Tide-supported gravity flows on the upper delta front, Fraser River delta, Canada

Three anomalous events (AEs) were recorded off the Fraser River, Canada during the freshet of 2008, and are ascribed to quasi-continuous gravity flows. These flows transport warm, low-salinity Fraser River waters to the upper delta front of the Fraser delta to at least 50 m water depth. All flows occurred during the freshet and spring ebbing tide, and were characterized by deposition of fine-grained sand and silt beds with likely high-water contents. These sediments were susceptible to resuspension by the subsequent flood-tide current, producing very high near bed suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) with enough excess density to generate hyper-concentrated flows. Our observations show that these episodic events result from the combination of high river discharge, high SSC, and strong tides, and therefore, are likely to occur on the delta fronts of other large tide-dominated and tide-influenced rivers. In shallow-water basins (< 50 m water depth), these tide-supported gravity flows can affect sediment deposition on both the delta front and prodelta. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.