Grain‐size variability within a mega‐scale point‐bar system,False River,Louisiana

Point bars formed by meandering river systems are an important class of sedimentary deposit and are of significant economic interest as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Standard point‐bar models of how the internal sedimentology varies are based on the structure of small‐scale systems with little information about the largest complexes and how these might differ. Here a very large point bar (>25·0 m thick and 7·5 × 13·0 km across) on the Mississippi River (USA) was examined. The lithology and grain‐size characteristics at different parts of the point bar were determined by using a combination of coring and electrical conductivity logging. The data confirm that there is a general fining up‐section along most parts of the point bar, with a well‐defined transition from massive medium‐grained sands below about 9 to 11 m depth up into interbedded silts and fine–medium sand sediment (inclined heterolithic strata). There is also a poorly defined increase in sorting quality at the transition level. Massive medium sands are especially common in the region of the channel bend apex and regions upstream of that point. Downstream of the meander apex, there is much less evidence for fining up‐section. Finer sediment accumulated more readily after the establishment of a compound bar in the later stages of construction, at the terminal apex and in the bar tail. This work implies that the best reservoir sands are likely to be located in the centre of the point bar, deposited in a simple bar system. Reservoir quality decreases towards the bar edge. The early‐stage channel plug is largely composed of coarsening‐upward cycles of silt to clay and is dominated by clay and clayey silt material with poor reservoir characteristics.     

Measuring alluvial fan sensitivity to past climate changes using a self‐similarity approach to grain‐size fining,Death Valley,California

The effects of climate change on eroding landscapes and the terrestrial sedimentary record are poorly understood. Using mountain catchment–alluvial fan systems as simple analogues for larger landscapes, a wide range of theoretical studies, numerical models and physical experiments have hypothesized that a change in precipitation rate could leave a characteristic signal in alluvial fan sediment flux, grain size and down‐system fining rate. However, this hypothesis remains largely untested in real landscapes. This study measures grain‐size fining rates from apex to toe on two alluvial fan systems in northern Death Valley, California, USA, which each have well‐exposed modern and ca 70 ka surfaces, and where the long‐term tectonic boundary conditions can be constrained. Between them, these surfaces capture a well‐constrained temporal gradient in climate. A grain‐size fining model is adapted, based on self‐similarity and selective deposition, for application to these alluvial fans. This model is then integrated with cosmogenic nuclide constraints on catchment erosion rates, and observed grain‐size fining data from two catchment‐fan systems, to estimate the change in sediment flux from canyon to alluvial fan that occurred between mid‐glacial and modern interglacial conditions. In a fan system with negligible sediment recycling, a ca 30% decrease in precipitation rate led to a 20% decrease in sediment flux and a clear increase in the down‐fan rate of fining, supporting existing landscape evolution models. Consequently, this study shows that small mountain catchments and their alluvial fan stratigraphy can be highly sensitive to orbital climate changes over <10⁵ year timescales. However, in the second fan system it is observed that this sensitivity is completely lost when sediment is remobilized and recycled over a time period longer than the duration of the climatic perturbation. These analyses offer a new approach to quantitatively reconstructing the effects of past climate changes on sedimentation, using simple grain‐size data measured in the field.     

The spatial and temporal distribution of grain‐size breaks in turbidites

Grain‐size breaks are surfaces where abrupt changes in grain size occur vertically within deposits. Grain‐size breaks are common features in turbidites around the world, including ancient and modern systems. Despite their widespread occurrence, grain‐size breaks have been regarded as exceptional, and not included within idealized models of turbidity current deposition. This study uses ca 100 shallow sediment cores, from the Moroccan Turbidite System, to map out five turbidite beds for distances in excess of 2000 km. The vertical and spatial distributions of grain‐size breaks within these beds are examined. Five different types of grain‐size break are found: Type I – in proximal areas between coarse sand and finer grained structureless sand; Type II – in proximal areas between inversely graded sand overlain by finer sand; Type III – in proximal areas between sand overlain by ripple cross‐laminated finer sand; Type IV – throughout the system between clean sand and mud; and Type V – in distal areas between mud‐rich (debrite) sand and mud. This article interprets Types I and V as being generated by sharp vertical concentration boundaries, controlled by sediment and clay concentrations within the flows, whilst Types II and III are interpreted as products of spatial/temporal fluctuations in flow capacity. Type IV are interpreted as the product of fluid mud layers, which hinder the settling of non‐cohesive grains and bypasses them down slope. Decelerating suspensions with sufficient clay will always form cohesive layers near to bed, promoting the generation of Type IV grain‐size breaks. This may explain why Type IV grain‐size breaks are widespread in all five turbidites examined and are commonplace within turbidite sequences studied elsewhere. Therefore, Type IV grain‐size breaks should be understood as the norm, not the exception, and regarded as a typical feature within turbidite beds.     

Grain‐size distributions and coastal morphodynamics along the southern Maryland and Virginia barrier islands

This study examined grain‐size distributions to address questions regarding geological and oceanographic controls on island morphodynamics along one of the longest undeveloped, mixed‐energy barrier island systems in the world. In particular, statistical analyses (i.e. analysis of variance, Tukey honest significant difference multiple comparison tests, nonparametric statistics and linear regression analysis) of 230 barrier island samples from Ocean City Inlet, Maryland, to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and 134 nearshore samples (d ≤ 10 m) identified grain‐size trends related to the morphodynamic characteristics of these systems. In general, the Virginia barrier islands north of Wachapreague Inlet and Assateague Island form a statistically different subset of grain sizes (medium‐grained to coarse‐grained sand) from the islands south of Wachapreague Inlet (fine‐grained sand). These textural trends corroborate the Pleistocene headlands of the Delmarva coastal compartment as the sediment source and indicate that some of the coarse‐grained to medium‐grained sediment bypasses the large sinks in the net southward longshore sediment transport system (i.e. Fishing Point and Chincoteague Inlet). This research also demonstrates that the preferential accumulation of coarse‐grained to medium‐grained sand on the ebb‐tidal delta at Wachapreague Inlet probably controls the erosional morphodynamics of the islands located downdrift (south) of the inlet. These results suggest that an increase in tidal prism, set up by sea‐level rise and/or a shift in wave climate/refraction patterns, may lead to barrier island fragmentation and a runaway transgression of this predominantly natural barrier island system. Consequently, a grain analysis of major coastal compartments, across multiple driving forces, can be used to assess coastal morphodynamics and the potential impact of climate change on coastal systems.     

Mapping sub‐pixel fluvial grain sizes with hyperspatial imagery

This study presents an investigation of image texture approaches for mapping sub‐pixel fluvial grain‐size features from airborne imagery, allowing for the rapid acquisition of surface sand and coarse fraction (>1·41 mm) grain‐size information. Imagery at 30 mm resolution was acquired over four gravel bars from the Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada). Combined first‐order and second‐order image texture approaches (windowed standard deviation filter and the grey level co‐occurrence matrix) were used. First‐order image texture, through the application of a standard deviation filter and subsequent thresholding was used to detect the presence of surface sand, with optimal accuracy achieved at 91 ± 1·9%. A wide‐ranging parameter space investigation was used to derive optimum parameters for the grey‐level co‐occurrence matrix. Subsequently first‐order and second‐order image textures were used in multiple linear regression to achieve good calibrations with several sub‐pixel grain‐size percentiles; relative error at 1·44%, 3·18%, 6·80% and 10·6% for D₅, D₁₆, D₃₅ and D₅₀, respectively. The larger percentiles of D₈₄ and D₉₅ had relative errors of 24·7% and 29·7%, respectively. The breakdown of calibration precision for larger percentiles is attributed to a ‘pixel averaging effect’. It is concluded that multispectral imagery is not required, because sufficient image texture information can be derived from standard colour imagery. Recommendations are suggested for the application of this method to other localities and data sets, thus reducing exhaustive parameter searches in future studies.     

Inter‐instrument comparison of particle‐size analysers

This paper presents a methodological framework for inter‐instrument comparison of different particle‐size analysers. The framework consists of: (i) quantifying the difference between complete particle‐size distributions; (ii) identifying the best regression model for homogenizing data sets of particle‐size distributions measured by different instruments; (iii) quantifying the precision of a range of particle‐size analysers; and (iv) identifying the most appropriate instrument for analysing a given set of samples. The log‐ratio transform is applied to particle‐size distributions throughout this study to avoid the pitfalls of analysing percentage‐frequency data in ‘closed‐space’. A Normalized Distance statistic is used to quantify the difference between particle‐size distributions and assess the performance of log‐ratio regression models. Forty‐six different regression models are applied to sediment samples measured by both sieve‐pipette and laser analysis. Interactive quadratic regression models offer the best means of homogenizing data sets of particle‐size distributions measured by different instruments into a comparable format. However, quadratic interactive log‐ratio regression models require a large number of training samples (n > 80) to achieve optimal performance compared to linear regression models (n = 50). The precision of ten particle‐size analysis instruments was assessed using a data set of ten replicate measurements made of four previously published silty sediment samples. Instrument precision is quantified as the median Normalized Difference measured between the ten replicate measurements made for each sediment sample. The Differentiation Power statistic is introduced to assess the ability of each instrument to detect differences between the four sediment samples. Differentiation Power scores show that instruments based on laser diffraction principles are able to differentiate most effectively between the samples of silty sediment at a 95% confidence level. Instruments applying the principles of sedimentation offer the next most precise approach.     

Three‐fold nature of coastal progradation during the Holocene eustatic highstand,Po Plain,Italy – close correspondence of stratal character with distribution patterns

Although general trends in transgressive to highstand sedimentary evolution of river‐mouth coastlines are well‐known, the details of the turnaround from retrogradational (typically estuarine) to aggradational–progradational (typically coastal/deltaic) stacking patterns are not fully resolved. This paper examines the middle to late Holocene eustatic highstand succession of the Po Delta: its stratigraphic architecture records a complex pattern of delta outbuilding and coastal progradation that followed eustatic stabilization, since around 7·7 cal kyr bp . Sedimentological, palaeoecological (benthic foraminifera, ostracods and molluscs) and compositional criteria were used to characterize depositional conditions and sediment‐dispersal pathways within a radiocarbon‐dated chronological framework. A three‐stage progradation history was reconstructed. First, as soon as eustasy stabilized (7·7 to 7·0 cal kyr bp ), rapid bay‐head delta progradation (ca 5 m year^?1), fed mostly by the Po River, took place in a mixed, freshwater and brackish estuarine environment. Second, a dominantly aggradational parasequence set of beach‐barrier deposits in the lower highstand systems tract (7·0 to 2·0 cal kyr bp ) records the development of a shallow, wave‐dominated coastal system fed alongshore, with elongated, modestly crescent beaches (ca 2·5 m year^?1). Third, in the last 2000 years, the development of faster accreting and more rapidly prograding (up to ca 15 m year^?1) Po delta lobes occurred into 30 m deep waters (upper highstand systems tract). This study documents the close correspondence of sediment character with stratal distribution patterns within the highstand systems tract. Remarkable changes in sediment characteristics, palaeoenvironments and direction of sediment transport occur across a surface named the ‘A–P surface’. This surface demarcates a major shift from dominantly aggradational (lower highstand systems tract) to fully progradational (upper highstand systems tract) parasequence stacking. In the Po system, this surface also reflects evolution from a wave‐dominated to river‐dominated deltaic system. Identifying the A–P surface through detailed palaeoecological and compositional data can help guide interpretation of highstand systems tracts in the rock record, especially where facies assemblages and their characteristic geometries are difficult to discern from physical sedimentary structures alone.     

Carbonate drifts as marine archives of aeolian dust (Santaren Channel,Bahamas)

Sediment data from the Bahamian Santaren carbonate drift reveal the variability of trans‐Atlantic Saharan dust transport back to about 100 ka bp (Marine Isotope Stage 5·3) and demonstrate that carbonate drifts are a valuable pelagic archive of aeolian dust flux. Carbonate drift bodies are common around tropical carbonate platforms; they represent large‐scale accumulations of ocean‐current transported material, which originates from the adjacent shallow‐water carbonate factory as well as from pelagic production, i.e. periplatform ooze. Subordinately, there is a clay‐size to silt‐size non‐carbonate fraction, which typically amounts to less than 10% of the sediment volume and originates from aeolian and fluvial input. Sedimentation rates in the 5·42 m long core GeoHH‐M95‐524 recovered 25 km west of Great Bahama Bank in the Santaren Channel ranges from 1·5 to 24·5 cm ka^?1 with lowest values during the last glacial lowstand and highest values following platform re‐flooding around 8 ka bp . These sedimentation rates imply that carbonate drifts have not only the potential to resolve long‐term environmental changes on orbital timescales, but also millennial to centennial fluctuations during interglacials. The sediment core has been investigated with the aim of characterizing the lithogenic dust fraction. Laboratory analyses included X‐ray fluorescence core scanning, determination of carbonate content and grain‐size analyses (of bulk and terrigenous fraction), as well as visual inspections of the lithogenic residue; the age model is based on oxygen isotopes and radiocarbon ages. Data show that the input of aeolian dust in the periplatform ooze as indicated by Ti/Al and Fe/Al element ratios abruptly increases at 57 ka bp , stays elevated during glacial times, and reaches a Holocene minimum around 6·5 ka bp , contemporary to the African Humid Period. Subsequently, there is a gradual increase in dust flux which almost reaches glacial levels during the last centuries. Grain‐size data show that the majority of dust particles fall into the fine silt range (below 10 μm); however, there is a pronounced coarse dust fraction in the size range up to 63 μm and individual ‘giant’ dust particles are up to 515 μm in size. Total dust flux and the relative amounts of fine and coarse dust are decoupled. The time‐variable composition of the grain‐size spectrum is interpreted to reflect different dust transport mechanisms: fine dust particles are delivered by the trade winds and the geostrophic winds of the Saharan Air Layer, whereas coarse dust particles travel with convective storm systems. This mode of transport ensures continuous re‐suspension of large particles and results in a prolonged transport. In this context, grain‐size data from the terrigenous fraction of carbonate drifts provide a measure for past coarse dust transport, and consequently for the frequency of convective storm systems over the dust source areas and the tropical Atlantic.     

Automated counting of sand‐sized particles in marine records

Content and fluxes of ice‐transported sand‐sized and gravel‐sized, lithic particles in marine sediment cores are a common tool used to reconstruct glacial variability. Ice‐rafted debris data sets are currently acquired in several different and often time‐consuming ways, and within various grain‐size fractions. This article proposes a novel workflow using an automated method to count ice‐rafted debris to reduce analysis time and subjectivity. The described method is based on the instrument ‘Morphologi G3’ from Malvern Instruments Limited and includes all pre‐processing and post‐processing steps. This particle characterization tool is an automated microscope combined with a proprietary software package. In this study, the analysis was performed on the 150 to 1000 μ m fraction. If desired, grain counts can be carried out on the entire sand and silt fractions. However, this would result in a considerably greater turnover time. A total of 350 sediment samples from core MD99‐2283, taken on the upper continental slope at the southern part of the north‐east Atlantic margin, were counted with this automated method. In addition, a total of 161 samples were counted manually as a control on the reliability of the scanning. The comparison of automated versus manually counted biogenic and lithic material shows a convincing correlation between the two methods. The turnover time per automatically counted sample is around 20 min, the method requiring less experience and skills than manual counting. The results yield a promising, time‐saving new technique to achieve high‐resolution ice‐rafted debris counting records with acceptable error margins.     

The ultrafine component in Chinese loess and its variation over the past 7·6 Ma: implications for the history of pedogenesis

Grain‐size data from different climatic zones across the Chinese Loess Plateau show that the loess generally contains an ultrafine component, which has a consistent modal grain size of ca 0·37 μm and a variable proportion of 4 to 10%. The variation of the ultrafine component through a loess section is characterized by a high proportion and fine grain size in palaeosols, and by a low proportion and coarse grain size in loess layers. Its proportional content in a stratum roughly increases from north‐west to south‐east across the Loess Plateau. Quantitative X‐ray diffraction analysis indicates that the ultrafine component is composed mainly of clay minerals (ca 70%), which are mostly illite (ca 80%), and with significant amounts of kaolinite (ca 8%) and chlorite (ca 2%). The temporal and spatial variations of the ultrafine component, and the degree of illite crystallinity, suggest that this component in aeolian sediments is linked closely to the process of pedogenesis. Weakly altered loess on the north‐western margin of the Loess Plateau contains considerable amounts of detrital clay minerals derived from the aeolian source areas. Results from a loess section with a basal age of 7·6 Ma in the central Loess Plateau show that the ultrafine component increased from 7·6 to 5 Ma, and progressively decreased thereafter. This trend was punctuated by two abrupt changes at 2·6 and 0·6 Ma. These variations reflect to a considerable extent the history of pedogenesis during the Late Cenozoic.     

Discriminating between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load: a new porosity‐based method,exemplified for the river Rhine

Sediments contained in the river bed do not necessarily contribute to morphological change. The finest part of the sediment mixture often fills the pores between the larger grains and can be removed without causing a drop in bed level. The discrimination between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load, therefore, is of practical importance for morphological predictions. In this study, a new method is proposed to estimate the cut‐off grain size that forms the boundary between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load. The method evaluates the pore structure of the river bed geometrically. Only detailed grain‐size distributions of the river bed are required as input to the method. A preliminary validation shows that the calculated porosity and cut‐off size values agree well with experimental data. Application of the new cut‐off size method to the river Rhine demonstrates that the estimated cut‐off size decreases in a downstream direction from about 2 to 0·05 mm, covariant with the downstream fining of bed sediments. Grain size fractions that are pore‐filling load in the upstream part of the river thus gradually become bed‐structure load in the downstream part. The estimated (mass) percentage of pore‐filling load in the river bed ranges from 0% in areas with a unimodal river bed, to about 22% in reaches with a bimodal sand‐gravel bed. The estimated bed porosity varies between 0·15 and 0·35, which is considerably less than the often‐used standard value of 0·40. The predicted cut‐off size between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load (D_c,p) is fundamentally different from the cut‐off size between wash‐load and bed‐material load (D_c,w), irrespective of the method used to determine D_c,p or D_c,w. D_c,w values are in the order of 10^?1 mm and mainly dependent on the flow characteristics, whereas D_c,p values are generally much larger (about 10⁰ mm in gravel‐bed rivers) and dependent on the bed composition. Knowledge of D_c,w is important for the prediction of the total sediment transport in a river (including suspended fines that do not interact with the bed), whereas knowledge of D_c,p helps to improve morphological predictions, especially if spatial variations in D_c,p are taken into account. An alternative to using a spatially variable value of D_c,p in morphological models is to use a spatially variable bed porosity, which can also be predicted with the new method. In addition to the morphological benefits, the new method also has sedimentological applications. The possibility to determine quickly whether a sediment mixture is clast‐supported or matrix‐supported may help to better understand downstream fining trends, sediment entrainment thresholds and variations in hydraulic conductivity.     

Particle size characteristics of aeolian ripple crests and troughs

Ripples are prevalent in aeolian landscapes. Many researchers have focused on the shape and formation of sand ripples, but few have studied the differences in the particle size of sand on crests and in troughs along bed, especially the variations caused by changes in friction velocity and the wind‐blowing duration. A particle size of 158 μm (d ) was used to create aeolian ripples in a wind tunnel under four friction velocities (u *) with different wind duration times (t ). Samples were collected from the surfaces of ripple crests and troughs, respectively, at seven sites, and particle sizes were measured using a Malvern Mastersizer 2000. The main results were: (i) The particle size distributions of sand in troughs are unimodal with slight variations of particle size parameters, including mean particle size, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis, etc., under different conditions, while these particle size parameters of sand on crests change with friction velocity and deflation time. Moreover, some of the particle distribution curves for the sand on crests do not follow typical unimodal curves. (ii) With increasing friction velocity or deflation duration, the sand on the crests shows a coarsening process relative to those on the bed surface. The particle size of sand on crests at a 1 m bed increases linearly with friction velocity (d  =  344·27 + 34·54 u *) at a given wind‐blowing duration. The particle sizes of sand on crests at 1 m, 2 m and 4 m beds increase with a power‐law relationship (d  = a + t ^b, where a and b are fitting parameters) with deflation time at a given friction velocity. (iii) The probability cumulative curves of sand showed a three‐section pattern in troughs and on most of the crests but a four‐section pattern at crest locations due to increased influence by friction velocity and deflation time. The proportions of the sediment moved by suspension, saltation and creep in the three‐section pattern were within the ranges of 0·2% to 2·0%, 97·0% to 98·9%, and 0·8% to 3·0%, respectively. For the four‐section pattern, suspension accounted for 0·3% and 3·0%, and the proportion of creep increased with friction velocity and deflation time, while saltation decreased accordingly. Although these results require additional validation, they help to advance current understanding of the grain‐size characteristics of aeolian ripples.     

Sedimentary architecture and depositional controls of a Holocene wave‐dominated barrier‐island system

Barrier‐island system evolution is controlled by internal and external forcing mechanisms, and temporal changes in these mechanisms may be recorded in the sedimentary architecture. However, the precise role of individual forcing mechanisms is rarely well understood due to limited chronological control. This study investigates the relative role of forcing conditions, such as antecedent topography, sea‐level rise, sediment supply, storms and climate changes, on the evolution of a Holocene wave‐dominated barrier‐island system. This article presents temporal reconstruction of the depositional history of the barrier‐island system of Rømø in the Wadden Sea in unprecedented detail, based on ground‐penetrating radar profiles, sediment cores, high‐resolution dating and palynological investigations, and shows that ca 8000 years ago the barrier island formed on a Pleistocene topographic high. During the initial phase of barrier evolution, the long‐term sea‐level rise was relatively rapid (ca 9 mm year⁻¹) and the barrier was narrow and frequently overwashed. Sediment supply kept pace with sea‐level rise, and the barrier‐island system mainly aggraded through the deposition of a ca 7 m thick stack of overwash fans. Aggradation continued for ca 1700 years until sea‐level rise had decreased to <2 mm year⁻¹. In the last ca 6000 years, the barrier prograded 4 to 5 km through deposition of a 10 to 15 m thick beach and shoreface unit, despite a long‐term sea‐level rise of 1 to 2 mm year⁻¹. The long‐term progradation was, however, interrupted by a transgression between 4000 years and 1700 years ago. These results demonstrate that the large‐scale morphology of the Danish Wadden Sea shoreline influences the longshore sediment transport flux and the millennial‐scale dispersal of sediment along the shoreline. On decadal to centennial timescales, major storms induced intense beach and shoreface erosion followed by rapid recovery and progradation which resulted in a highly punctuated beach and shoreface record. Major storms contributed towards a positive sediment budget, and the sustained surplus of sediment was, and still is, instrumental in maintaining the aggradational–progradational state of the barrier island.     

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Methodology for Isotopic Ratio Measurement of Micro‐Grains in Thin Sections: True Grain Size Estimation and Deconvolution of Inter‐Grain Size Gradients and Intra‐Grain Radial Gradients

In a thin section, grains that were approximately spherical in situ appear circular in cross section, and the distribution of apparent diameters frequently assumed to be their size distribution. Scanning ion imaging by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is capable of providing precise (< 1‰) stable isotope ratio measurements of such grains, but, importantly, also registers their rate of evolution in apparent size as they are ablated by the primary beam. By assessing rates of radius change with depth, the described methodology enables the ‘true’ size of grains to be estimated, as well as the distance of the sectioned surface from the original grain centre. Transects in three dimensions are made possible, and this capability enables better identification (and thus separation) of both inter‐grain chemical signatures as a function of grain size, and intra‐grain radial trends. In this example, we highlight the specific application to pyrite (FeS₂) minerals, which are frequently analysed by SIMS to determine their inter‐grain and intra‐grain geochemical variations, particularly in their sulfur stable isotopic ratios (δ³⁴S). Benefits of the new methodology over the Faraday cup ‘spot mode’ are described. Data correction algorithms and precision considerations are discussed.     

Sandstone grain size characteristics of the Upper Jurassic Emuerhe Formation in the western region,Mohe Basin (NE China)

The Upper Jurassic Emuerhe Formation was developed with abundant sedimentary facies types in the western section of the Mohe Basin. Based on the systematic sampling and detailed observation on the Emuerhe Formation of this section, the research on the sandstone grain size characteristics of the Emuerhe Formation was carried out with the grain size parameters features (Mz, SK₁, K_G and σ₁), the sensitive components parameters features (SCPGS, SCGSR and SCPV) and the grain size analytical graphs features (grain size frequency curves, grain size cumulative curves, probability cumulative curves and C–M plots). The comprehensive analytical results illustrate that the hydrodynamic energy of the Emuerhe Formation (three times fan delta facies, two times sandy shallow lake microfacies and five times turbidite deposit) in the western section gradually reduced from bottom to top. In addition, the hydrodynamic energy of each fan delta facies gradually enhanced from bottom to top. Based on the analysis of the hydrodynamic conditions of the Emuerhe Formation in the western section, the hydrodynamic conditions evolution history of this section can be divided into five sedimentary phases, namely respectively for the fan delta sedimentary phase, the first‐time sandy shallow lake microfacies sedimentary phase, the short‐term deep lake subfacies sedimentary phase, the second‐time sandy shallow lake microfacies sedimentary phase and the relatively stable deep lake subfacies sedimentary phase from bottom to top. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of sieving time on the efficiency and accuracy of grain‐size analysis of beach and dune sands

Grain size is a fundamental property of sediments and is commonly used to describe sedimentary facies and classify sedimentary environments. Among the various conventional techniques utilized to determine grain‐size frequency distributions, sieving is the most widely applied procedure. The accuracy of such analyses is, among other factors, strongly dependent on the sieving time. However, despite a substantial amount of research in this field, optimal sieving times for different types of sediments have, to date, not been established. In this article, the influence of sieving time on grain‐size analyses of medium‐grained microtidal and mesotidal beach and dune sands has been determined. To assess the precision of important textural parameters, such as median grain size, sorting, skewness and kurtosis, an error analysis was carried out for different sieving times (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes). After calibrating the analytical and sampling methodologies, significant deviations were registered when sieving time was less than 10 minutes. However, such deviations were very small and grain‐size distributions remained almost identical for sieving times of 10 minutes and longer, relative errors being as low as 0% in some cases.     

Grain-size sorting within river bars in relation to downstream fining along a wandering channel

The textural variability of river bed gravels at bar scales is poorly understood, as are the relations between variability at this scale and at reach and river scales. Surface and subsurface grain‐size distributions were therefore examined at reach, bar and bedform scales along lower Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Grain‐size variations within compound bars are conditioned by longitudinal position, elevation and morphological setting. Surface and subsurface sediments tend to decrease in median size from bar head to bar tail by 33% and 17%, respectively. Sediment size is constrained at some upper limit that is inversely related to bar surface elevation and which is consistent with competence considerations. The surface sediments on unit bars are finer and better sorted than the bed materials in bar‐top channels and along the main bar edges. Secondary unit bars tend to have a lower sand content than other features, a consequence of sediment resorting. Individual unit bars and gravel sheets exhibit streamwise grain‐size fining and lee‐side sand deposition. Over time, significant amounts of cut and fill do not ipso facto cause changes in surface grain sizes; yet, sediment characteristics can change without any significant morphological adjustment taking place. At the reach scale there is a clear downstream fining trend, but local variability is consistently high due to within‐bar variations. The surface median grain‐size range on individual bars is, on average, 25% of that along the entire 50 km reach but is 68% on one bar. While the overall fining trend yields a downstream change in surface median size of 0·76 mm km^?1, the average value for ‘head‐to‐tail’ size reduction on individual bars is 6·3 mm km^?1, an order of magnitude difference that highlights the effectiveness of bar‐scale sorting processes in gravel‐bed rivers. Possibilities for modelling bar‐scale variability and the interaction of the different controls that are identified are discussed.     

An experimental investigation of sand–mud suspension settling behaviour: implications for bimodal mud contents of submarine flow deposits

The settling behaviour of particulate suspensions and their deposits has been documented using a series of settling tube experiments. Suspensions comprised saline solution and noncohesive glass‐ballotini sand of particle size 35·5 μm < d < 250 μm and volume fractions, φ_s, up to 0·6 and cohesive kaolinite clay of particle size d < 35·5 μm and volume fractions, φ_m, up to 0·15. Five texturally distinct deposits were found, associated with different settling regimes: (I) clean, graded sand beds produced by incremental deposition under unhindered or hindered settling conditions; (II) partially graded, clean sand beds with an ungraded base and a graded top, produced by incremental deposition under hindered settling conditions; (III) graded muddy sands produced by compaction with significant particle sorting by elutriation; (IV) ungraded clean sand produced by compaction and (V) ungraded muddy sand produced by compaction. A transition from particle size segregation (regime I) to suppressed size segregation (regime II or III) to virtually no size segregation (IV or V) occurred as sediment concentration was increased. In noncohesive particulate suspensions, segregation was initially suppressed at φ_s ～ 0·2 and entirely inhibited at φ_s ≥ 0·6. In noncohesive and cohesive mixtures with low sand concentrations (φ_s < 0·2), particle segregation was initially suppressed at φ_m ～ 0·07 and entirely suppressed at φ_m ≥ 0·13. The experimental results have a number of implications for the depositional dynamics of submarine sediment gravity flows and other particulate flows that carry sand and mud; because the influence of moving flow is ignored in these experiments, the results will only be applicable to flows in which settling processes, in the depositional boundary, dominate over shear‐flow processes, as might be the case for rapidly decelerating currents with high suspended load fallout rates. The ‘abrupt’ change in settling regimes between regime I and V, over a relatively small change in mud concentration (<5% by volume), favours the development of either mud‐poor, graded sandy deposits or mud‐rich, ungraded sandy deposits. This may explain the bimodality in sediment texture (clean ‘turbidite’ or muddy ‘debrite’ sand or sandstone) found in some turbidite systems. Furthermore, it supports the notion that distal ‘linked’ debrites could form because of a relatively small increase in the mud concentration of turbidity currents, perhaps associated with erosion of a muddy sea floor. Ungraded, clean sand deposits were formed by noncohesive suspensions with concentrations 0·2 ≤ φ_s ≤ 0·4. Hydrodynamic sorting is interpreted as being suppressed in this case by relatively high bed aggradation rates which could also occur in association with sustained, stratified turbidity currents or noncohesive debris flows with relatively high near‐bed sediment concentrations.     

Beach erosion under rising sea‐level modulated by coastal geomorphology and sediment availability on carbonate reef‐fringed island coasts

This study addresses gaps in understanding the relative roles of sea‐level change, coastal geomorphology and sediment availability in driving beach erosion at the scale of individual beaches. Patterns of historical shoreline change are examined for spatial relationships to geomorphology and for temporal relationships to late‐Holocene and modern sea‐level change. The study area shoreline on the north‐east coast of Oahu, Hawaii, is characterized by a series of kilometre‐long beaches with repeated headland‐embayed morphology fronted by a carbonate fringing reef. The beaches are the seaward edge of a carbonate sand‐rich coastal strand plain, a common morphological setting in tectonically stable tropical island coasts. Multiple lines of geological evidence indicate that the strand plain prograded atop a fringing reef platform during a period of late‐Holocene sea‐level fall. Analysis of historical shoreline changes indicates an overall trend of erosion (shoreline recession) along headland sections of beach and an overall trend of stable to accreting beaches along adjoining embayed sections. Eighty‐eight per cent of headland beaches eroded over the past century at an average rate of ?0·12 ± 0·03 m yr^?1. In contrast, 56% of embayed beaches accreted at an average rate of 0·04 ± 0·03 m yr^?1. Given over a century of global (and local) sea‐level rise, the data indicate that embayed beaches are showing remarkable resiliency. The pattern of headland beach erosion and stable to accreting embayments suggests a shift from accretion to erosion particular to the headland beaches with the initiation of modern sea‐level rise. These results emphasize the need to account for localized variations in beach erosion related to geomorphology and alongshore sediment transport in attempting to forecast future shoreline change under increasing sea‐level rise.     

Detecting temporal shoreline changes and erosion/accretion rates,using remote sensing,and their associated sediment characteristics along the coast of North Sinai,Egypt

The variation during 15 years in the shoreline along the North Sinai coast has been determined by analysing TM and ETM true colour Landsat images from 1986 to 2001. The analyses identified erosion and accretion patterns along the coast. The shoreline has advanced west of El Bardawil inlet1, El Bardawil inlet2, and El Arish Harbour, where the wave-induced littoral transport has been halted by jetty construction and beach growth rates are 20,681, 69,855 and 20,160 m²/year, respectively. On the downdrift side of the constructed jetties to the east, the shoreline is retreating and beaches erode at rates of −71,710, −69,968, and −11,760 m²/year, respectively. Sedimentological analyses of beach sediment samples have indicated selective transport of heavy minerals according to their densities and grain sizes. A general correspondence has been found between variation in grain size, sorting and heavy-mineral content of beach sand and the patterns of shoreline changes.