Respuesta morfo-sedimentaria de alta energía en el fondo de un canal mareal: Caño de Sanctipetri (Bahía de Cádiz, SO España)

Resumen

The morphological variations experienced in sandy beds of high-energy coastal environments, are indicative of the degree of hydro dynamism bearing the environment, and the intensity of the processes involved in sediment bypassing between inner areas, (estuarine or lagoonal), and adjacent coastal areas. This paper studies the effect of tidal currents on the bedforms present on the mouth of Sanctipetri tidal channel, Bay of Cadiz (SW Spain). The study is approached during spring tidal cycle, to establish energy ranges supported in each section and associated sedimentary dynamics. Morphological analysis was performed using Side-Scan Sonar, complemented by measures of flow velocity using Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler. Bedform fields show great morphological variability, remaining in a state of balance-unbalance due to intermittent flows. Their distribution is related to vectors maximum speed flow, so that, although minor bedforms respond quickly to changes in sense of the current, bigger forms usually only respond to one of the senses, either the flood or the ebb remaining those forms which are in equilibrium with the dominant direction of transport.