Surface waves and bottom sediment response

Abstract

Field measurements of bottom oscillations and wave characteristics have been made in a study of the interaction of fine‐grained sediments and surface waves. A wave staff, pressure sensor, and accelerometer were used in East Bay, Louisiana, an area that has a fine‐grained clay bottom. The accelerometer contained three solid‐state accelerometers mounted at right angles. The instrument was placed about 0.3 m below the mudline. The results of the study indicate that bottom motions under wave action show well‐defined periodic features. The bottom sediments appear to be undergoing an elastic response to bottom pressures, such that the bottom is depressed under a surface wave crest. Under the range of bottom pressures measured, bottom displacement varied linearly with bottom pressure. Measured bottom pressures were up to 35% larger than predicted by linear wave theory. The effect of a movable bottom on wave pressure is considered. The energy lost from the surface wave to the bottom in forcing the bottom response is shown to be significant and larger than the energy lost to bottom friction.     

GPS buoy and pressure transducer results from the August 1990 Texaco Harvest Oil Platform Experiment

The Texaco Harvest Oil Platform Experiment took place August 22–28, 1990, off Point Conception, California. This platform has been designated as the NASA/JPL verification site for the TOPEX radar altimeter, which is to be launched in mid‐1992. The purpose of the experiment was to obtain measurements from GPS and other instrumentation that will be used at the site for the verification activities, and to determine the potential effects of the platform environment on the quality of the measurements. In conjunction with this experiment, a buoy equipped with a GPS receiver was floated in the vicinity of the platform for the purpose of measuring sea‐level change and waves relative to a reference receiver located on the platform. A pressure transducer installed at the site also provided sea‐level change and wave measurements relative to the platform. We present the data collection, processing, and analysis results comparing the GPS‐buoy and pressure transducer data. The GPS‐determined sea‐surface height measurements show 1.3‐cm agreement when compared with transducer‐determined heights taken over the same period of time. Low‐rate (15‐s) data were used to measure the change in sea‐level height due to tides, while high‐rate (1‐s) measurements provided temporal resolution sufficient for determining wave spectra.     

The morphodynamic modelling of tidal sand waves on the shoreface

An artificial sand wave on the Dutch shoreface of the North Sea has been studied in conditions with relatively strong tidal currents in the range of 0.5 to 1 m/s and sediments in the medium sand size range of 0.2 to 0.5 mm. The sand wave is perpendicular to the tidal current and has a maximum height and length of the order of 5 m and 1 km, respectively. The sand wave is dynamically active and shows migration rates of the order of a few metres per year. A numerical morphodynamic model (DELFT3D model) has been used to simulate the morphological behaviour of the sand wave in the North Sea. This model approach is based on the numerical solution of the three-dimensional shallow water equations in combination with a surface wave propagation model (wind waves) and the advection–diffusion equation for the sediment particles with online bed updating after each time step. The model results show that the sand wave grows in the case of dominant bed-load transport (weak tidal currents; relatively coarse sediment; small roughness height; low waves) and that the sand wave decays in the case of dominant suspended transport (strong currents, relatively fine sediment, large roughness height; storm waves).     

In situ observations of wave pumping of sediments in the Yellow River Delta with a newly developed benthic chamber

A specially designed benthic chamber for the field observation of sediment resuspension that is caused by the wave-induced oscillatory seepage effect (i.e., the wave pumping of sediments) is newly developed. Observational results from the first sea trial prove that the geometry design and skillful instrumentation of the chamber well realize the goal of monitoring the wave pumping of sediments (WPS) continuously. Based on this field dataset, the quantitative contribution of the WPS to the total sediment resuspension is estimated to be 20–60% merely under the continuous action of normal waves (H_s ≤ 1.5 m) in the subaqueous Yellow River Delta (YRD). Such a large contribution invalidates a commonly held opinion that sediments are purely eroded from the seabed surface by the horizontal “shearing effect” from the wave orbital or current velocities. In fact, a considerable amount of sediments could originate from the shallow subsurface of seabed driven by the vertical “pumping effect” of the wave-generated seepage flows during wavy periods. According to the new findings, an improved conceptual model for the resuspension mechanisms of silty sediments under various hydrodynamics is proposed for the first time.     

Generating interface waves using a freely falling, instrumentedsource

In recent years, interface waves such as the Scholte wave have become important tools in the study of the geoacoustic properties of near-bottom seafloor sediments. Traditionally, these waves have been generated by explosive or pneumatic sources deployed at or near the seafloor and monitored by ocean-bottom seismographs or geophone arrays. While these sources generate the requisite interface waves, they also produce higher frequency compressional waves in the water and sediment that tend to contaminate the surface wave and make inversion of the data difficult in the near field. In this paper, a new source consisting of a freely falling projectile instrumented with an accelerometer is described. When the projectile impacts the bottom, the exact time history of the vertical force applied to the sediment is known and therefore may be convolved with the transfer function of a sediment geoacoustic model to produce accurate synthetic seismograms. Moreover, the vertical force applied to the seafloor is very efficient in generating surface wave motion while producing very little compressional wave energy so that the near-field signals are much more easily analyzed. An example of the use of the new source is presented including inversion of the received signals to obtain shear-wave velocity and attenuation as a function of depth in the near bottom sediments at a shallow-water site     

厦门湾口外近岸陆架区海底沙波发育特征

利用2014–2017年在台湾海峡西部采集的多波束、单道地震剖面、沉积物粒度样品及海流监测资料,在厦门湾近岸陆架区识别出一系列海底沙波,并对沙波的形态特征、分布规律和沉积物组成特征进行分析,探讨水动力条件及其对沙波发育的影响.结果表明沙波发育区水深一般为10～60 m,地形较平缓开阔,坡度一般为0°～1°;平面上沙波区...     

Large submarine slide (olistostrome) associated with Sunda Arc subduction zone,northeast Indian Ocean

Reflection profiling in a region of anomalous topography and structure in the Bay of Bengal off Burma has revealed the presence of a large submarine slide (olistostrome) at the base of the continental slope off the Bassein River. The slide overlies a thick section of Bengal Deep-Sea Fan turbidites and has a complex internal structure consisting of two primary elements. The lower element is pervasively disturbed and is interpreted as a mudflow generated at the time of the slide which spread over a large area to as much as 35 km beyond the topographic toe. This mudflow poured into a distributary channel on the Bengal Fan and virtually filled it for 145 km along its length. The upper element comprises a series of relatively coherent blocks of stratified sediments (olistoliths) bounded by curved fault planes. The blocks have been transported as much as 55 km from the original Sunda Trench wall. Their dimensions, up to 360 m thick and 2.8 km between faults, are similar to olistoliths of the slide terrain in the Apennines. The blocks are blanketed by younger slope strata. The total area covered by the slide, including the mudflow, is almost 4,000 km², and total volume of the slide is over 900 km³. Material of the slide consists of Bengal Fan turbidites offscraped above the Sunda Subduction zone and blanketed by rapidly deposited slope sediments from a western Irrawaddy River distributary (the Bassein River) during Late Quaternary glacial low sea level. This rapid loading, probably coupled with a large earthquake, triggered the slide.     

Geological aspects of marine slope stability,northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

The improvement of sensors such as various high‐resolution seismic and navigational systems and side‐scan sonar, of offshore shallow‐water drilling techniques, and of laboratory analyses has allowed the marine geologist to make more accurate identifications and maps of the distribution of numerous types of marine sediment instabilities, as well as to determine the mechanisms responsible for their occurrence. A large number of data on the continental shelf and upper continental slope off the modern delta of the Mississippi river have been compiled; these data will be used to document the major types of slope instabilities. The continental shelf and slope off the modern Mississippi river delta display various types of sediment instability. High rates of sedimentation (up to 80 m per century), weak, high‐water‐content clays, and differential weighting of clay sediments characterize this region. The major types of sediment instabilities that have been documented include (a) Peripheral slumping, with dimensions of slumps ranging from 200 to 1000 m; slumping often occurring in multiple stairstep arrangement; and downslope movement as high as 700 m per year. (b) Shallow diapiric intrusions, ranging in size from a few hundred meters to 2 km in diameter; vertical displacement ranging from 200 to 500 m; rate of sediment movement several meters per year; and intrusions caused by differential sediment loading, (c) Radial graben (tensional faulting), with widths from 50 to 500 m and lengths of several kilometers; both vertical and downslope lateral movements occurring; and downslope movements of surface material as much as 5 m per year common. (d) Circular collapse depressions, with diameters of depressions ranging from 50 to 500 m; topography of depression interiors, hummocky; and depressions possibly caused by dewatering or degassing of sediments under the influence of cyclic wave loading. (e) Surface mudflows, thick (often more than 35 m) masses of surface sediment flowage; often bounded by abrupt seaward slope; mudflows often extending laterally for distances in excess of 100 km; movement sporadic and lobate and rates of movement as much as several hundred meters per year; often being associated with extremely hummocky topography and mud volcanoes; and with extrusion of sediments the possible mechanism. (f) Shelf‐edge arcuate slumps, with large arcuate slumps displacing several hundred meters of sediment; slippage planes are commonly concave. Finally, (g) Various deep‐seated faults, with faults extending from deep horizons up to modern sediment surface; commonly being associated with abrupt scarps on the seafloor; numerous contemporaneous faults; and local slumping associated with fault scarps.     

Wave-induced Maintenance of Suspended Sediment Concentration during Slack in a Tidal Channel on a Sheltered Macro-tidal Flat,Gangwha Island,Korea

A field campaign was conducted to better understand the influence of wave action, in terms of turbulence and bed shear stress, on sediment resuspension and transport processes on a protected tidal flat. An H-frame was deployed in a tidal channel south of Gangwha Island for 6 tidal cycles during November 2006 with instrumentation including an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter, an Acoustic Backscatter System, and an Optical Backscatter Sensor. During calm conditions, the current-induced shear was dominant and responsible for suspending sediments during the accelerating phases of flood and ebb. During the high-tide slack, both bed shear stress and suspended sediment concentration were reduced. The sediment flux was directed landward due to the scour-lag effect over a tidal cycle. On the other hand, when waves were stronger, the wave-induced turbulence appeared to keep sediments in suspension even during the high-tide slack, while the current-induced shear remained dominant during the accelerating phases of flood and ebb. The sediment flux under strong waves was directed offshore due to the sustained high suspended sediment concentration during the high-tide slack. Although strong waves can induce offshore sediment flux, infrequent events with strong waves are unlikely to alter the long-term accretion of the protected southern Gangwha tidal flats.     

Acoustic penetration of a silty sand sediment in the 1-10-kHz band

An experiment was performed to measure sediment penetrating acoustic waves to test a model of acoustic propagation, which is based on Biot's theory. Independent geophysical measurements provided model input parameters. A parametric sound source was used to project a narrow beam pulse into a silty sand sediment at a shallow grazing angle. The sediment acoustic waves were measured by an array of buried sensors and processed to measure wave directions and speeds. Two acoustic waves were observed, corresponding to the fast and slow waves predicted by Biot's theory. Discrepancies between model predictions and measured acoustic waves were examined, deficiencies in the model identified, and strategies for improvement postulated. The permeability and bulk modulus of the solid frame were of particular interest     

南黄海海底沉积物声学特性及其影响因素试验研究

利用自南黄海中西部海底取回的沉积物样品,对其声学特性及其影响因素进行了试验研究,结果显示,研究区海底沉积物的压缩波速为1.359 ~1.695 km/s,剪切波速为12.5 ~70.9 m/s;颗粒较细的沉积物与较低的压缩波速、剪切波速对应,主要集中在研究区东侧水深较深处;沉积物的物理力学性质对其压缩波速、剪切波速的影响较显著,沉积物的温度和换能器的频率对上述声学两参数也具有一定的影响,而沉积物的包含物及薄夹层等影响声波传播的理论计算结果。给出了研究区海底沉积物物理力学各参数与压缩波速、剪切波速之间的回归方程,以期为国防、工程提供基础资料。     

Depth of activation on a mixed sediment beach

The relationship between wave height and depth of sediment activation is evaluated on an estuarine beach to determine whether activation depth is less in pebbles than sand. Rods with washers were used to monitor three excavated beach plots filled with (1) pebbles with mean grain size of 11.5 mm; (2) sand and granules; and (3) sand, granules and pebbles. Plots were monitored for 26 events over 27 days. Significant wave heights ranged from 0.18 to 0.40 m and activation depths from 0.02 to 0.12 m. Activation depths in the pebble plot were less than the other two plots when waves reworked sediment not activated during previous tidal cycles. Proportionality coefficients for activation depth to wave height, when net change was < 0.02 m, were 0.24 in the pebble plot and 0.30–0.31 in the other plots when experimental fill sediments remained and 0.22 to 0.23 in all three plots over the entire monitoring period, which included activation of newly deposited native sediment. Results suggest that for similar wave heights, activation depths in pebbles is lower than in sand, granules and pebbles or sand and granules, but once waves have reworked the sediment there is little difference in activation depths.     

莱州湾口弱层结水体中沉积物再悬浮特征及其水平、沉降通量研究

近海悬浮物在海水中的运移受诸多因素影响,其中由于径流输入导致的水体层化是不可忽视的因素之一,研究层结水体中沉积物受潮流、波浪影响的再悬浮特征有重要意义.2005年5月15日在黄河口西侧18海里处的莱州湾口设立了一个周日连续观测站,试图揭示弱层结水体中悬浮物的再悬浮特征及其水平、沉降通量.利用ADCP回声强度反演得到了高...     

A validation concept for cohesive sediment transport model and application on Lianyungang Harbor,China

Morphology evolution and hydro-sedimentological interactions in muddy coastal environments are long term processes. These processes are closely related to suspended sediment transport driven by waves and tidal currents. In the traditional calibration/verification methodology for cohesive sediment transport models, time-series data of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) measured during one or several tidal periods are commonly used as major validation references. But the disadvantage of this approach includes that it cannot filter the noises caused by the stochastic nature of short term hydrodynamics induced by waves and the varying properties of bottom sediments; besides a phase-lag phenomenon is often observed between sediment transport and hydrodynamics in the short term. On the contrary, a stable relationship between sedimentation and hydrodynamics is usually found in the long term. For a specific weather, the SSC values often agree well with local wave heights for muddy coasts. Therefore, in this paper a conceptual quantity defined as “representative SSC” was brought forward, and a model validation concept, including calibration and verification approaches, was proposed, in which calibration is performed against yearly-representative SSC values and the long term transport trend, and verification by using representative SSC values corresponding to different wave conditions. A numerical simulation was set up, and a real-life engineering application, Lianyungang Harbor, China, was executed to elaborate the proposed validation concept. Finally, the characteristics of SSC distribution around Lianyungang Harbor were discussed.     

Very low frequency Ocean Bottom ambient seismic noise and coupling on the shallow continental shelf

Sources of very low frequency (0.01 to 1.0 Hz) ambient seismic noise in the shallow (<100 m) water continental margin sediments are investigated using Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBS). The predominant seismic motions are found to be due to surface gravity (water) waves and water-sediment interface waves. Actual experimental measurements of seabed acceleration and hydrodynamic pressure are given, including side by side comparisons between buried and plate-mounted OBS units. OBS-sediment resonant effects are found to be negligible at the low frequencies under investigation. Wherever there exists relative motion between the seabed and the water, however, an exposed OBS is subject to added mass forces that cause it to move with the water rather than the sediments. Calculations based on measured seabed motions show that a neutral density, buried seismometer has superior sediment coupling charactersitics to any exposed OBS design.     

Contribution of hydrodynamic conditions during shallow water stages to the sediment balance on a tidal flat: Mont-Saint-Michel Bay, Normandy, France

Field measurements were conducted in Mont-Saint-Michel Bay, a megatidal embayment (spring tidal range of 15 m), in order to monitor, over the course of a tidal cycle, sediment transport variability due to waves and tides on the upper part of a tidal flat characterised by shallow water depths. Sensors used to measure currents, water depth and turbidity were installed just above the bed (0.04 m). Two experiments were conducted under contrasting hydrodynamic conditions. The results highlight wave activity over the tidal flat even though observed wind waves were largely dissipated due to the very shallow water depths. Very high suspended sediment concentrations (up to 6 kg/m³) were recorded in the presence of wave activity at the beginning of the local flood, when significant sediment transport occurred, up to 7 times as much as under conditions of no wave activity. This influence may be attributed to the direct action of waves on bed sediments, to wave-induced liquefaction, and to the erosive action of waves on tidal channel banks. The sediment composition, comprising a clay fraction of 2-5%, may also enhance sediment transport by reducing critical shear stress through the sand lubrication effect. The results also show that antecedent meteorological conditions play an important role in suspended sediment transport on the tidal flat. Total sediment flux directions show a net transport towards the inner part of the bay that contributes to deposition over the adjacent salt marshes, and this tendency also prevails during strong wave conditions. Such sediment transport is characterised by significant variability over the course of the tidal cycle. During fair and moderate weather conditions, 83% and 71% of the total flux was observed, respectively, over only 11% and 28% of the duration of the local tidal cycle and with water depths between 0.04 and 0.3 m. These results suggest that in order to improve our understanding of sediment budgets in this type of coastal environment, it is essential to record data just at the beginning and at the end of tidal submergence close to the bed.     

Measurement of scour in cohesive soils around a vertical pile - simplified instrumentation and regression analysis

The flow-structure interaction in an ocean environment, for a pile placed in an erodible bed where currents and waves are of prime concern, changes the bed elevation due to scour in the vicinity of the obstruction. There are certain difficulties in predicting the scour depth, as the particulate movement of sediments due to scour is time-dependent. Considering the complexity of the problem, an instrumentation system has been developed for measuring scour depth with time. This paper outlines the experimental laboratory techniques used to measure scour around pile foundations in silty-clay sediments. Detailed laboratory testing on model piles having a diameter of 50-110 mm was carried out in a wave flume having a length of 30 m and a width of 2.0 m. The motivation of these studies is to obtain observational experience of scour rate in silty-clay soil. Scour depths were monitored continuously for different combinations of wave characteristics and current velocities, and scour-time history is measured. Based on the measurements, a relationship for the scour depth in terms of duration of flow, soil properties, model characteristics, and fluid parameters is presented.     

Sediment grains moved by passing tsunami waves: Tsunami deposits in deep water

Tsunamis propagating in the open ocean have associated horizontal particle velocities that do not change with depth — yet the limiting water depth where a tsunami of given characteristics will initiate sediment motion remains unknown. Based upon linear wave theory and a parametrization of the Shields curve, equations are derived and solved, using an iterative scheme, to address the topic of grain movement by tsunami waves as a function of water depth and wave amplitude. The focus is on waves in deep water where tsunami waves behave linearly and on non-cohesive sediment grains. Furthermore, the question is addressed of which grain sizes are picked up on a sloping beach as the wave shoals. According to the results, even the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 was incapable of moving fine sand in water deeper than 985 m in the Bay of Bengal and 335 m in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The results suggest that tectonic tsunamis of size equal to or smaller than the Boxing Day tsunami cannot initiate motion of deep-water cohesionless sediments that can be correlated on an oceanic basin-wide scale.     

波浪作用下沉积物中总石油烃的迁移释放规律

海底石油管线泄漏可能导致海床内部形成高浓度石油污染。在波浪作用下,海床沉积物易发生再悬浮甚至液化失稳现象,进而导致海床内部石油类污染物通过多种途径向水体再次释放并在土体内部发生迁移,造成更大范围的石油扩散。本研究以总石油烃（Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon,TPH）设为代表性污染物,将污染泥浆以椭球状埋设在沉积物内部,采用波浪水槽试验研究不同强度波浪作用下TPH向上覆水体的释放规律及在沉积物内部的迁移规律。结果表明,在沉积物静置固结阶段前期,TPH随孔隙水由沉积物向上覆水体迁移释放,固结阶段前期TPH向上覆水体的释放量高于后期。在波浪作用未引起沉积物液化阶段,波浪促进石油类污染物向水体释放的作用较弱,由于悬浮泥沙对石油类污染物的吸附作用,水体中石油类污染物的浓度略低于静置固结阶段。在波浪作用引起沉积物液化阶段,随着悬浮泥沙浓度升高,TPH向上覆水体释放量加大;TPH在沉积物内部垂向迁移及平面扩散迁移距离加大,平面迁移距离大于垂向迁移距离,垂向扩散深度与液化深度基本一致,污染土体体积占比约为土体未液化时的3倍。