Mixed Sediment Modeling for Matagorda Ship Channel, Texas

Critical shoaling in the upper reach of Matagorda Ship Channel, Texas, in recent years has resulted in the need for annual dredging. The channel shoaling in the ship channel is complicated as it involves the mixed sediment in the surrounding area. In 2012, the US Army Engineer Regional Sediment Management Program and Coastal Inlets Research Program teamed to investigate and perform numerical modeling of sediment transport for the ship channel in Matagorda Bay. A coastal modeling system with fully integrated wind, wave, current, and sedimentation models is selected to simulate the sediment transport and channel shoaling. The channel surveys completed in September 2006 and February 2007 were used to validate the models. Numerical simulations were also conducted for three new sites to place the dredged materials west of the channel and a geotube installation east of the channel. The model results showed these alternatives could effectively reduce the channel shoaling rate.