Short-Term Sedimentation Processes and Accretion Rates in the Sunchon Bay Estuarine Marsh, South Korea

Abstract Park, E.-J.; Yu, K.B.; Ku, C.Y.; Psuty, N.P.; Kim D., and Shin, Y.H., 2012. Short-term sedimentation processes and accretion rates in the Sunchon Bay estuarine marsh, South Korea. Spatial variations in sedimentation during individual tidal cycles were investigated using filter paper traps. The mean mass of sediment deposited in each tidal cycle was higher at the levee edge than at the inner marsh. The mass of sediment decreased with distance from the head of the estuary. There were weak relationships between tidal regime and sediment accumulation. Spatial variations of annual accretion rates were investigated with marker plots. The annual accretion rate at the inner marsh was higher (1.5 to 3.5 cm/y) than that at the tidal river levee edge (0.8 to 3.0 cm/y). Total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations in the tidal water column indicated that the accretion rate was affected by vegetation. TSS concentrations in the water column leaving the vegetation cover during ebb tidal flows dramatically decr...