Author(s): Xiaofeng Zhang; Hin Fatt Cheong; Vivien P. Chua

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Abstract: Mangroves dominate many of the world’s tropical and subtropical coastal shorelines and estuaries, preventing coastal erosion and acting as a barrier against typhoons and tsunamis (Mazda et al., 2007). The circulation of water in mangrove system is expected to influence the transport of sediments, salt, pollutants and nutrients in such systems. In this paper, the geometric properties of the root system of the Rhizophora (stilt roots) and the Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba (pencil-like pneumatophores) are measured using the photogrammetric method, and subsequently validated against manual measurements. Material and mechanical properties, such as mass density and modulus of elasticity, of the pneumatophores are found from field samples. The pneumatophores under hydrodynamic loadings in a mangrove environment may be regarded as fairly rigid. Artificial root models are modeled as rigid uniform cylinders in a laboratory flume and experiments are performed to investigate flow in the root system.

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Year: 2012