SOES6039 MSc RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL

[1] Student name

[2] Project supervisor(s)

Zafirah Morshidi (28199804)

Dr. Charlie Thompson & Dr. Ken Collins
[3] PROJECT TITLE

Sediment Transports in Northern Christchurch Harbour

[4] NON-SPECIALIST SUMMARY (max 150 words)
This project examines the movements of sediments in the Northern part of a natural
harbour which is the Christchurch Harbour in the U.K to better understand the factors
contributing to sediment deposition at a sailing club in the study area. This
sedimentation has been occurring in the area particularly around a barge that is
moored on poles, causing stress on these poles. This project will involve looking at
localised current velocities and waves as well as setting up sediment traps for taking
samples in the area. With the combination of these data sets, a model can be created to
visualise sediment transports. With better understanding, better mitigation practices
can be suggested to avoid these phenomena in the future.
[5] SPECIFIC AIMS (max 300 words)
This project aims to address the sedimentation problem around the barge moored in
the harbour. However, it will look at the northern Christchurch harbour as a whole to
understand the bigger picture. Overall, it aims to determine current velocities and
movement in the study area as well as waves from data obtained on its direction,
period and height. In association with these hydrodynamic data, a model will be
created on the rate of sediment transport. It is also aimed to see if there is a seasonal
pattern to the sediment transportation. Because the project focuses on the
sedimentation around an infrastructure which is used by the public (i.e. a barge in the
sailing club), this requires the need to better understand the sediment movement in the
study area in order to come up with ways to mitigate this phenomena and thus this
project aims to come up with suggestions to mitigation strategies e.g. shoreline
management plan to prevent future sedimentation around the barge.
A better understanding of the movement and processes involved in sediment transport
is a prerequisite to more detailed understanding on modification, retention and
accumulation of sediments (Nichols et al., 1994). This understanding can also be of
importance for the indefinite future, as the ability to predict long-term (e.g. 50100
years plus) larger-scale changes in coastal systems is of paramount importance to
coastal managers if the ultimate aim of developing long-term sustainable management
of the coast and its resources is to be achievable (Cooper et al., 2001). Although this
project will look at short term data, this study will be useful for future studies in the
same field and/or open up a study in other divisions of Earth sciences such as

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oceanography.
[6] BACKGROUND & SIGNIFICANCE (max 500 words)
Christchurch Harbour is a shallow estuary, located in the southern part of the
Hampshire Basin in southern England. It unites two rivers in the South of
Christchurch Priory, the Avon and the Stour, and flow with unusual four high tides
daily on spring tides, as one along a submerged mudbanks-bordered deep channel
into, and through the western end of the harbour (Murray, 1966). Christchurch
Harbour exhibits this unique double high feature (Collins and Gao, 1994) because
additionally, compared to elsewhere in Britain, its tidal amplitude is much less
ranging about ft. at spring tides and average of 2 ft. at neap tides (Murray, 1966). In
the winter, sea water entering of the estuary is limited by the flow of fresh water from
the rivers whilst in spring, summer and autumn, a salt wedge is formed as the sea
enters the estuary in drier land conditions (Murray, 1966).
Murray (1966) in his study of the seasonal changes of the water mass of Christchurch
Harbour mentioned that Chalk springs made up much of catchment area of the Avon
and that the springs steadily supply very clear and clean water with little or no
suspended sediment. However, the River Stour has a catchment area located mainly
on the Tertiary deposits which include clays thus causing quick run-off and rapid
changes in the volume of water as opposed to slow changes in the rate of flow in the
Avon. Despite this condition in River Stour, there is normally very suspended
sediment. Christchurch Harbour receives sediments originating mainly from coastal
erosion and river discharge (Gao, 1996). The exposed part of the Hampshire Basin in
which Christchurch Harbour is sited is made up of sand and mud (Upper Eocene)
(Collins & Gao, 1995). Christchurch Harbour as a tidal inlet system is formed as a
result of erosion in Poole and Christchurch Bay forming cliffs. These cliffs had been
further eroded carrying sand and gravel forming in the end two spits which now semienclose Christchurch Harbour as a tidal inlet system (Collins & Gao, 1995). Low
marsh cliff at about 1 ft. high borders this harbour extensively on the south and west
side whilst on the north side it is a low terrace of river gravels which are mostly
protected from being eroded by a concrete wall running from Stanpit to Mudeford
beach.
Sediment dynamics theory is complex in tidal inlet environments as different aspects
such as waves pattern distribution, currents, bathymetry and sea-bed sediments
highly vary in both space and time. Criteria including the intensity of sediment
transport allows evaluation of sediment transport. However, net sediment transport
patterns had become significantly difficult to determine as up to date various transport
mechanisms are introduced because of the temporal and vertical scale variability
(Collins & Gao, 1994). Then, actions can be taken to manage such problem. For
instance, the construction of the Mudeford Quay along northern side of Christchurch
Harbour had helped stabilised the morphology of ebb tidal deltas in the harbour
(Toswell, 1978).
The fact that Christchurch Harbour is a destination for many people in the UK and
that receives a lot of people in the summer raises an interest in studying sediment
transport in the area as heavy sedimentation would lead to limitation of what these

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people can do in the area. This includes sailing as it is home to 3 sailing clubs. With
sedimentation piling up at low season, it creates problem for unmooring of boats and
barges.
[7] RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODS (max 600 words)
This project will obtain current speed of the water in the area using a Valeport current
meter measuring flow speed and direction, pressure (giving tidal height and wave
height, period and direction), and backscatter (suspended sediment) which will be set
up on one of the poles on which the barge is moored on in Mudeford Sailing Club in
Northern Christchurch Harbour and put in place in neap tide for accessibility. This
equipment will be set in burst mode collecting data for speed as well as temperature
for every 20 minutes for the duration of 2 weeks. The Valeport measures sediment
transport directly in the form of optical backscatter a few centimetre above the bed
which was taken note of at set up.
Grain sizes vary across locations with different sedimentary environments resulting
grain-size trends as they undergo different processes from sediment transport such as
abrasion, hydraulic sorting or differential transport, and mixing of various fluxes
(Russell, 1939). Being able to connect a specific grain-size trend with their transport
patterns will be invaluable, as this can be of great benefit in the study of sediment
movement in the current environment (Gao & Collins, 1992). Thus, a sediment trap
will be deployed at the end of the 2 week period since the current meter had been set
up. This is to quantify how much transport occurs in the area. Furthermore, threshold
of movement and therefore transport rates can be predicted from the size of the
sediments.
Winterwerp & van Kestereen (2000) highlighted in their study that wave movements
is one factor that can affect sediment transport and that as sediment movement
changes the morphology of an area, this will in turn change the tidal current regime,
which also results in decreasing the sediment transport. Thus, this project includes
looking at and even joining the data on waves aforementioned and sediment size for
looking at sediment transport.
Data obtained in this project will be processed using MATLAB or simply MS Excel
and/or SigmaPlot. Sampling of sediments may require about 5 trips/days as there is
possibility that no sediments will end up in the trap.
[8] REFERENCES CITED
Collins, Michael, and Shu Gao. "Net Sand Transport Direction in a Tidal Inlet, using
Foraminiferal Tests as Natural Tracers." Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,
1995: 681-697.
Collins, Michael, and Shu Gao. "Tidal inlet stability in response to hydronamic and
sediment dynamic conditions." Coastal Engineering, 1994: 61-80.
Cooper, Nicolas, Janet Hooke, and Malcolm Bray. "Predicting coastal evolution using

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a sediment budget approach: a case study from southern England." Ocean &
Coastal Management, 2001:711-728.
Gao, Shu. "A FORTRAN Program for Grain-Size Trend Analysis to Define Net
Sediment Transport Pathways." Pergamon 22, no. 4 (1996): 449-452.
Gao, Shu, and Michael Collins. "Net sediment transport patterns inferred from grainsize trends, based upon definition of "transport vectors"." Sedimentary Geology,
1992: 47-60.
Murray, J. W. "A Study of the Seasonal Changes of the Water Mass of Christchurch
Harbour, England." J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K., 1966: 561-578.
Nichols, Maynard M., and John D. Boon. "Sediment Transport Processes in Coastal
Lagoons." Elsevier Oceanography Series (Elsevier Science Publishers) 60
(1994): 157-219.
Russell, R. Dana. "Effects of Transportation on Sedimentary Particles: Part 1.
Transportation." In SP 10: Recent Marine Sediments, 32-47. 1939.
Winterwerp, J C, and W G M van Kestereen. Introduction to the Physics of Cohesive
Sediment Dynamics in the Marine Environment. Elsevier, 2000.

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[9] RESOURCES REQUIRED

[9.1] Location(s) of proposed
laboratory / analytical work

161/26 Sediment Analysis Laboratory

161/30 Coastal Processes Laboratory
121/02 ISS Computing Workstations

[9.2] Specific laboratory / analytical equipment required

(including any specialist software)
Valeport MIDAS SVX2 Combined CTD/SVP

[9.3] Please provide estimates of any consumable costs

10 return travels to and fro Southampton and Christchurch: ~100

Lab equipment i.e. disposable gloves, etc.: ~80

[9.4] Additional sources of support where costs exceed

individual MSc project budget of 300

N/A

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[9.5] Does the proposed project require

the use of SOES research vessels?

YES / NO

(If YES, please complete Section [11])

[9.6] Does the proposed project
involve any OTHER fieldwork?

YES / NO

If YES, please describe location, duration and fieldwork equipment required

N/A
[10] DECLARATION
[10.1] Signature of student

[10.2] Signature of supervisor

[10.3] Date

SOES6039 MSc project proposal

20th May 2016

pg 6

[11] SOES VESSEL BOATWORK REQUEST

FOR MSc RESEARCH PROJECTS
[11.1] Student name

N/A

[11.2] Project supervisor

N/A
[11.3] Project title
N/A

[11.4] Vessel requested

RV Callista / RV Bill Conway / Ocean Adventure RIB

[11.5] Total number of MSc boatwork days requested

N/A

[11.6] Proposed area(s) of operation

N/A
[11.7] Outline of proposed operations

N/A

[11.8] Sampling / survey equipment required

N/A

[11.9] Please indicate any timing constraints

N/A

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