In a coastal area, an alluvial lowland river has a free connection with the open sea and its flow is bidirectional. The river basin is often highly urbanized since it hosts valuable ecosystems and natural resources. Along with the growing population, climate change and human activities (e.g., industrialization, agricultural expansion, and fishery industry) pose a significant threat to the health of the river, leading to an unbalance of the flow and the sedimentation and also a considerable degradation of water quality.

With long-term alluvial processes, the river often displays patterns such as meandering, braided, straight, wandering and anastomosing. In addition to the irregular geometry and bathymetry, a tidal river is typically influenced by the freshwater-saltwater interplay, which makes the hydrodynamic processes and sediment transport patterns extremely complicated. For many tidal river systems, cohesive sediment transported with the tides plays an important role. This is not only because of its interaction with flow but also due to its link to bed deformation.

In this thesis, field measurements and numerical simulations of flow and sedimentation in a system, including a confluence and a meandering reach are presented and discussed. The numerical simulations are performed with the Delft3D package, which allows a coupling between complex river geometry, the bathymetry, the flow and the sediment boundaries in one module. Two morpho-dynamic models, a 2D depth-averaged model for the confluence and a 3D model for the meandering reach, are set up to disclose the fluvial processes in respective area.

The objective of this thesis is, by means of extensive field measurements and numerical simulations, investigate flow features and sediment movement patterns in a tidal river. A comparatively long-term river-bed change, including a scour-hole at the confluence and asymmetric cross-sections at the bends, are also examined. Based on the perturbation theory, an improved sediment carrying capacity formula is also derived being suitable for calculations in a tidal environment. This study explores the variability of sediment transport, and reveals the relationship between the flow velocity and suspended load influenced by both the run-off and the tides. Their interactions also generate a different morphological regime as compared to a non-tidal river reach.

This research may support a decision‐making process when considering the integrated tidal river management and it also provides a reference for other similar situations. The calibrated and validated model may therefore be a powerful tool for managers or researchers.