.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1506 J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514
3.2. Model validation
To obtain the most realistic results the hydrodynamic and
wave inputs had to be as accurate as possible. Here the input data
for the tides and waves were determined for conditions in 2004
and river discharge data was also obtained for 2004. This year was
chosen because it was the most recent full annual cycle that could
be obtained at the start of the study. By using the most recent
inputs, including present sea levels and storminess, an accurate
tidal regime and wave climate have been obtained.
The tidal fluxes within the estuary were validated using
bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data
collected in January/February 2006. The data were collected
during an extreme spring tide and neap tide in the main northern
channel passing Aberdyfi. To tune the model results the bottom
friction, mean water levels and the boundary conditions were
adjusted. It was found that the most accurate representation of
both the spring and neap tide, and therefore for the full
spring–neap cycle, involved a simulation with a mean water level
of 0.36 m (above ODN), which is believed to be accurate for the
local area, together with a bottom roughness that represented
ripples of height 3 cm locally within the estuary. The water fluxes
based on the measured (depth-averaged) ADCP data, and
predicted by TELEMAC-2D for the tidal simulation are shown in
Fig. 5. It is evident that the tide is ebb dominant (negative
velocity) in both duration and peak magnitude, especially during
spring tide.
Bearing in mind that the tidal forcing in Cardigan Bay is
symmetrical, TELEMAC-2D quite accurately simulated the magni-
tude and asymmetry of the neap tide (Fig. 5a), but it under
predicted the peak flows during spring tide (Fig. 5b). This was due
to the ADCP data having been obtained over one of the largest
spring tides of the year (31 January–1 February), whereas the
model simulation is for an average spring–neap cycle comprising
only the M2 and S2 tidal components. In the estuary the spring
1.5
1
Water fluc, m2/s
0.5
-0.5
-1
-1.5
0 5
6
4
Water fluc, m2/s
-2
-4
-6
0 5
Fig. 5. Water flux comparison for the most valid simulation (–J–) and ADCP data (–). The subplots depict (a) the neap tide (24 January–25 January, 2006) and (b) the spring
tide (31 January–1 February, 2006) at a location in the main channel off Aberdyfi.
tidal range can vary by 1 m leading to significant variation in the
spring tidal regime. The neap tide only varies by 60 cm which is
less significant. The data confirm that the TELEMAC-2D module
accurately predicted the observed tidal asymmetry, but that it
requires more tidal constituents to accurately represent the peak
flows for extreme spring tides. Since an annual cycle is being
modelled in this application it was felt to be more appropriate to
use an average spring–neap cycle than a full annual tidal cycle due
to the limitation of CPU time.
The JONSWAP model used to predict the wave input parameters
used as boundary conditions in TOMAWAC was calibrated using
WaveNet data (http://www.cefas.co.uk/data/wavenet.aspx). A wave
decay parameter can be tuned within this model to obtain the
required wave heights and a regression formula is used to calculate
the peak wave period associated with the wave height. This
regression formula has been developed at the Centre for Applied
Marine Science (CAMS), Bangor University, using a long-term
archived data set from the Meteorological Office. Here the input
wave climate was tuned to have the same trends and generally the
same wave height as data collected from the wave buoy at
Aberporth located 40 km to the south in Cardigan Bay (Fig. 6).
Some discrepancies occur due to the location of this buoy
compared with that of Aberdyfi, but generally the predicted wave
climate (Fig. 6a) is considered to be accurate compared with the
wave buoy data (Fig. 6b).
No data was available to validate the longshore currents
predicted in the study region. The currents were therefore tuned,
by modifying the bottom roughness (ks) in the surf zone, to
reasonable velocities using field data collected by Komar and
Inman (1970). Due to the sensitivity of the current to variations in
ks, only a small increase in ks was required (ks ¼ 6–7 cm ripples) to
reduce the current to reasonable velocities (0.75 m/s in extreme
conditions). In TELEMAC-2D three roughness zones, the first offshore
ks ¼ 3D50, and second in the surf zone (ks ¼ 6–7 cm) and the third
in the estuary (ks ¼ 3 cm), were imposed to accurately simulate
SN12
ADCP
10 15 20 25
Time, hrs
SN12
ADCP
10 15 20 25
Time, hrs
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514
Wave height, m
4
01-Jan 19-Feb 09-Apr 29-May 18-Jul 06-Sep 29-Oct 15-Dec
4.5
Wave height, m
3.6
2.7
1.8
0.9
12-Jan 11-Mar 09-May
Fig. 6. (a) Predicted significant wave height at Aberdyfi using the JONSWAP model and (b) the measured significant wave height at Aberporth in 2004.
the current field, while having similar bed roughness to that
predicted in SISYPHE. The bed roughness predicted by SISYPHE is
time-varying preventing direct implementation into TELEMAC-2D in
this model set-up. We therefore simplify the predictions made by
SISYPHE and impose (representative) constant bottom roughness in
distinct zones within TELEMAC-2D. The river flows did not require
validation since discharge measurements for 2004 were imposed
directly in the model. There was no direct validation data for the
sediment transport, only indirect evidence based upon prior
validation of the UWB 1DV model for similar grain sizes and
wave–current forcing.
3.3. ‘Input reduction’ to simulate an annual scenario
The main limiting factor in medium-term morphological
prediction is the CPU time required to run a number of wave
cases superimposed on a tide. To reduce the computational cost
and make simulations compatible with engineering requirements
the number of natural events to be simulated needs to be reduced
by selecting a set of representative field conditions (Southgate,
1995).
The most time consuming procedure was combining each
wave event with the tidal field within TOMAWAC. The aim of
reducing the wave input was to replace the actual wave climate by
a small number of representative conditions (c.f. De Vriend et al.,
1993). A ‘many representative wave’ approach (Chesher et al.,
2005) was applied in this study. This procedure combines wave
conditions over different sectors (directions) to create a single set
of wave parameters. By using a ‘representative wave’ for each
sector and applying a weighting factor dependent on the wave’s
frequency of occurrence, greatly reduces the computational time.
It is important to keep the same pattern of wave chronology to
represent the seasons in the reduced wave climate (Southgate,
1995), in order to maintain inter-annual realism when updating
the bathymetry throughout the cycle. The annual Dyfi wave
climate for 2004 was split into seasons (winter, spring, summer
1507
Dyfi
2004
Aberporth
Buoy
07-Jul 04-Sep 02-Nov 31-Dec
2004
and autumn) each consisting of three months. Wave ‘input
filtering’ was applied to each season to retain the annual wave
chronology. The seasonal wave data was then schematised into a
single wave for four sectors covering the offshore domain. Three
equally spaced sectors of 361 discretised the southern to north-
west region of the domain, whilst the fourth sector of 721
discretised the northwest–north region. This allowed more
accurate representation over the (south-westerly) region of
greatest wave activity. A representative significant wave height,
H0, for each sector was found
2P 3
ðfHs Þ
6 7
H0 ¼ 4 i P 5 (3)
f
i
where f is the frequency of occurrence of each wave case, i, and Hs
the significant wave height of each wave case, i. To obtain a
corresponding period for each wave height the regression used in
the JONSWAP model to predict the peak period was applied. For each
season the representative wave parameters and tide-alone cases
were ordered to generate a similar trend in wave height through
the seasons as that within the actual climate.
The reduced wave climate (Fig. 7) consisted of generally larger
waves in the winter months and smaller waves in the summer
months, following the trends in the annual climate. The waves
were most frequent, and also of larger height, from the west
and southwest direction as implied by data for Borth (Royal
Haskoning, 2004) and Barmouth (Atkins, 2005). Since the
averaging procedure reduces the impact of severe storm events
over the seasonally averaged period, two additional south-
westerly storm events were included using data collected at
Borth (Royal Haskoning, 2004). A wave height of 3.5 m was
applied for 2 days in the autumn and a wave height of 2.75 m
was applied for 5 days in the winter. Again the JONSWAP regression
was applied to obtain the corresponding periods.
The reduced wave events were applied in TOMAWAC for
the duration over which the waves occurred in each season.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1508 J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514

5
Annual
Reduced
4

Wave height, m
3

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Time, days

12
Annual
11 Reduced
10
Wave period, s

5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Time, days

Fig. 7. The 2004 full annual wave climate (solid line) and the reduced annual wave climate ( points), for (a) the significant wave height and (b) the peak wave period. Day
0 is 1st January.

This removed the need for a weighting factor on the transport

rates. The resulting wave climate (Fig. 7) consisted of 28 wave
cases, 10 of which were tide-alone cases.
Tides are modulated by various cycles, for example the
spring–neap cycle. This makes a real-time representation of
the tide computationally demanding (De Vriend et al., 1993).
The methods used by Latteux (1995) have been applied to the
study area in order to produce a representative tide. The main
feature of this method is to represent the net sand transport due
to the spring–neap cycle by a single morphological tide. A single
representative tide is often between the mean and spring tide to
represent long-term trends (Latteux, 1995). This is due to the
strong non-linear relationship between sediment transport and
flow velocity.
In this study the morphological tide was chosen to reconstruct
as accurately as possible both the net and gross sediment transport
results for the spring–neap tidal cycle when the morphological
tide was run for the same duration as the spring–neap cycle. The
morphological tide was developed using sand transport rates
predicted by SISYPHE at a selection of model nodes across the Fig. 8. The full spring–neap cycle at a grid node in the centre of the offshore
domain. A single tide was found (Tide 26 in the spring–neap cycle, domain used to select the morphological tides. Tide 26 was imposed for tide-alone
Fig. 8) to meet the requirements of the morphological tide under conditions and Tide 11 when waves were present.
tide-alone conditions, here after referred to as Tide 26. This single
tide had slightly greater tidal range than the mean. Since there is
no formal method of reducing combined wave and tide that the wave climate affects which tide should be applied as the
conditions, the wave climate and tidal field have been reduced morphological tide (at least at this site) and that no single tide can
separately. The most extreme wave case (Hs ¼ 3.5 m, Tp ¼ 6.78, accurately represent the spring–neap cycle in the presence of
y ¼ 541) in the reduced wave climate was simulated over the varying waves. For example, we require a different representative
spring–neap cycle. A tide closer to the mean tide (Tide 11 in the tide to represent the two extremes of wave conditions, no waves
spring–neap cycle, Fig. 8) was found to be more accurate at and storm waves. To make the annual simulation of the Dyfi
reproducing the net and gross transport rates if applied for the Estuary as realistic as possible Tide 26 was applied as the
duration of a spring–neap cycle in this case. This demonstrates morphological tide in tide-alone cases and Tide 11 was applied
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514 1509

200
Annual

Discharge, m2/s
150 Reduced

100

50

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Time, days

12
Annual
10
Reduced
Discharge, m2/s

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Time, days

Fig. 9. The full annual river discharge (solid line) and the reduced annual river discharge (* points) for (a) the River Dyfi and (b) the River Leri, day 0 is 1st January.

for wave cases. Developing a morphological tide for each wave

case would have been inefficient as it would have required a full
spring–neap tidal cycle being combined with 18 different wave
cases. Linking each tide would have also led to discontinuity as the
high water elevations would have differed for successive tides.
Both tides were between a spring and mean tide, with a slight bias
to the mean tide, consistent with Latteux (1995).
The inclusion of river discharge had little effect on model run
times, but created a more realistic simulation (mainly for the
upper part of the estuary). An annual pattern of discharge for
2004 was linked to the representative wave–tide cases in the
reduced 2004 climate. Since the duration of each wave–tide case
was known the river data was averaged over the same time period
to provide a reduced river discharge climate (Fig. 9). Table 1 shows
that, although the extreme values over the year were reduced, the
mean value was within 0.26% of the annual average for the River
Leri and within 0.5% for the River Dyfi. Since the rivers had little
impact on the current field near Aberdyfi the loss of extreme peak
flows in discharge in the reduced climate was of minor
importance. Fig. 10. The scalar flow velocity at points locally in the estuary mouth (located by
The larger discharge rates occurred in the autumn months and the cross in section 1, Fig. 3) and in the northern and southern channels (located by
at the start of winter relating to the wetter season (Fig. 9). The the crosses in section 2, Fig. 3). The bathymetry is shown in Fig. 3.
interaction of the river and wave impact had great importance at
these times in relation to the net transport through the estuary
mouth as illustrated in Section 4. TELEMAC-2D was used initially to simulate the morphological
tide and river flows in the model domain without waves. Through
the estuary mouth (section 1, Fig. 3) the tide is quite symmetrical,
4. Model investigation with slight ebb dominance in duration and flood dominance in
peak velocity (Fig. 10). Since the ebb is only slightly weaker than
The TELEMAC Modelling System was applied to the Dyfi Estuary the flood the somewhat longer duration of the ebb leads to a net
to simulate the hydrodynamic and wave conditions. This allowed sediment loss from the estuary. In the northern (dominant)
an investigation, using the module SISYPHE, of the net sediment channel (located in section 2) the tide is ebb dominant in duration
transport patterns in the Dyfi Estuary and along the neighbouring and has similar peak velocity as the flood tide (Fig. 10).
coastline. The five cross-sections investigated here are shown in Enhancement of the peak ebb velocity to values approximately
Fig. 3. equal to, or exceeding, the flood tide velocity is a result of the vast
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1510 J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514

extent of sand flats within the estuary. Typical tidal asymmetry
(short fast flood with a long weak ebb) occurs due to shallow
water effects modifying the tidal curve. In the lower estuary the
sand flats constraining the tidal flow within the channels at times
of low water level enhance the peak ebb flow velocity. Taken
together, these processes lead to ebb dominance in the lower
estuary, which is enhanced by any river flow present. In the
southern (secondary) channel (located in section 2) the tide is
much weaker and has typical shallow water asymmetry
characteristics (Fig. 10).
TOMAWAC was used next to simulate the wave field. At high
water the waves are able to enter the estuary mouth over the
sandbanks on either side of the main tidal channel (Fig. 11a),
while at low water the wave activity is held out of the estuary (Fig.
11b). These modelled wave patterns were confirmed through
observations during the field survey in January/February 2006.
The extent of wave intrusion and exclusion from the estuary
mouth depends on the tidal elevation and phase of the tidal
current.
The time-varying influence of the waves at the estuary mouth
leads to a sediment ‘pumping mechanism’ as this process
interacts with the asymmetries in the tidal flow. In the Dyfi the
waves have most impact, due to breaking, on the banks in the
estuary mouth during high water elevations when the tide floods.
But bank exposure during low water levels and the ebb
dominance in tidal duration, combined with approximately
symmetrical peak tidal velocities in the main channel, means
that the net effect of the waves is to enhance the sediment loss
from the estuary.
Following simulation of the waves TELEMAC-2D was reused to
predict the wave-induced currents. The velocity profiles at times
of high and low water over section 4 (Fig. 3) show that the
longshore current is a fast jet of 0.5 m/s limited to the surf zone.
Offshore the weaker tidal flow dominates oscillating between
peak velocities of 70.2 m/s (Fig. 12). In this research the model
was modified to update the longshore current for the changing
wave conditions due to the variation in tidal elevation. This
allowed accurate representation of the oscillating positions of
both the surf zone and the longshore current (Fig. 12). Fig. 12 also
shows how TOMAWAC predicts a local increase in wave height before
the waves break.
The following sediment transport patterns predicted by SISYPHE
as a result of the tides and waves are for a 12.5 h (morphological
tidal) period. In each case an average morphological tide is used
with and without waves and river flow. Through the estuary
mouth (section 1, Fig. 3) the net sand transport depends upon the
interaction of the waves, tides and river. For tide-alone conditions
there is a net export of sand in the main channel (Fig. 13). On
either side of the channel drying banks allow a weak sand import
(Fig. 13). The estuary mouth therefore exchanges sand with
offshore, as well as providing a source for the sandbanks at the
estuary mouth. The influence of a river on top of the tide acts to
enhance this sediment loss and reduce the import of sediment
over the banks (Fig. 13). The impact of the river on the net
transport will of course depend upon the river discharge rate.
When waves were superimposed on the tides with the
consequent wave-induced currents, the net sand transport
through the mouth of the estuary was enhanced substantially.

Wave Height, Wave Height,

m m
0.97 0.98
296000 296000 0.89
0.87
Bank el 0.78 Bank el 0.79
n
Chan n
Northing, m

Northing, m

0.68 Chan 0.69

295000 Bank 0.58 295000
Bank 0.59
0.49 0.49
0.39 0.39
294000 0.29 294000 0.30
0.19 0.20
0.10 0.10
293000 0.00 293000 0.00
00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00

00
90

00

10

20

30

90

00

10

20

30
25

26

26

26

26

25

26

26

26

26

Easting, m Easting, m

Fig. 11. Wave height at the estuary mouth at (a) high and (b) low water spring tide. These results are for a wave height of 1 m, from the south-westerly direction offshore.
The bathymetry is shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 12. Wave height at high (+ line) and low ( line) water, and current velocity for a tide combined with a wave-induced (Hs ¼ 2.75 m from SSW) current field at high (?
line) and low (– line) water across section 4 in Fig. 3.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514 1511

x 105 x 105
2.96 2.96
2.958 tide
tide + river
2.956 north bank
2.955
2.954

Northing, m

Northing, m
main channel
2.952
2.95 south bank
2.95
2.948
2.946
2.945
2.944
2.942
2.94 2.94
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
Net sand transport, m2/s x 10-4 Depth, m

Fig. 13. The left panel shows the net sediment transport through the estuary mouth, cross-section 1 in Fig. 3, for the morphological tide (Tide 26) with and without the
influence of the mean river discharge (Table 1) and with no wave influence. The right panel shows the bathymetry across the estuary mouth, section 1 in Fig. 3. Positive
values represent sediment import into the estuary.

x105 x105
2.96 2.965
2.958
2.96 North Channel
2.956
2.955
2.954 Northing, m
2.95 Sand Flats
Northing, m

2.952 / Banks

2.95
2.948
2.946
2.944
2.942
2.94
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1
net sand transport, m2/s
Fig. 14. The net sediment transport through the estuary mouth, section 1 in Fig. 3,
for the ‘morphological wave tide’ (Tide 11) with mean river discharge (Table 1) and a
south-westerly wave (Hs ¼ 2.15 m, Tp ¼ 8.1 s).
The magnitude of the transport was enhanced due to the stirring
effects of waves, while the transport direction depended on the
flow, together with how the times of peak wave and current
conditions interacted. In the Dyfi the wave activity has a
significant influence on the net sand transport over the sandbanks
bounding the main channel through the estuary mouth (Fig. 14).
More generally, combining wave activity with tidal elevations is
most important in the accurate quantification of net transport
rates through an estuary mouth. The transport rates in Fig. 15
relative to those in Fig. 14 are doubled due to the presence of
waves.
The results that follow are for morphological tide-alone
simulations (average tidal conditions). Internally within the
estuary waves have little effect and rivers lead to an enhanced
offshore sediment transport. Here it has been found that tide-
alone conditions cause a weak flood-directed net sand transport
over the drying sand flats. This is due to the flats being exposed
during periods in which the peak ebb flow occurs. Discussion of
the net tidal flow over drying banks has been given by Bowers and
Al-Barakati (1997). In the northern channel (section 2) a net ebb-
directed sand transport occurs over a tidal cycle (Fig. 15). This
residual occurs due to the dominance of the ebb tide in magnitude
2.945
South Channel
2.94
2.935
-12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2
Net sand transport, m2/s x10-5
Fig. 15. Net sand transport in the lower estuary, section 2 in Fig. 3.
2
x10-4
and duration in this channel (Fig. 10). In the southern channel
(also section 2) a more typical shallow water tidal asymmetry
results and a net flood-directed sand transport occurs (Fig. 15).
However the resulting net sand transport over the estuary width
in the lower estuary (section 2) is ebb-directed (Fig. 15). The
dominance of the tidal flow in the northern channel driving
sediment out of the estuary outweighs the inward transport in the
southern secondary tidal channel. Over the flats the net transport
is insignificant compared with that in the channels due to the
shallow water depth preventing the occurrence of tidal flows with
magnitude greater than the threshold velocity of the sediment.
In the upper estuary (section 3) a net flood-directed sand
transport is predicted. In the channel typical tidal asymmetry
forced an inward transport of sediment, while over the banks the
currents no longer exceeded the threshold of sediment movement
(Fig. 16). Further up the estuary, within the river channel, the river
flow (depending on its strength) can induce a weak ebb-directed
net sand transport. However this is not illustrated here.
The model results for sections 1–3 show that, while the
estuary is a sediment source for offshore, sand is also being
redistributed internally. Through the estuary mouth sand is lost
at a predicted rate that corresponds, in a spatially averaged
sense over the entire estuary, to a loss of 2.4 cm/yr. The estuary
is therefore in the ebb dominant phase of its dynamic equilibrium
(Pethick, 1994). This cumulative value was obtained by using
the morphological tides combined with the reduced annual
wave and river climates (28 events). Along the coast the trends
in the wave climate (Fig. 17) force the patterns shown for the net,
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1512 J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514

Fig. 16. Net sand transport in the upper estuary, section 3 in Fig. 3.

Combined river discharge, m3/s

4 160
3.5 140
Wave height, m

3 120
2.5 100
2 80
1.5 60
1 40
0.5 20
0 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Time, days

Fig. 17. The reduced (28 event) annual wave climate (solid line) and river climate (dotted line).

Fig. 18. The predicted net sediment transport through the estuary mouth and along the coast over an annual cycle. South relates to section 5, North to section 4 and Mouth
to section 1 in Fig. 3. Integration has been carried out across each of the respective sections. Positive transport is a north drift and negative a south drift.

cross-shore-integrated, sediment transport (Fig. 18) leading to a
net northerly drift (positive). The net transport of sediment out of
the estuary mouth was often greater in magnitude than that
transported along the coast at sections 4 and 5 (Fig. 18), except
during large storm events. The sediment expelled from the
estuary is therefore a contributing cause of bank formation at
the estuary mouth. The weaker drift along the north coast is due
to the alignment of the bay. This also implies that the south coast
contributes to bank growth at the estuary mouth.
5. Discussion
This advanced application of the TELEMAC Modelling System has
demonstrated it to be numerically robust in complex coastal
simulations, while also allowing medium-term prediction to be
made in feasible computation time. We use the Dyfi Estuary to
represent a system of significant tidal and wave influence. Under
present sea levels the Dyfi Estuary acts as a sediment source for
offshore, although this may change in the future due to climate
change (increased storminess combined with sea level rise).
The transport through the estuary mouth was found to
be greater during the summer months when the waves are low
(Fig. 18). This is due to lower waves being able to penetrate further
into the estuary mouth than larger waves since they are not forced
to break on the banks at the mouth. This implies that sandbanks
will grow during the summer months when sediment is most
rapidly expelled from the estuary and become eroded during the
winter months when the longshore drift exceeds the estuary
sediment supply (Fig. 18). In the two storm events simulated
(Fig. 17) the river discharge was significantly greater during the
first event (day 45) than during the second (day 330), while the
waves were higher in the second instance than the first. A slightly
greater sediment loss was predicted during the initial storm.
Evidently low waves with fast river discharge led to the greatest
sediment loss from the estuary.
Wave–current interaction at the estuary mouth creates a
‘sediment pump’, leading to a net sediment export from the
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
J.M. Brown, A.G. Davies / Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 1502–1514
estuary in this case study. In other coastal situations the waves are
likely to interact differently with the tide, due to sandbanks
interacting with the tidal elevation modifying the times at which
waves have greatest impact during the tidal cycle. The shape of
the tidal wave (tidal asymmetry) on top of which wave activity or
river flow occurs will also be an important factor determining the
net transport. The simulations suggest that the net sediment
transport is strongly dependent on the times at which extreme
water levels, which control wave influence, and peak current
flows occur in relation to each other. During times of peak wave
activity (high water elevations) the duration of each tidal phase
must also be considered in assessing the net sediment transport
direction. In situations where inter-tidal banks/flats occur, the net
sediment transport may oppose that in the sub-tidal channels,
due to ‘wetting and drying’ and the flow asymmetry experienced
by the flats. Locally, the net sediment transport will depend not
only on which tidal phase has the dominant peak velocity, but
also on the duration of each tidal phase. If the weaker tidal phase
(in magnitude) has a significantly greater duration and exceeds
the threshold for sediment motion for a considerable period then
this phase of the tide is likely to dominate the net sediment
transport. In a channel–sand flat system drying flats may lead to
enhanced flows due to channel constraint, further affecting the
tidal asymmetry.
To confirm the net transport predictions sand transport
measurements are required. Such measurements would also
validate the accuracy of the sand transport formula applied
allowing model calibration to be performed for the Dyfi Estuary
conditions. Other important aspects to consider when predicting
medium-term sand transport and the resulting morphological
trends in the Dyfi Estuary are the contribution of swash transport,
wind-blown sand and transport related to internally generated
waves, which have not been included in the model simulations in
this study.
For practical applications a morphological tide is not the most
accurate method for the prediction of the effects of a spring–neap
tidal cycle, but it is the most practical method to apply with
regard to model run times. In this study the use of the
morphological tide allowed the total run time for a wave–current
event to be simulated in 33% of the time to simulate the same
wave case combined with the full spring–neap tidal cycle. Since
67% of the annual cycle consists of wave–current conditions this
make a considerable computational saving. Considerable detail of
the annual conditions was achieved by using a chronologically
ordered, 28 event, reduced wave and river climate. Inevitably,
computer power will increase in the future, allowing a full annual
cycle to be simulated improving the accuracy of medium-term
predictions.
6. Conclusion
The TELEMAC Modelling System has been applied to a complex
coastal system, namely the Dyfi Estuary, in mid Wales. The TELEMAC
modules were sequentially run to simulate the effects of the
interacting tides, waves, rivers and wave-induced currents on the
net sediment transport, and hence morphological evolution of the
estuary. The modelling techniques presented simulated the
annual wave–current conditions in feasible computation times,
while trying to capture the important annual wave–current
conditions. Site data is still required to validate the sediment
transport and bed roughness predictions.
In the case study presented here, tidal asymmetry controlled
the net sediment transport throughout the estuary. As hypothe-
sised this forces a sediment loss from the estuary at present. The
results show the importance of combining tides and waves in a
1513
medium-term (annual) net sediment transport prediction and a
methodology has been proposed to this end. The influence of
rivers was also significant in relation to the net transport through
the estuary mouth. In this case the effects of waves and rivers
were found to enhance the net sediment transport caused by the
tide. In particular, low wave heights (swell waves) resulted in the
greatest sediment loss rather than larger storm waves. This was
the result of the larger wave heights being forced to break over the
banks in the estuary mouth.
When considering net sediment transport it is not only the
wave–current interactions that need to be considered, but also the
‘wetting and drying’ effects of inter-tidal areas and asymmetries
in the current flows. In the Dyfi Estuary it was found that typical
tidal asymmetry occurred due to shallow water effects. But the
sand flats constrained the ebb flow to deeper channels leading to
ebb dominant transport in the lower estuary. With distance into
the estuary this dominance weakened and became flood domi-
nant until, sufficiently close to the river source, ebb dominant
sediment transport reoccurred.
Acknowledgments
Dr. Jean-Michel Hervouet and Dr. Catherine Villaret (EDF) are
acknowledged for their guidance in applying and developing the
TELEMAC Modelling System. Prof. Alan Elliott (CAMS) is acknowl-
edged for developing the JONSWAP model used here to predict the
wave climate. The Aberdyfi Partnership, Martin Wright Associates,
the Environment Agency, Gwynedd Council, Ceredigion Council,
Dr. Simon Neil (CAMS) and the Countryside Council for Wales are
thanked for their assistance in obtaining data. Ben Powell, Mark
Roberts, Dr. Sarah Jones, Dr. Phil Wiles and Dr. Eirwen Williams
are thanked for their help in conducting the field survey of the
estuary and in analysing the data. The European Social Fund and
Martin Wright Associates are both gratefully acknowledged for
funding this work.
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