Successive impact of tidal bores on sedimentary processes: Arcins channel, Garonne River

A tidal bore is a hydrodynamic shock, propagating upstream as the tidal flow turns to rising, with macro-tidal conditions in a funnel shaped system with shallow waters. The tidal bore of the Garonne River was extensively investigated in the Arcins channel between 2010 and 2013, typically over one to two days. In 2015, new field measurements were repeated systematically at the same site on 29 August-1 September 2015 and on 27 October 2015. The nature of the observations was comprehensive, encompassing hydrodynamics and turbulence, as well as sediment properties and transport. The tidal bore occurrence had a marked effect on the velocity and suspended sediment field, including a rapid flow deceleration and flow reversal during the bore passage, with very large suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) during the passage of the tidal bore front and early flood tide, as well as very large suspended sediment flux during the very early flood tide. The suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data indicated a gradual increase in initial mean SSC estimate prior to the bore from 29 August to 1 September 2015. A comparison between suspended sediment flux data showed very significant suspended sediment flux on the first day of tidal bore occurrence, with a decreasing magnitude over the next three days. The data suggested a two-stage bed scour process: at each tidal bore event, surface erosion occurred initially, in the form of stripping; the first stage was followed by delayed mass erosion, occurring about 5–15 min after the tidal bore.