Comparisons between acoustic measurements and predictions of the bedload transport of marine gravels

Continuous, detailed records of marine gravel transport have been obtained acoustically and compared with bedload transport rates (q_b) predicted by five bedload transport equations using measurements of the near-bed turbulent current flow. When mean flow data are used in these equations, total q_b estimates are similar to those measured. However, when instantaneous flow data are used, total q_b is over-estimated by approximately one order-of-magnitude. Based on the acoustic measurements, an empirical equation has been obtained that gives accurate estimates of total q_b over a tidal cycle and simulates well the intermittent characteristics of marine bedload transport.     

Guidelines for sampling bedload transport with minimum uncertainty

The stability of river channels and their suitability as habitat for aqueous organisms is strongly controlled by the rate of bedload transport. Quantification of bedload transport rates in rivers is difficult, not only because of the temporal variation in transport, but also because of the cross‐channel variation in transport. The objectives of this study were: (i) to determine the effect of cross‐channel variation in bedload transport on the uncertainty of width‐integrated transport rates; and to use this knowledge (ii) to improve guidelines for bedload sampling. This was done through a thorough statistical evaluation of stochastic and systematic uncertainties involved in bed‐load transport measurements. Based on this evaluation, new guidelines are presented for determination of the number of samples and sampling positions across the channel that are required for bedload measurements in several types of sand‐bed rivers and gravel‐bed rivers. The guidelines relate to bedload measurements made with pressure‐difference (Helley‐Smith type) samplers that require numerous bedload samples of short duration at several positions across the channel. The results show that generally more sampling positions across the channel are required in gravel‐bed rivers than in sand‐bed rivers. For gravel‐bed rivers with unknown cross‐channel distribution of transport, at least 10 sampling positions are recommended, whereas for most sand‐bed rivers five positions suffice. In addition, at least 12 short‐duration samples are required at each position to obtain bedload estimates with uncertainties below 20%. If the same level of uncertainty is desired in the case of high spatial and temporal variation in transport rates, the number of short‐duration samples needed per sampling position increases to 40.     

Direct numerical simulation of bedload transport using a local, dynamic boundary condition

ABSTRACT Temporally and spatially averaged models of bedload transport are inadequate to describe the highly variable nature of particle motion at low transport stages. The primary sources of this variability are the resisting forces to downstream motion resulting from the geometrical relation (pocket friction angle) of a bed grain to the grains that it rests upon, variability of the near‐bed turbulent velocity field and the local modification of this velocity field by upstream, protruding grains. A model of bedload transport is presented that captures these sources of variability by directly integrating the equations of motion of each particle of a simulated mixed grain‐size sediment bed. Experimental data from the velocity field downstream and below the tops of upstream, protruding grains are presented. From these data, an empirical relation for the velocity modification resulting from upstream grains is provided to the bedload model. The temporal variability of near‐bed turbulence is provided by a measured near‐bed time series of velocity over a gravel bed. The distribution of pocket friction angles results as a consequence of directly calculating the initiation and cessation of motion of each particle as a result of the combination of fluid forcing and interaction with other particles. Calculations of bedload flux in a uniform boundary and simulated pocket friction angles agree favourably with previous studies.     

Hydraulic controls of grain-size distributions of bedload gravels in Oak Creek, Oregon, USA

Grain-size distributions of gravels transported as bedload in Oak Creek, Oregon, show systematic variations with changing flow discharges. At low discharges the gravel distributions are nearly symmetrical and Gaussian. As discharges increase, the distributions become more skewed and follow the ideal Rosin distribution. The patterns of variations are established by goodness-of-fit comparisons between the measured and theoretical distributions, and by Q-mode factor analysis. Two end members are obtained in the factor analysis, having (respectively) almost perfect Gaussian and Rosin distributions, and the percentages of the two end members within individual samples vary systematically with discharge. Transformation from Gaussian to Rosin distribution with increasing discharge may be explained by processes of selective entrainment of grains from a bed of mixed sizes. Samples of bed material in Oak Creek follow the Rosin distribution. At high discharges, the transported bedload approaches the grain sizes of that bed-material source and mimics its Rosin distribution. Random-selection processes must be more important to grain entrainment at lower discharges, so that the resulting Gaussian distributions of transported bedload reflect similar distributions of bed stresses exerted by the stream flow. The results from Oak Creek demonstrate that the competence of the flow is reflected in the entire distribution of transported gravel sizes. A sequence of layers of fluvial gravels, modern or ancient, might show systematic variations between coarse Rosin and finer-grained Gaussian distributions, and these could be used to infer frequencies of various discharges and to establish a relationship to the source sediment. With further study, analyses of changing bedload grain-size distributions and their transport rates will lead to a better understanding of downstream variations in grain sizes of bed sediments and how their distributions reflect the progressive development of textural maturity.     

Shoal formation in the Piscataqua River,New Hampshire

The formation of a shoal was investigated in the Piscataqua River, New Hampshire, which is a well-mixed channel with low freshwater flow and tidal currents up to 2.3 m s^?1. Observations of sediment characteristics, bathymetry, and bottom current were made, and theory was used to predict bedload transport. Sediment sampling showed the bottom material to be coarse sand and gravel, and sidescan sonar revealed large sand waves directed upriver at the shoal. Bottom current measurements were made along transects upriver and downriver of the shoal and downriver of an adjacent deepwater area that was also studied for comparison. Bedload flux inferred from current measurements using the Brown-Einstein theory indicated that transport is generally directed upriver. Sediment budget calculations showed the shoal area to be depositional before, immediately after, and subsequent to a dredging operation at rates of 0.36 m yr^?1, 1.06 m yr^?1, and 0.35 m yr^?1, respectively. Predredge and subsequent rates were consistent with the historical record of removal by dredging at the shoal.     

Acoustic profiling of fine suspension concentration in the Changjiang estuary

Vertical profiles of suspended fine sediment concentration, tidal current velocity, and salinity were measured in May 1994 in the Changjiang Estuary. High resolution concentration profiles were obtained by using a 0.5-MHz acoustic suspended sediment, monitor. High temporal and spatial resolution acoustic profiling of fine suspension concentration provides both the instantaneous vertical profile of concentration and information on the continuous dynamic processes of fine sediment erosion, transport, and deposition. Calibrated acoustic images revealed 1) highly stratified suspensions, 2) resuspension of the cohesive mud, bed, and 3) re-entrainment of the near-bed high concentration suspensions by turbulent shear flow. Within the near-bed high concentration suspensions, two different frequencies of highly episodic resuspension processes were identified: high frequency resuspension, lasting, a few seconds low frequency resuspension, lasting a few minutes. The highest concentrations, associated with low velocity and high salinity, were found close to the cohesive mud bed. Lutoclines were persistent features during the measurements.     

Calibration of piezoelectric bedload impact sensors in the Pitzbach mountain stream

Non-invasive techniques to continuously measure the rates or intensities of bedload transport in gravel bed rivers would be quite useful for both research and practice. Since 1986 measurements have been made with piezoelectric bedload impact sensors (PBIS) in several mountain torrents. In 1994 and 1995, a calibration campaign was carried out at a water intake in the Pitzbach mountain stream in Austria, where weighing cells and a water pressure sensor in the settling basin allow sediment transport loads to be determined in 15 minute intervals. Daily averages of PBIS impulses correlate reasonably well with the measured sediment load. Using a linear calibration relation, the relative error between predicted and measured sediment loads is within a factor of about 1.5 to 2. The scatter between PBIS impulses and bedload volumes is much larger if the measurements are averaged over one hour intervals or when the original 15 minute values are considered. A comparison with measurements from the Swiss Erlenbach torrent and from laboratory experiments using sediment particles from the Erlenbach torrent indicates that the proportionality coefficient between PBIS impulses and sediment load appears to depend on site specific conditions, including factors such as flow intensity and sediment properties.     

Simple estimates for the magnitude of bedload transport under a turbid surge

Characteristic length and timescales for a turbid surge are used to estimate bedload transport by the surge, deriving estimates for the conditions under which deposited material will be mobilized as bedload, and of the relative importance of bedload in determining the overall deposit geometry. A critique is provided of the common modelling assumptions which underlie these estimates and of how their consistency can be checked. For large turbidity currents, such as those which emplaced the Marnoso Arenacea turbidites in northern Italy, model predictions of overall geometry are not easy to reconcile with the field data: some possible reasons for this are discussed. The estimates obtained from these characteristic scales are consistent with the widespread presence in turbidites of sedimentary structures which indicate bedload transport; some of these structures from the Marnoso Arenacea Formation are reviewed briefly. However, the estimates suggest that bedload transport is not a major factor responsible for the geometry of the large turbidites in this formation, which exhibit a broad thickness maximum in their proximal region that contrasts with the downstream-thinning geometry of smaller beds. This effect suggests that the explanation for this theoretically unexpected geometry should be sought in other physical mechanisms.     

On the relationship between flow and suspended sediment transport over the crest of a sand dune, Río Paraná, Argentina

The links between large‐scale turbulence and the suspension of sediment over alluvial bedforms have generated considerable interest in the last few decades, with past studies illustrating the origin of such turbulence and its influence on flow resistance, sediment transport and bedform morphology. In this study of turbulence and sediment suspension over large sand dunes in the Río Paraná, Argentina, time series of three‐dimensional velocity, and at‐a‐point suspended sediment concentration and particle‐size, were measured with an acoustic Doppler current profiler and laser in situ scattering transmissometer, respectively. These time series were decomposed using wavelet analysis to investigate the scales of covariation of flow velocity and suspended sediment. The analysis reveals an inverse relationship between streamwise and vertical velocities over the dune crest, where streamwise flow deceleration is linked to the vertical flux of fluid towards the water surface in the form of large turbulent fluid ejections. Regions of high suspended sediment concentration are found to correlate well with such events. The frequencies of these turbulent events have been assessed from wavelet analysis and found to concentrate in two zones that closely match predictions from empirical equations. Such a finding suggests that a combination and interaction of vortex shedding and wake flapping/changing length of the lee‐side separation zone are the principal contributors to the turbulent flow field associated with such large alluvial sand dunes. Wavelet analysis provides insight upon the temporal and spatial evolution of these coherent flow structures, including information on the topology of dune‐related turbulent flow structures. At the flow stage investigated, the turbulent flow events, and their associated high suspended sediment concentrations, are seen to grow with height above the bed until a threshold height (ca 0·45 flow depth) is reached, above which they begin to decay and dissipate.     

Flow, sediment transport and bedform dynamics over the transition from dunes to upper-stage plane beds: implications for the formation of planar laminae

Preliminary results are reported from an experimental study of the interaction between turbulence, sediment transport and bedform dynamics over the transition from dunes to upper stage plane beds. Over the transition, typical dunes changed to humpback dunes (mean velocity 0–8 ms^-1, depth 01 m, mean grain size 0.3 mm) to nominally plane beds with low relief bed waves up to a few mm high. All bedforms had a mean length of 0.7–0.8 m. Hot film anemometry and flow visualization clearly show that horizontal and vertical turbulent motions in dune troughs decrease progressively through the transition while horizontal turbulence intensities increase near the bed on dune backs through to a plane bed. Average bedload and suspended load concentrations increase progressively over the transition, and the near-bed transport rate immediately downstream of flow reattachment increases markedly relative to that near dune crests. This relative increase in sediment transport near reattachment appears to be due to suppression of upward directed turbulence by increased sediment concentration, such that velocity close to the bed can increase more quickly downstream of reattachment. Low-relief bedwaves on upper-stage plane beds are ubiquitous and give rise to laterally extensive, mm-thick planar laminae; however, within such laminae are laminae of more limited lateral extent and thickness, related to the turbulent bursting process over the downstream depositional surface of the bedwaves.     

Stream-driven, high-density gravelly traction carpets: possible deposits in the Trabeg Conglomerate Formation, SW Ireland and some theoretical considerations of their origin

Within high-density flood flows a prominent mechanism of gravel transport and deposition is by stream-driven, high-density traction carpet (with a rheology similar to grain flow). These gravel carpets are envisaged to form the basal portion of a bipartite high-density flood flow, decoupled from an overlying sand- and silt-laden turbulent flow. Several examples already documented in the literature are reviewed and an additional case from the Lower Old Red Sandstone of southwest Ireland is presented. Two mechanisms of traction carpet initiation are discussed: by rapid entrainment of gravel into suspension on rising stage, followed by settling into the gravel traction carpet at peak and falling stage; and by overconcentration of a ‘normal’, low-density bedload. Gravel entrainment, suspension and traction carpet development are significantly easier if the flood water already carries a high concentration of sand and silt in suspension. Theoretical consideration further shows that gravelly traction carpets can be maintained in channels of relatively low gradient by the shear stress exerted by the high-density, sand-bearing turbulent flood flow above. This tangential shear stress is converted to dispersive pressure, which aids buoyancy and quasi-static grain-to-grain contacts in the support of the clasts within the gravel carpet. The carpet is thought to have a quasi-plastic rheology but behave much like a viscous fluid at high shear rates. Stream-driven gravelly traction carpets are expected to produce sheet-like units of clast- to matrix-supported conglomerate, characterized by a parallel or an a(p)a(i) clast fabric. These units may be ungraded, normally or inversely graded, depending on the rate of shear, the viscosity of the flow and the celerity of deposition.     

东江沙卵石河床浅滩-深潭序列水沙演变特征

东江是珠三角网河区入汇河流之一,属少沙河流,其上游浅滩-深潭序列密集分布,河床结构的演变特性尚不清晰。选取东江浅滩-深潭序列河段进行现场河床质与推移质测量,结合试验得到不同流量和坡降中水流与河床在无上游来沙补给中的互馈机理。试验结果表明:浅滩与深潭交替造成沿程平均流速不连续变化,浅滩中部在洪水流量的塑造下容易产生紊动能峰值。无上游来沙条件下,序列中粗化层的形成、破坏过程交替与循环发生,其中静态分选是主导因素且导致沿程级配不连续。流量与坡降的增大促进浅滩-深潭序列发育,同时使得深潭与浅滩的纵向长度缩短;有上游来沙条件下推移质输沙率增大,无来沙条件下输沙率减小。     

Evaluation of bedload yield in gravel-bed rivers using scour chains and painted tracers: the case of the Esconavette Torrent (Southern French Prealps)

The event-based bedload yields of a small gravel-bed river (the Esconavette Torrent) have been concomitantly determined by surveying coarse sediment deposition in a trap and by monitoring the active layer of the bed and the displacement of painted tracers. The geometry of the active layer was obtained by means of scour chains and topographic resurveys. The cumulative bedload yield of 4 flow events measured in the trap and by the chain and tracer approach was respectively 174 and 153 m³. The consistency between those two field-based estimates confirms that the deployment of scour chains and tracers in gravel-bed rivers have the potential to provide a robust assessment of bedload transport. This potential theoretically depends on the spatial density of scour chains and the ability of the tracing technique to fit the grain size distribution of the active layer. The results demonstrate that a distance between scour chains that represents 10-15% of the active channel width is sufficient for a rather accurate determination of event bedload transport rate by reconstruction of scour and fill throughout a cross-section.     

宽窄相间河道水流紊动特性试验研究

为了探索宽窄相间河道的水流紊动特性,以西南地区宝兴河上游宽窄相间河段为研究对象,基于室内概化模型试验,采用多普勒声学流速仪(ADV)测量了室内模型典型断面上的三维瞬时流速,分析典型断面上的纵向时均流速、紊动强度、雷诺切应力和紊动能的分布规律。试验结果显示:宽窄相间水槽中,扩散段边壁的紊动强度大于中心区域的紊动强度,最大值位于0.2倍水深处;扩散段两侧坡脚处紊动能最大;侧壁区的平面和立面雷诺切应力最大值出现在扩散段内,中心区域最大雷诺切应力位于两槽间的中间断面处;扩散段内水流紊乱,两侧出现旋涡和涡脱,易造成侧壁侵蚀加强,引起河道拓宽。深入分析了宽窄相间河道水流的紊动特性,可为山区河流治理和自然灾害防治提供参考。     

宽窄相间河道水流紊动特性试验研究

为了探索宽窄相间河道的水流紊动特性，以西南地区宝兴河上游宽窄相间河段为研究对象，基于室内概化模型试验，采用多普勒声学流速仪（ADV）测量了室内模型典型断面上的三维瞬时流速，分析典型断面上的纵向时均流速、紊动强度、雷诺切应力和紊动能的分布规律。试验结果显示：宽窄相间水槽中，扩散段边壁的紊动强度大于中心区域的紊动强度，最大值位于0.2倍水深处；扩散段两侧坡脚处紊动能最大；侧壁区的平面和立面雷诺切应力最大值出现在扩散段内，中心区域最大雷诺切应力位于两槽间的中间断面处；扩散段内水流紊乱，两侧出现旋涡和涡脱，易造成侧壁侵蚀加强，引起河道拓宽。深入分析了宽窄相间河道水流的紊动特性，可为山区河流治理和自然灾害防治提供参考。     

Bedload transport and bed resistance associated with density and turbidity currents

Turbidity currents in the ocean are driven by suspended sediment. Yet results from surveys of the modern sea floor and turbidite outcrops indicate that they are capable of transporting as bedload and depositing particles as coarse as cobble sizes. While bedload cannot drive turbidity currents, it can strongly influence the nature of the deposits they emplace. This paper reports on the first set of experiments which focus on bedload transport of granular material by density underflows. These underflows include saline density flows, hybrid saline/turbidity currents and a pure turbidity current. The use of dissolved salt is a surrogate for suspended mud which is so fine that it does not settle out readily. Thus, all the currents can be considered to be model turbidity currents. The data cover four bed conditions: plane bed, dunes, upstream‐migrating antidunes and downstream‐migrating antidunes. The bedload transport relation obtained from the data is very similar to those obtained for open‐channel flows and, in fact, is fitted well by an existing relation determined for open‐channel flows. In the case of dunes and downstream‐migrating antidunes, for which flow separation on the lee sides was observed, form drag falls in a range that is similar to that due to dunes in sand‐bed rivers. This form drag can be removed from the total bed shear stress using an existing relation developed for rivers. Once this form drag is subtracted, the bedload data for these cases collapse to follow the same relation as for plane beds and upstream‐migrating antidunes, for which no flow separation was observed. A relation for flow resistance developed for open‐channel flows agrees well with the data when adapted to density underflows. Comparison of the data with a regime diagram for field‐scale sand‐bed rivers at bankfull flow and field‐scale measurements of turbidity currents at Monterey Submarine Canyon, together with Shields number and densimetric Froude number similarity analyses, provide strong evidence that the experimental relations apply at field scale as well.     

The response of subaqueous dunes to floods in sand and gravel bed reaches of the Dutch Rhine

Abstract The branches of the River Rhine in the Netherlands, characterized by a sand–gravel bed in the upstream part and a sand bed in the downstream part of the river system, show migrating dunes, especially during floods. In the last 20 years, these dunes have been studied extensively. High-resolution echo-sounding measurements of these dunes, made with single and multibeam equipment, were analysed for three different sections of the Rhine river system during several floods. This analysis was done to quantify the growth, decay and migration rates of the dunes during floods. In addition, the migrating dunes were used to calculate bedload transport rates with dune tracking. The results of dune growth and decay and migration rate are shown to be very different for the various sections during the various floods, and these differences are related to differences in grain size of the bed and to differences in the distribution of discharge over the main channel and the floodplain. The relations are used to show that the growth and migration rate of dunes, and the calculated bedload transport rates during the rising stage of a flood wave can be predicted from the mobility of the bed material with simple power relations.     

横向振动格栅紊流紊动特性试验

建立了一套大尺度格栅紊流试验系统,格栅进行有别于传统垂向模式的横向振动,采用粒子图像测速技术(Particle Image Velocimetry,PIV)测量流速。对瞬时流速的检验表明,该系统产生的紊流场具有较强的随机性和统计规律性。均方根流速在格栅片附近变化较大,在两片格栅中间处趋于稳定,纵向均方根流速明显大于垂向均方根流速,二者比值在1.5~2.0之间,接近天然明渠紊流。雷诺应力在距格栅越近处波动越大,随着距格栅距离的增加而减小,至两片格栅中间处雷诺应力基本为0。时间和长度积分尺度在格栅片处最小,随着距格栅距离的增加而线性增加,至两片格栅中间处达到最大值。流速能谱呈现Kolmogorov理论的-5/3次方规律。本系统生成的紊流场的统计规律与传统的垂向振动格栅紊流较为一致,但纵向和垂向的紊动强度更接近实际,为后续紊流中泥沙和污染物等运动机理的研究奠定了基础。