Aspects of sediment- and morphodynamics of subtidal de deposits of the Oosterschelde (the Netherlands)

The present thesis consists of five articles, in all of which links are established between sedimentological aspects of sediments - mostly below the low-water line - in the Oosterschelde and either large- or small-scale morphological changes. Large morphological changes and associated movements of sediment which occur in the tidal system of the Oosterschelde are first considered in relation to changes in the tidal discharges of this sea-arm. The link between sedimentary structures of recent deposits in the Oosterschelde, as observed in a number of excavations for construction purposes, and the morphological background to their origin is indicated. Lastly, the connection between bed-load transport and sediment transport through small-scale morphological changes in the form of the movement of sand dunes and ripple-marks, is discussed, as is the prediction of such transport with the aid of bed-load taransport formulae.