A strait is a water body connecting two seas or two water basins. While the landform generally constricts the flow, the surface water still flows, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in both directions. In some straits there may be a dominant directional current through the strait. Most commonly, it is a narrowing channel that lies between two land masses . Some straits are not navigable, for example because they are either too narrow or too shallow, or because of an unnavigable reef or archipelago . Straits are also known to be loci for sediment accumulation. Usually, sand-size deposits occur on both the two opposite strait exits, forming subaqueous fans or deltas .
54-502: The terms channel , pass , or passage can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait , although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. In Scotland, firth or Kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Many straits are economically important. Straits can be important shipping routes and wars have been fought for control of them. Numerous artificial channels, called canals , have been constructed to connect two oceans or seas over land, such as
108-579: A channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river , river delta or strait . While channel typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term canal denotes a similar artificial structure. Channels are important for the functionality of ports and other bodies of water used for navigability for shipping . Naturally, channels will change their depth and capacity due to erosion and deposition processes. Humans maintain navigable channels by dredging and other engineering processes. By extension,
162-402: A dragline . This technique is often used in excavation of bay mud . Most of these dredges are crane barges with spuds , steel piles that can be lowered and raised to position the dredge. A backhoe/dipper dredger has a backhoe like on some excavators . A crude but usable backhoe dredger can be made by mounting a land-type backhoe excavator on a pontoon . The six largest backhoe dredgers in
216-482: A capacity of 6,000 cubic metres per hour (59,000 cu ft/ks). An even larger dredger, retired in 1980, was the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Essayons , which was 525.17 feet (160.07 m) long. The Mallard II , a clamshell dredger that maintains levees in San Francisco Bay , has operated continuously since being built in 1936. Dredgers are often equipped with dredge monitoring software to help
270-483: A constant flux. Channel heads associated with hollows in steep terrain frequently migrate up and down hillslopes depending on sediment supply and precipitation. Natural channels are formed by fluvial process and are found across the Earth . These are mostly formed by flowing water from the hydrological cycle , though can also be formed by other fluids such as flowing lava can form lava channels . Channels also describe
324-439: A few different types of dredge hoses that differ in terms of working pressure, float-ability, armored or not etc. Suction hoses, discharge armored hoses and self-floating hoses are some of the popular types engineered for transporting and discharging dredge materials. Some even had the pipes or hoses customised to exact dredging needs etc. Other times, it is pumped into barges (also called scows ), which deposit it elsewhere while
378-478: A long tube like some vacuum cleaners but on a larger scale. A plain suction dredger has no tool at the end of the suction pipe to disturb the material. A trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) trails its suction pipe when working. The pipe, which is fitted with a dredge drag head , loads the dredge spoil into one or more hoppers in the vessel. When the hoppers are full, the TSHD sails to a disposal area and either dumps
432-496: A process known as dewatering. Current dewatering techniques employ either centrifuges, geotube containers, large textile based filters or polymer flocculant /congealant based apparatus. In many projects, slurry dewatering is performed in large inland settling pits, although this is becoming less and less common as mechanical dewatering techniques continue to improve. Similarly, many groups (most notable in east Asia) are performing research towards utilizing dewatered sediments for
486-411: A shipping channel through coral reefs . A bucket dredger is equipped with a bucket dredge, which is a device that picks up sediment by mechanical means, often with many circulating buckets attached to a wheel or chain . A grab dredger picks up seabed material with a clam shell bucket , which hangs from an onboard crane or a crane barge , or is carried by a hydraulic arm, or is mounted like on
540-515: Is a bar or blade which is pulled over the seabed behind any suitable ship or boat. It has an effect similar to that of a bulldozer on land. The chain-operated steam dredger Bertha , built in 1844 to a design by Brunel and as of 2009 was the oldest operational steam vessel in Britain, was of this type. This is an early type of dredger which was formerly used in shallow water in the Netherlands. It
594-420: Is a difference between low gradient streams (less than a couple of percent in gradient or slightly sloped) and high gradient streams (steeply sloped). A wide variety of stream channel types can be distinguished (e.g. braided rivers , wandering rivers, single-thread sinuous rivers etc.). During floods , water flow may exceed the capacity of the channel and flood waters will spill out of the channel and across
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#1732830259954648-456: Is frequently called a canal , with the Panama Canal providing an example. The term not only includes the deep-dredged ship-navigable parts of an estuary or river leading to port facilities, but also to lesser channels accessing boat port-facilities such as marinas . When dredged channels traverse bay mud or sandy bottoms, repeated dredging is often necessary because of
702-424: Is mainly used in harbours and other shallow water. Excavator dredge attachments The excavator dredge attachment uses the characteristics of cutter-suction dredgers, consisting of cutter heads and a suction pump for transferring material. These hydraulic attachments mount onto the boom arm of an excavator allowing an operator to maneuver the attachment along the shoreline and in shallow water for dredging. This
756-409: Is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features ; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage , navigability , and commercial use; constructing dams , dikes , and other controls for streams and shorelines; and recovering valuable mineral deposits or marine life having commercial value. In all but a few situations
810-661: Is the most upslope part of a channel network and is defined by flowing water between defined identifiable banks. A channel head forms as overland flow and/or subsurface flow accumulate to a point where shear stress can overcome erosion resistance of the ground surface. Channel heads are often associated with colluvium , hollows and landslides . Overland flow is a primary factor in channel initiation where saturation overland flow deepens to increase shear stress and begin channel incision. Overland flows converge in topographical depressions where channel initiation begins. Soil composition, vegetation, precipitation, and topography dictate
864-401: Is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals; Pearse Canal , for example. Straits are the converse of isthmuses . That is, while a strait lies between two land masses and connects two large areas of ocean, an isthmus lies between two areas of ocean and connects two large land masses. Some straits have
918-410: Is usually sucked up by a wear-resistant centrifugal pump and discharged either through a pipe line or to a barge. Cutter-suction dredgers are most often used in geological areas consisting of hard surface materials (for example gravel deposits or surface bedrock) where a standard suction dredger would be ineffective. They can, if sufficiently powerful, be used instead of underwater blasting. As of 2024,
972-479: The Leiv Eriksson are: 46,000 cubic metre hopper and a design dredging depth of 155 m. Next largest is HAM 318 ( Van Oord ) with its 37,293 cubic metre hopper and a maximum dredging depth of 101 m. A cutter-suction dredger's (CSD) suction tube has a cutting mechanism at the suction inlet. The cutting mechanism loosens the bed material and transports it to the suction mouth. The dredged material
1026-477: The Nile were channelled and wharfs built at the time of the pyramids (4000 BC), there was extensive harbour building in the eastern Mediterranean from 1000 BC and the disturbed sediment layers gives evidence of dredging. At Marseille , dredging phases are recorded from the third century BC onwards, the most extensive during the first century AD. The remains of three dredging boats have been unearthed; they were abandoned at
1080-462: The Suez Canal . Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, they are not usually referred to as such. Rivers and often canals, generally have a directional flow tied to changes in elevation, whereas straits often are free flowing in either direction or switch direction, maintaining the same elevation. The term strait
1134-581: The valley bottom, floodplain or drainage area . Examples of rivers that are trapped in their channels: Grand Canyon and Black Canyon of the Gunnison . In a larger nautical context, as a geographical place name, the term channel is another word for strait , which is defined as a relatively narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. In this nautical context, the terms strait , channel , sound , and passage are synonymous and usually interchangeable. For example, in an archipelago ,
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#17328302599541188-545: The amount and rate of overland flow. The composition of a soil determines how quickly saturation occurs and cohesive strength retards the entrainment of material from overland flows. Vegetation slows infiltration rates during precipitation events and plant roots anchor soil on hillslopes. Subsurface flow destabilizes soil and resurfaces on hillslopes where channel heads are often formed. This often results in abrupt channel heads and landslides. Hollows form due to concentrated subsurface flows where concentrations of colluvium are in
1242-414: The beds of streams. During the renaissance Leonardo da Vinci drew a design for a drag dredger. Dredging machines have been used during the construction of the Suez Canal from the late 1800s to present day expansions and maintenance. The completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, the most expensive U.S. engineering project at the time, relied extensively on dredging. These operate by sucking through
1296-600: The bottom of the harbour during the first and second centuries AD. The Banu Musa brothers during the Muslim Golden Age in while working at the Bayt-Al-Hikmah (house of wisdom) in Baghdad, designed an original invention in their book named ‘ Book of Ingenious Devices ’, a grab machine that does not appear in any earlier Greek works. The grab they described was used to extract objects from underwater, and recover objects from
1350-605: The construction industry. Dredging is a four-part process: loosening the material, bringing the material to the surface (together extraction), transportation and disposal. The extract can be disposed of locally or transported by barge or in a liquid suspension in pipelines. Disposal can be to infill sites, or the material can be used constructively to replenish eroded sand that has been lost to coastal erosion , or constructively create sea-walls, building land or whole new landforms such as viable islands in coral atolls . Ancient authors refer to harbour dredging. The seven arms of
1404-554: The deeper course through a reef , sand bar , bay , or any shallow body of water. An example of a river running through a sand bar is the Columbia Bar —the mouth of the Columbia River . A stream channel is the physical confine of a stream ( river ) consisting of a bed and stream banks . Stream channels exist in a variety of geometries. Stream channel development is controlled by both water and sediment movement. There
1458-492: The dredge continues its work. A number of vessels, notably in the UK and NW Europe de-water the hopper to dry the cargo to enable it to be discharged onto a quayside 'dry'. This is achieved principally using self discharge bucket wheel, drag scraper or excavator via conveyor systems. When contaminated (toxic) sediments are to be removed, or large volume inland disposal sites are unavailable, dredge slurries are reduced to dry solids via
1512-482: The dredge operator position the dredger and monitor the current dredge level. The monitoring software often uses Real Time Kinematic satellite navigation to accurately record where the machine has been operating and to what depth the machine has dredged to. In a "hopper dredger", the dredged materials end up in a large onboard hold called a "hopper." A suction hopper dredger is usually used for maintenance dredging. A hopper dredge usually has doors in its bottom to empty
1566-425: The dredged materials, but some dredges empty their hoppers by splitting the two-halves of their hulls on large hydraulic hinges. Either way, as the vessel dredges, excess water in the dredged materials is spilled off as the heavier solids settle to the bottom of the hopper. This excess water is returned to the sea to reduce weight and increase the amount of solid material (or slurry) that can be carried in one load. When
1620-543: The environment, including the following: The nature of dredging operations and possible environmental impacts requires that the activity often be closely regulated and requires comprehensive regional environmental impact assessments alongside continuous monitoring. For example, in the U.S., the Clean Water Act requires that any discharge of dredged or fill materials into "waters of the United States," including wetlands,
1674-550: The excavation is undertaken by a specialist floating plant , known as a dredger. Usually the main objectives of dredging is to recover material of value, or to create a greater depth of water. Dredging systems can either be shore-based, brought to a location based on barges , or built into purpose-built vessels. Dredging can have environmental impacts: it can disturb marine sediments , leading to both short- and long-term water pollution , damage or destroy seabed ecosystems , and can release legacy human-sourced toxins captured in
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1728-519: The form of a scoop made of chain mesh, and are towed by a fishing boat . Clam-specific dredges can utilize hydraulic injection to target deeper into the sand. Dredging can be destructive to the seabed and some scallop dredging has been replaced by collecting via scuba diving . As of June 2018, the largest dredger in Asia is MV Tian Kun Hao , a 140-metre (460 ft) long dredger constructed in China, with
1782-447: The hopper is filled with slurry , the dredger stops dredging and goes to a dump site and empties its hopper. Some hopper dredges are designed so they can also be emptied from above using pumps if dump sites are unavailable or if the dredge material is contaminated. Sometimes the slurry of dredgings and water is pumped straight into pipes which deposit it on nearby land. These pipes are also commonly known as dredge hoses , too. There are
1836-469: The material could well suit the building industry, or could be used for beach nourishment. Dredging can disturb aquatic ecosystems , often with adverse impacts. In addition, dredge spoils may contain toxic chemicals that may have an adverse effect on the disposal area; furthermore, the process of dredging often dislodges chemicals residing in benthic substrates and injects them into the water column . Dredging can have numerous significant impacts on
1890-460: The material through doors in the hull or pumps the material out of the hoppers. Some dredges also self-offload using drag buckets and conveyors. As of 2008 the largest trailing suction hopper dredgers in the world were Jan De Nul 's Cristobal Colon (launched 4 July 2008 ) and her sister ship Leiv Eriksson (launched 4 September 2009 ). Main design specifications for the Cristobal Colon and
1944-462: The most powerful cutter-suction dredger in the world is DEME 's Spartacus , which entered service in 2021. The auger dredge system functions like a cutter suction dredger, but the cutting tool is a rotating Archimedean screw set at right angles to the suction pipe. Mud Cat invented the auger dredge in the 1970s. These use the Venturi effect of a concentrated high-speed stream of water to pull
1998-426: The nearby water, together with bed material, into a pipe. An airlift is a type of small suction dredge. It is sometimes used like other dredges. At other times, an airlift is handheld underwater by a diver . It works by blowing air into the pipe, and that air, being lighter than water, rises inside the pipe, dragging water with it. Some bucket dredgers and grab dredgers are powerful enough to rip out coral to make
2052-463: The potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines . Tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power . The Pentland Firth (a strait) may be capable of generating 10 GW . Cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5.6 GW even though the total energy available in the flow is 15 GW. Straits used for international navigation through
2106-400: The product of the sediment load and bed Bukhara size is proportional to the product of discharge and channel slope. A term " navigable channel " is used as a nautical term to mean a lane for ship travel, frequently marked (cf. Buoy ) and sometimes dredged . Thoresen distinguishes few categories of channels, from A (suitable for day and night navigation with guaranteed fairway depth ) all
2160-667: The production of concretes and construction block, although the high organic content (in many cases) of this material is a hindrance toward such ends. The proper management of contaminated sediments is a modern-day issue of significant concern. Because of a variety of maintenance activities, thousands of tonnes of contaminated sediment are dredged worldwide from commercial ports and other aquatic areas at high level of industrialization. Dredged material can be reused after appropriate decontamination. A variety of processes has been proposed and tested at different scales of application ( technologies for environmental remediation ). Once decontaminated,
2214-476: The seabed to bring the sediment in suspension, which then becomes a turbidity current , which flows away down slope, is moved by a second burst of water from the WID or is carried away in natural currents. Water injection results in a lot of sediment in the water which makes measurement with most hydrographic equipment (for instance: singlebeam echosounders) difficult. These dredgers use a chamber with inlets, out of which
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2268-461: The seabed with its hull out of the water. Some forms can go on land. Some of these are land-type backhoe excavators whose wheels are on long hinged legs so it can drive into shallow water and keep its cab out of water. Some of these may not have a floatable hull and, if so, cannot work in deep water. Oliver Evans (1755–1819) in 1804 invented the Oruktor Amphibolos, an amphibious dredger which
2322-628: The sediment. These environmental impacts can reduce marine wildlife populations in some cases, contaminate sources of drinking water and interrupt economic activities such as fishing. Dredging is excavation carried out underwater or partially underwater, in shallow waters or ocean waters . It keeps waterways and ports navigable, and assists coastal protection, land reclamation and coastal redevelopment, by gathering up bottom sediments and transporting it elsewhere. Dredging can be done to recover materials of commercial value; these may be high value minerals or sediments such as sand and gravel that are used by
2376-430: The term also applies to fluids other than water, e.g., lava channels . The term is also traditionally used to describe the waterless surface features on Venus . Channel initiation refers to the site on a mountain slope where water begins to flow between identifiable banks. This site is referred to as the channel head and it marks an important boundary between hillslope processes and fluvial processes. The channel head
2430-423: The territorial sea between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone are subject to the legal regime of transit passage ( Strait of Gibraltar , Dover Strait , Strait of Hormuz ). The regime of innocent passage applies in straits used for international navigation (1) that connect a part of high seas or an exclusive economic zone with
2484-639: The territorial sea of a coastal nation ( Straits of Tiran , Strait of Juan de Fuca , Strait of Baltiysk ) and (2) in straits formed by an island of a state bordering the strait and its mainland if there exists seaward of the island a route through the high seas or through an exclusive economic zone of similar convenience with respect to navigational and hydrographical characteristics ( Strait of Messina , Pentland Firth ). There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits. [REDACTED] Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons Channel (geography) In physical geography and hydrology ,
2538-678: The unstable subsequent movement of benthic soils. Responsibility for monitoring navigability conditions of navigation channels to various port facilities varies, and the actual maintenance work is frequently performed by a third party. Storms, sea-states, flooding, and seasonal sedimentation adversely affect navigability . In the U.S., navigation channels are monitored and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), although dredging operations are often carried out by private contractors (under USACE supervision). USACE also monitors water quality and some remediation. This
2592-512: The water between islands is typically called a channel or passage . The English Channel is the strait between England and France. The channel form is described in terms of geometry (plan, cross-sections, profile) enclosed by the materials of its bed and banks. This form is under influence of two major forces: water discharge and sediment supply. For erodible channels the mutual dependence of its parameters may be qualitatively described by Lane's Principle (also known as Lane's relationship ):
2646-427: The water is pumped with the inlets closed. It is usually suspended from a crane on land or from a small pontoon or barge. Its effectiveness depends on depth pressure. A snagboat is designed to remove big debris such as dead trees and parts of trees from North America waterways. Some of these are any of the above types of dredger, which can operate normally, or by extending legs, also known as spuds, so it stands on
2700-400: The way to D with no navigational aids and only estimated depths provided to the shipmaster . With regard to the dredging , channels can be unrestricted (wide enough to accommodate 10-15 widths of a largest ship used in this channel, semi-restricted with limited dredging in shallow waters, and fully restricted , where the entire channel is dredged. The latter, entirely human-made, channel
2754-681: The world are currently the Vitruvius, the Mimar Sinan, Postnik Yakovlev (Jan De Nul), the Samson (DEME), the Simson and the Goliath (Van Oord). They featured barge -mounted excavators. Small backhoe dredgers can be track-mounted and work from the bank of ditches. A backhoe dredger is equipped with a half-open shell. The shell is filled moving towards the machine. Usually dredged material is loaded in barges. This machine
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#17328302599542808-446: Was America's first steam-powered road vehicle. These are usually used to recover useful materials from the seabed. Many of them travel on continuous track . A unique variant is intended to walk on legs on the seabed. Fishing dredges are used to collect various species of clams , scallops , oysters or mussels from the seabed. Some dredges are also designed to catch crabs, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and conch. These dredges have
2862-464: Was a flat-bottomed boat with spikes sticking out of its bottom. As tide current pulled the boat, the spikes scraped seabed material loose, and the tide current washed the material away, hopefully to deeper water. Krabbelaar is the Dutch word for "scratcher". A water injection dredger uses a small jet to inject water under low pressure (to prevent the sediment from exploding into the surrounding waters) into
2916-1253: Was first established under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and modified under acts of 1913, 1935, and 1938. For example, the USACE developed the Intracoastal Waterway , and has the Mississippi Valley Division responsible for the Mississippi River from the Gulf to Cairo, Illinois , the North Atlantic Division for New York Harbor and Port of Boston , and the South Pacific Division for Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach . Waterways policing as well as some emergency spill response falls under United States Coast Guard jurisdiction, including inland channels serving ports like Saint Louis hundreds of miles from any coast. The various state or local governments maintain lesser channels, for example former Erie Canal . Dredging Dredging
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