Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) are increasingly being used in various scientific disciplines. However, dealing with non-stationary physical processes remains a significant challenge in such models, whereas fluid motions are typically non-stationary. In this study, a PINN-based method was designed and optimized to solve non-stationary fluid dynamics with shallow water equations in a polar coordinate system (PINN-SWEP). It was developed and validated with a classic circular basin case that is well-documented in scientific literature. In the validation case, the wind-induced water surface fluctuations are less than 1 cm, posing challenges in modeling. However, our PINN-SWEP model can accurately simulate such tiny water surface fluctuations and resolve complex fluid motions based on limited and sparse data. A boundary discontinuity problem associated with the use of a polar coordinate system is further discussed and improved, thereby enhancing the applicability of PINN in water research. The methodology can provide an alternative solution for numerical or analytical solutions with high accuracy.

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The Krone–Partheniades (K-P) framework has been used for decades to quantify and analyze the sediment exchange at a water–bed interface. Measuring the erosion and deposition parameters that are part of this framework requires time-consuming field observations. Additionally, the erosion parameters are measured independently of deposition parameters, while in reality they are coupled. In numerical models applying the K-P framework these parameters are often assumed to be constant in time and mutually independent. In this study, we develop a relatively simple methodology to determine the erosion and deposition parameters, using conventional near-bed observations of bed level, sediment concentration and flow velocity. This methodology is subsequently applied to tripod observations collected in the Changjiang estuary, China, to compute continuous time-varying erosion and settling parameters. We propose a diagram to visualize the interdependency and accuracy of erosion and deposition parameters, which is the input for K-P framework models requiring this interdependency@en

Estuaries are partially enclosed water bodies where river water mixes with sea water. Estuaries provide important ecological functions which are strongly regulated by estuarine hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics, and also by human interventions. Sustainable management of such systems therefore requires a thorough understanding of the interplay between hydrodynamics, sediment dynamics, and human interventions. However, estuaries are often complex systems influenced by river runoff and coastal hydrodynamics (tide, wind, and wave), which all interact with human interventions on various time and spatial scales. Our understanding of estuaries is still insufficient to understand the response of strongly engineered systems to both human interventions and to natural fluctuations. Many estuaries worldwide are strongly influenced by a wide range of human interventions, including engineering constructions, deepening, and land reclamations. An example of highly engineered estuaries is the Changjiang Estuary (CE), China. The upstream river discharge and sediment load is strongly influenced by the Three Gorges Dam (TGD), a multi-purpose dam in the Changjiang River aiming at optimizing flood control and irrigation, and generate hydropower. In the North Passage (NP), an outlet and the main navigation channel of the CE, the Deepwater Navigation Channel (DNC) has been constructed to improve channel navigability. The DNC project includes constructions of dikes and groynes, and regular dredging work. These various interventions strongly influence estuarine hydro- and sediment dynamics but take place concurrently, and therefore their individual impact is not straightforward to assess. A better understanding of the impact of these interventions requires systematic analysis of hydrodynamic and sediment transport processes in relation to the interventions. This dissertation aims to unravel the effect of groynes on lateral flows and sediment transport in a tidal channel-shoal system (i.e. the NP). Groyne fields provide buffer zones, with a salinity lagging behind that in the main navigation channel. The resulting lateral salinity gradients drive lateral density currents, which in turn modify longitudinal salinity gradients in the main channel. These salinity-driven currents also impact the lateral sediment exchange between the main channel and the groyne fields. The effects of groynes on lateral flows and lateral sediment exchange are analyzed using numerical simulations in combination with in-situ observations. Water-bed sediment exchange processes are investigated in more detail using measurements collected with two tripods deployed in the CE. Measured bed level changes are analyzed by semi-automatically fitting the Krone-Partheniades equations to the bed level data using observations of velocity and sediment concentration. This method provides continuous timeseries of sediment properties related to erosion and deposition. It is demonstrated that the erosion parameters are strongly fluctuating, and not constant as typically assumed in numerical models. Such a variability needs to be reflected in a model, either by time-varying parameters or including more detailed processes (for example, consolidation). This dissertation introduces a method to obtain a parameter space that includes the values and accuracies of all potential combinations of input parameters, which is important input for morphodynamic models. To further quantify effects of groynes on hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics, an idealized hydrodynamic model with a single channel with groynes is developed and analyzed. The idealized system has geometric features comparable to the NP, but is set up in such a way that the groyne field aspect ratios (the ratio of the distance between contiguous groynes to the length of groynes) can be systematically investigated. Model results reveal that groynes can influence channel hydrodynamics and local mixing conditions, which influence lateral flows and the longitudinal salt intrusion. Salt intrusion is highest for intermediate aspect ratios, but weaker for very wide or narrow groyne fields. These results highlight the complexity of the hydrodynamics in salt fresh-water transition zones, and specifically the role of human intervention thereon.@en

Lateral flows redistribute sediment and influence the morphodynamics of channel-shoal systems. However, our understanding of lateral transport of suspended sediment during high and low water slack is still fairly limited, especially in engineered estuaries. Human interventions such as dike-groyne structures influence lateral exchange mechanisms. The present study aims to unravel these mechanisms in a heavily engineered, turbid channel-shoal system in the Changjiang Estuary, using a high-resolution unstructured-grid three-dimensional model and in situ observations. Analysis of model results reveals two typical transport patterns during slack-water conditions, that is, shoal-to-channel transport during low water slack and channel-to-shoal transport during high water slack. A momentum balance analysis is carried out to explain mechanisms driving the lateral transport of suspended sediment during high water slack, revealing the importance of lateral pressure gradients, Coriolis force, and the curvature-induced term. Groyne fields play a crucial role in sediment transport, especially during low water slack. A model scenario in which one groyne is removed reveals that groyne fields strongly influence lateral sediment transport. The decomposition of the sediment transport flux reveals that the turbidity maximum is shaped by a balance between seaward advection by residual flows, and landward transport by tidal pumping and gravitational circulation. Within the turbidity maximum, sediment is laterally redistributed by lateral flows during slack-water conditions, greatly influencing estuarine channel morphology.

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Tidal flats play an important role in promoting coastal biodiversity, defense against flooding, land reclamation and recreation. Many coastal tidal flats, especially the tide-dominant ones, are muddy. However, the number of studies on the profile shape and surficial sediment distribution of muddy tidal flats is small compared to sandy beaches. Based on high spatial-resolution measurements along the tide-dominant Jiangsu Coast, China, we analyzed the morphology and sediment characteristics of the unvegetated intertidal flats along the Jiangsu Coast. The Jiangsu Coast can be divided into an eroding northern part (north coast) and an accreting southern part (south coast). The beach slope of the north coast shows a southward flattening trend, apart from some outliers related to rocky parts of the coastline. We found alternating very fine and coarse sediment (depending on the local clay content) for different locations along the north coast, which can be explained from consolidation and armoring-induced erosion resistance. In the south coast, we found gradual coarsening of bed surface sediment and gradual flattening of beach slopes to the south. This seemingly unexpected pattern is explained by the flood-dominant current causing landward sediment transport, larger tidal range in the south part, sheltering effect of the Radial Sand Ridges, and contribution of different sediment sources, viz. the Abandoned Yellow River Delta and the Radial Sand Ridges. In the cross-shore direction, the sediment grain size decreases landward. Waves are only of secondary importance for the sediment dynamics at the unvegetated tidal flats along the Jiangsu Coast.@en

Lateral flow significantly contributes to the near-bottom mass transport of salinity in a channel-shoal system. In this study, an integrated tripod system was deployed in the transition zone of a channel-shoal system of the Changjiang Estuary (CE), China, to observe the near-bottom physics with high temporal/spatial resolution, particularly focusing on the lateral-flow-induced mass transport. These in situ observations revealed a small-scale salinity fluctuation around low water slack during moderate and spring tidal conditions. A simultaneous strong lateral current was also observed, which was responsible for this small-scale fluctuation. A high-resolution unstructured-grid Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model has been applied for the CE to better understand the mechanism of this lateral flow and its impact on salinity transport. The model results indicate that a significant southward near-bed shoal-to-channel current is generated by the salinity-driven baroclinic pressure gradient. This lateral current affects the salinity transport pattern and the residual current in the cross-channel direction. Cross-channel residual current shows a two-layer structure in the vertical, especially in the intermediate tide when the lateral flow notably occurred. Both observation and model results indicate that near-bottom residual transport of water moved consistently southward (shoal to channel). Mechanisms for this intratidal salinity variation and its implications can be extended to other estuaries with similar channel-shoal features.

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