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Effects of Seepage on Sediment Transport in the Marine Environment: A Review
Cui-Ying Ma and Xiao-Li Liu

In a shallow water marine environment, the wave-induced seepage flow plays an important role in the process of sediment transport. By reviewing the relevant literature, the effects of seepage on sediment transport in the marine environment are summarized and discussed. Published literature shows there are four main ways in which the seepage affects the transport of sediment particles. The conflicting results for seepage effect on sediment transport rate indicate that the erosion model with the effect of seepage should be given more attention in future research. It has been found that the wave-induced seepage and liquefaction can alter the rules of influence of some parameters on sediment transport and the erosion mode. A modification of the critical Shields parameter is proposed to account for the seepage force acting on the particles to avoid overestimating the effect of seepage. A fully coupled numerical model that can consider the multi-physical processes such as hydrodynamics, surface erosion, internal erosion and seabed response is required for future investigations.

Keywords: sediment transport, seepage effect, waves and currents, internal erosion, numerical model