Depositional processes,bedform development and hybrid bed formation in rapidly decelerated cohesive (mud–sand) sediment flows

Flows with high suspended sediment concentrations are common in many sedimentary environments, and their flow properties may show a transitional behaviour between fully turbulent and quasi‐laminar plug flows. The characteristics of these transitional flows are known to be a function of both clay concentration and type, as well as the applied fluid stress, but so far the interaction of these transitional flows with a loose sediment bed has received little attention. Information on this type of interaction is essential for the recognition and prediction of sedimentary structures formed by cohesive transitional flows in, for example, fluvial, estuarine and deep‐marine deposits. This paper investigates the behaviour of rapidly decelerated to steady flows that contain a mixture of sand, silt and clay, and explores the effect of different clay (kaolin) concentrations on the dynamics of flow over a mobile bed, and the bedforms and stratification produced. Experiments were conducted in a recirculating slurry flume capable of transporting high clay concentrations. Ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiling was used to measure the flow velocity within these concentrated suspension flows. The development of current ripples under decelerated flows of differing kaolin concentration was documented and evolution of their height, wavelength and migration rate quantified. This work confirms past work over smooth, fixed beds which showed that, as clay concentration rises, a distinct sequence of flow types is generated: turbulent flow, turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow, lower transitional plug flow, upper transitional plug flow and a quasi‐laminar plug flow. Each of these flow types produces an initial flat bed upon rapid flow deceleration, followed by reworking of these deposits through the development of current ripples during the subsequent steady flow in turbulent flow, turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow and lower transitional plug flow. The initial flat beds are structureless, but have diagnostic textural properties, caused by differential settling of sand, silt and cohesive mud, which forms characteristic bipartite beds that initially consist of sand overlain by silt or clay. As clay concentration in the formative flow increases, ripples first increase in mean height and wavelength under turbulence‐enhanced transitional flow and lower transitional plug‐flow regimes, which is attributed to the additional turbulence generated under these flows that subsequently causes greater lee side erosion. As clay concentration increases further from a lower transitional plug flow, ripples cease to exist under the upper transitional plug flow and quasi‐laminar plug flow conditions investigated herein. This disappearance of ripples appears due to both turbulence suppression at higher clay concentrations, as well as the increasing shear strength of the bed sediment that becomes more difficult to erode as clay concentration increases. The stratification within the ripples formed after rapid deceleration of the transitional flows reflects the availability of sediment from the bipartite bed. The exact nature of the ripple cross‐stratification in these flows is a direct function of the duration of the formative flow and the texture of the initial flat bed, and ripples do not form in cohesive flows with a Reynolds number smaller than ca 12 000. Examples are given of how the unique properties of the current ripples and plane beds, developing below decelerated transitional flows, could aid in the interpretation of depositional processes in modern and ancient sediments. This interpretation includes a new model for hybrid beds that explains their formation in terms of a combination of vertical grain‐size segregation and longitudinal flow transformation.     

Variable character and diverse origin of hybrid event beds in a sandy submarine fan system,Pennsylvanian Ross Sandstone Formation,western Ireland

Hybrid event beds comprising both clean and mud‐rich sandstone are important components of many deep‐water systems and reflect the passage of turbulent sediment gravity flows with zones of clay‐damped or suppressed turbulence. ‘Behind‐outcrop’ cores from the Pennsylvanian deep‐water Ross Sandstone Formation reveal hybrid event beds with a wide range of expression in terms of relative abundance, character and inferred origin. Muddy hybrid event beds first appear in the underlying Clare Shale Formation where they are interpreted as the distal run‐out of the wakes to flows which deposited most of their sand up‐dip before transforming to fluid mud. These are overlain by unusually thick (up to 4·4 m), coarse sandy hybrid event beds (89% of the lowermost Ross Formation by thickness) that record deposition from outsized flows in which transformations were driven by both substrate entrainment in the body of the flow and clay fractionation in the wake. A switch to dominantly fine‐grained sand was accompanied initially by the arrest of turbulence‐damped, mud‐rich flows with evidence for transitional flow conditions and thick fluid mud caps. The mid and upper Ross Formation contain metre‐scale bed sets of hybrid event beds (21 to 14%, respectively) in (i) upward‐sandying bed set associations immediately beneath amalgamated sheet or channel elements; (ii) stacked thick‐bedded and thin‐bedded hybrid event bed‐dominated bed sets; (iii) associations of hybrid event bed‐dominated bed sets alternating with conventional turbidites; and (iv) rare outsized hybrid event beds. Hybrid event bed dominance in the lower Ross Formation may reflect significant initial disequilibrium, a bias towards large‐volume flows in distal sectors of the basin, extensive mud‐draped slopes and greater drop heights promoting erosion. Higher in the formation, hybrid event beds record local perturbations related to channel switching, lobe relocations and extension of channels across the fan surface. The Ross Sandstone Formation confirms that hybrid event beds can form in a variety of ways, even in the same system, and that different flow transformation mechanisms may operate even during the passage of a single flow.     

过渡型流体转换对洪水型重力流沉积研究的启示及地质意义

洪水型重力流是重力流沉积学的研究热点,以往研究认为洪水型重力流具有紊流支撑的流体性质,对于其流体性质转化及其沉积记录的识别不够深入。近年研究揭示重力流沉积过程中可形成多种过渡型流体,具有特殊流体转换机制和沉积特征。通过调研国内外最新文献,系统介绍了过渡型流体基本特征、沉积机制方面的研究进展,并讨论了其对洪水型重力流沉积研究的启示及地质意义。研究结果表明：在少量黏土矿物影响下,沉积物重力流流体的性质即可由紊流向层流转化,形成特殊的过渡型流体。转化过程主要取决于黏土矿物含量和类型控制的流体内聚力和流速控制的紊流应力二者之间的相互作用。过渡型流体可以产生大型流水沙纹（large current ripple）、砂质纹层—泥质纹层间互形成的低幅度沙波（low amplitude bed wave）等独特的底床类型。尽管实验研究揭示了过渡型流体可能形成的沉积底床特征,针对洪水型重力流沉积记录中过渡型流体的解释仍十分缺乏,尤其是过渡型流体转换机制及其沉积响应仍亟待深入探索。过渡型流体的沉积底形是研究洪水型重力流沉积动力机制的重要载体,可为深入理解洪水型重力流沉积过程提供新视角,同时可能具有更广泛的沉积学研究价值。     

过渡型流体转换对洪水型重力流沉积研究的启示及地质意义

洪水型重力流是重力流沉积学的研究热点,以往研究认为洪水型重力流具有紊流支撑的流体性质,对于其流体性质转化及其沉积记录的识别不够深入。近年研究揭示重力流沉积过程中可形成多种过渡型流体,具有特殊流体转换机制和沉积特征。通过调研国内外最新文献,系统介绍了过渡型流体基本特征、沉积机制方面的研究进展,并讨论了其对洪水型重力流沉积研究的启示及地质意义。研究结果表明：在少量黏土矿物影响下,沉积物重力流流体的性质即可由紊流向层流转化,形成特殊的过渡型流体。转化过程主要取决于黏土矿物含量和类型控制的流体内聚力和流速控制的紊流应力二者之间的相互作用。过渡型流体可以产生大型流水沙纹(large current ripple)、砂质纹层—泥质纹层间互形成的低幅度沙波(low amplitude bed wave)等独特的底床类型。尽管实验研究揭示了过渡型流体可能形成的沉积底床特征,针对洪水型重力流沉积记录中过渡型流体的解释仍十分缺乏,尤其是过渡型流体转换机制及其沉积响应仍亟待深入探索。过渡型流体的沉积底形是研究洪水型重力流沉积动力机制的重要载体,可为深入理解洪水型重力流沉积过程提供新视角,同时可能具有更广泛的...     

A field study of turbulence and sediment dynamics over subaqueous dunes with flow separation

This study examines flow, turbulence and sand suspension over large dunes in Canoe Pass, a distributary channel of the Fraser River delta, Canada. Dune morphology is characterized by a symmetrical shape and steep leeside slopes over 30°. Velocity was measured with an electromagnetic current meter and suspended sand concentration with four optical backscatter (OBS) probes. The general patterns of time-averaged velocity and sand suspension are consistent with previous studies, including an increase in mean velocity and decrease in turbulence intensity and sand concentration with height above the bed, reversed flow with high turbulence intensity and high sand concentrations in the leeside flow separation zone and an increase in near-bed velocity and sand concentration along the stoss side of the dune. Frequency spectra of near-bed velocity and OBS records from leeside separation zones are composed of two distinct frequencies, providing field confirmation of scale relations based on flume experiments. The low-frequency spectral signal probably results from wake flapping and the high-frequency signal from vortex shedding. The wake-flapping frequency predominates outside the separation zone and is linked to turbulent structures that suspend sand. Predictions from a depth-scale Strouhal Law show good agreement with measured wake-flapping frequencies. Cross-correlations of OBS records reveal that turbulent sand suspension structures advect downstream at 23–25° above the horizontal. These advection angles are similar to coherent flow structures measured in flumes and to sand suspension structures visualized over large dunes in the field.     

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.     

The vertical turbulence structure of experimental turbidity currents encountering basal obstructions: implications for vertical suspended sediment distribution in non‐equilibrium currents

Large roughness features, caused by erosion of the sea floor, are commonly observed on the modern sea floor and beneath turbidite sandstone beds in outcrop. This paper aims to investigate the effect of such roughness elements on the turbulent velocity field and its consequences for the sediment carrying capacity of the flows. Experimental turbidity currents were run through a rectangular channel, with a single roughness element fixed to the bottom in some runs. The effect of this roughness element on the turbulent velocity field was determined by measuring vertical profiles of the vertical velocity component in the region downstream of the basal obstruction with the Ultrasonic Doppler Velocity Profiling technique. The experiments were set up to answer two research questions. (i) How does a single roughness element alter the distribution of vertical turbulence intensity? (ii) How does the altered profile evolve in the downstream direction? The results for runs over a plane substrate are similar to data presented previously and show a lower turbulence maximum near the channel floor, a turbulence minimum associated with the velocity maximum, and a turbulence maximum associated with the upper flow interface. In the runs in which the flows were perturbed by the single roughness element, the intensity of the lower turbulence maximum was increased between 41% to 81%. This excess turbulence dissipated upwards in the flow while it travelled further downstream, but was still observable at the most distal measurement location (at a distance ca 39 times the roughness height downstream of the element). All results point towards a similarity between the near bed turbulence structure of turbidity currents and free surface shear flows that has been proposed by previous authors, and this proposition is supported further by the apparent success of a shear velocity estimation method that is based on this similarity. Theory of turbulent dispersal of suspended sediment is used to discuss how the observed turbulent effects of a single large roughness element may impact on the suspended sediment distribution in real world turbidity currents. It is concluded that this impact may consist of a non‐equilibrium net‐upwards transport of suspended sediment, counteracting density stratification. Thus, erosive substrate topography created by frontal parts of natural turbidity flows may super‐elevate sediment concentrations in upper regions above equilibrium values in following flow stages, delay depletion of the flow via sedimentation and increase their run‐out distance.     

Slurry-flow deposits in the Britannia Formation (Lower Cretaceous), North Sea: a new perspective on the turbidity current and debris flow problem

The Lower Cretaceous Britannia Formation (North Sea) includes an assemblage of sandstone beds interpreted here to be the deposits of turbidity currents, debris flows and a spectrum of intermediate flow types termed slurry flows. The term ‘slurry flow’ is used here to refer to watery flows transitional between turbidity currents, in which particles are supported primarily by flow turbulence, and debris flows, in which particles are supported by flow strength. Thick, clean, dish‐structured sandstones and associated thin‐bedded sandstones showing Bouma T_b–e divisions were deposited by high‐ and low‐density turbidity currents respectively. Debris flow deposits are marked by deformed, intraformational mudstone and sandstone masses suspended within a sand‐rich mudstone matrix. Most Britannia slurry‐flow deposits contain 10–35% detrital mud matrix and are grain supported. Individual beds vary in thickness from a few centimetres to over 30 m. Seven sedimentary structure division types are recognized in slurry‐flow beds: (M₁) current structured and massive divisions; (M₂) banded units; (M₃) wispy laminated sandstone; (M₄) dish‐structured divisions; (M₅) fine‐grained, microbanded to flat‐laminated units; (M₆) foundered and mixed layers that were originally laminated to microbanded; and (M₇) vertically water‐escape structured divisions. Water‐escape structures are abundant in slurry‐flow deposits, including a variety of vertical to subvertical pipe‐ and sheet‐like fluid‐escape conduits, dish structures and load structures. Structuring of Britannia slurry‐flow beds suggests that most flows began deposition as turbidity currents: fully turbulent flows characterized by turbulent grain suspension and, commonly, bed‐load transport and deposition (M₁). Mud was apparently transported largely as hydrodynamically silt‐ to sand‐sized grains. As the flows waned, both mud and mineral grains settled, increasing near‐bed grain concentration and flow density. Low‐density mud grains settling into the denser near‐bed layers were trapped because of their reduced settling velocities, whereas denser quartz and feldspar continued settling to the bed. The result of this kinetic sieving was an increasing mud content and particle concentration in the near‐bed layers. Disaggregation of mud grains in the near‐bed zone as a result of intense shear and abrasion against rigid mineral grains caused a rapid increase in effective clay surface area and, hence, near‐bed cohesion, shear resistance and viscosity. Eventually, turbulence was suppressed in a layer immediately adjacent to the bed, which was transformed into a cohesion‐dominated viscous sublayer. The banding and lamination in M₂ are thought to reflect the formation, evolution and deposition of such cohesion‐dominated sublayers. More rapid fallout from suspension in less muddy flows resulted in the development of thin, short‐lived viscous sublayers to form wispy laminated divisions (M₃) and, in the least muddy flows with the highest suspended‐load fallout rates, direct suspension sedimentation formed dish‐structured M₄ divisions. Markov chain analysis indicates that these divisions are stacked to form a range of bed types: (I) dish‐structured beds; (II) dish‐structured and wispy laminated beds; (III) banded, wispy laminated and/or dish‐structured beds; (IV) predominantly banded beds; and (V) thickly banded and mixed slurried beds. These different bed types form mainly in response to the varying mud contents of the depositing flows and the influence of mud on suspended‐load fallout rates. The Britannia sandstones provide a remarkable and perhaps unique window on the mechanics of sediment‐gravity flows transitional between turbidity currents and debris flows and the textures and structuring of their deposits.     

Flow dynamics at the origin of thin clayey sand lacustrine turbidites: Examples from Lake Hazar,Turkey

Turbidity currents and their deposits can be investigated using several methods, i.e. direct monitoring, physical and numerical modelling, sediment cores and outcrops. The present study focused on thin clayey sand turbidites found in Lake Hazar (Turkey) occurring in eleven clusters of closely spaced thin beds. Depositional processes and sources for three of those eleven clusters are studied at three coring sites. Bathymetrical data and seismic reflection profiles are used to understand the specific geomorphology of each site. X‐ray, thin sections and CT scan imagery combined with grain‐size, geochemical and mineralogical measurements on the cores allow characterization of the turbidites. Turbidites included in each cluster were produced by remobilization of surficial slope sediment, a process identified in very few studies worldwide. Three types of turbidites are distinguished and compared with deposits obtained in flume studies published in the literature. Type 1 is made of an ungraded clayey silt layer issued from a cohesive flow. Type 2 is composed of a partially graded clayey sand layer overlain by a mud cap, attributed to a transitional flow. Type 3 corresponds to a graded clayey sand layer overlain by a mud cap issued from a turbulence‐dominated flow. While the published experimental studies show that turbulence is damped by cohesion for low clay content, type 3 deposits of this study show evidence for a turbulence‐dominated mechanism despite their high clay content. This divergence may in part relate to input variables, such as water chemistry and clay mineralogy, that are not routinely considered in experimental studies. Furthermore, the large sedimentological variety observed in the turbidites from one coring site to another is related to the evolution of a sediment flow within a field‐scale basin made of a complex physiography that cannot be tackled by flume experiments.     

Hybrid event beds dominated by transitional‐flow facies: character,distribution and significance in the Maastrichtian Springar Formation,north‐west Vøring Basin,Norwegian Sea

Hybrid event beds comprising clay‐poor and clay‐rich sandstone are abundant in Maastrichtian‐aged sandstones of the Springar Formation in the north‐west Vøring Basin, Norwegian Sea. This study focuses on an interval, informally referred to as the Lower Sandstone, which has been penetrated in five wells that are distributed along a 140 km downstream transect. Systematic variations in bed style within this stratigraphic interval are used to infer variation in flow behaviour in relatively proximal and distal settings, although individual beds were not correlated. The Lower Sandstone shows an overall reduction in total thickness, bed amalgamation, sand to mud ratio and grain size in distal wells. Turbidites dominated by clay‐poor sandstone are at their most common in relatively proximal wells, whereas hybrid event beds are at their most common in distal wells. Hybrid event beds typically comprise a basal clay‐poor sandstone (non‐stratified or stratified) overlain by banded sandstone, with clay‐rich non‐stratified sandstone at the bed top. The dominant type of clay‐poor sandstone at the base of these beds varies spatially; non‐stratified sandstone is thickest and most common proximally, whereas stratified sandstone becomes dominant in distal wells. Stratified and banded sandstone record progressive deposition of the hybrid event bed. Thus, the facies succession within hybrid event beds records the longitudinal heterogeneity of flow behaviour within the depositional boundary layer; this layer changed from non‐cohesive at the front, through a region of transitional behaviour (fluctuating non‐cohesive and cohesive flow), to cohesive behaviour at the rear. Spatial variation in the dominant type of clay‐poor sandstone at the bed base suggests that the front of the flow remained non‐cohesive, and evolved from high‐concentration and turbulence‐suppressed to increasingly turbulent flow; this is thought to occur in response to deposition and declining sediment fallout. This research may be applicable to other hybrid event bed prone systems, and emphasizes the dynamic nature of hybrid flows.     

The stratigraphic record and processes of turbidity current transformation across deep‐marine lobes

Sedimentary facies in the distal parts of deep‐marine lobes can diverge significantly from those predicted by classical turbidite models, and sedimentological processes in these environments are poorly understood. This gap may be bridged using outcrop studies and theoretical models. In the Skoorsteenberg Formation (South Africa), a downstream transition from thickly bedded turbidite sandstones to argillaceous, internally layered hybrid beds, is observed. The hybrid beds have a characteristic stratigraphic and spatial distribution, being associated with bed successions which generally coarsen and thicken‐upward reflecting deposition on the fringes of lobes in a dominantly progradational system. Using a detailed characterization of bed types, including grain size, grain‐fabric and mineralogical analyses, a process‐model for flow evolution is developed. This is explored using a numerical suspension capacity model for radially spreading and decelerating turbidity currents. The new model shows how decelerating sediment suspensions can reach a critical suspension capacity threshold beyond which grains are not supported by fluid turbulence. Sand and silt particles, settling together with flocculated clay, may form low yield strength cohesive flows; development of these higher concentration lower boundary layer flows inhibits transfer of turbulent kinetic energy into the upper parts of the flow ultimately resulting in catastrophic loss of turbulence and collapse of the upper part of the flow. Advection distances of the now transitional to laminar flow are relatively long (several kilometres) suggesting relatively slow dewatering (several hours) of the low yield strength flows. The catastrophic loss of turbulence accounts for the presence of such beds in other fine‐grained systems without invoking external controls or large‐scale flow partitioning and also explains the abrupt pinch‐out of all divisions of these sandstones. Estimation of the point of flow transformation is a useful tool in the prediction of heterogeneity distribution in subsurface systems.     

Flow structure of turbidity currents

A two‐dimensional numerical model is used to describe the flow structure of turbidity currents in a vertical plane. To test the accuracy of the model, it is applied to historical flows in Bute Inlet and the Grand Banks flow. The two‐dimensional spatial and temporal distributions of velocity and sediment concentration and non‐dimensionalized vertical profiles of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy and sediment concentration are discussed for several simple computational currents. The flows show a clear interaction between velocity, turbulence and sediment distribution. The results of the numerical tests show that flows with fine‐grained sediment have low vertical and high horizontal gradients of velocity and sediment concentration, show little increase in flow thickness and decelerate slowly. Steadiness and uniformity in these flows are comparable for velocity and concentration. In contrast, flows with coarse‐grained sediment have high vertical and low horizontal velocity gradients and high horizontal concentration gradients. These flows grow considerably in thickness and decelerate rapidly. Steadiness and uniformity in flows with coarse‐grained sediment are different for velocity and concentration. The results show the influence of spatial and temporal flow structure on flow duration and sediment transport.     

Mean flow and turbulence structure over fixed, two-dimensional dunes: implications for sediment transport and bedform stability

Detailed measurements of flow velocity and its turbulent fluctuation were obtained over fixed, two-dimensional dunes in a laboratory channel. Laser Doppler anemometry was used to measure the downstream and vertical components of velocity at more than 1800 points over one dune wavelength. The density of the sampling grid allowed construction of a unique set of contour maps for all mean flow and turbulence parameters, which are assessed using higher moment measures and quadrant analysis. These flow field maps illustrate that: (1) the time-averaged downstream and vertical velocities agree well with previous studies of quasi-equilibrium flow over fixed and mobile bedforms and show a remarkable symmetry from crest to crest; (2) the maximum root-mean-square (RMS) of the downstream velocity values occur at and just downstream of flow reattachment and within the flow separation cell; (3) the maximum vertical RMS values occur within and above the zone of flow separation along the shear layer and this zone advects and diffuses downstream, extending almost to the next crest; (4) positive downstream skewness values occur within the separation cell, whereas positive vertical skewness values are restricted to the shear layer; (5) the highest Reynolds stresses are located within the zone of flow separation and along the shear layer; (6) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-2 events (‘ejections’) are concentrated along the shear layer (Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities) and dominate the contribution to the local Reynolds stress; and (7) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-4 events occur bounding the separation zone, near reattachment and close to the dune crest, and are significant contributors to the local Reynolds stress at each location. These data demonstrate that the turbulence structure associated with dunes is controlled intrinsically by the formation, magnitude and downstream extent of the flow separation zone and resultant shear layer. Furthermore, the origin of dune-related macroturbulence lies in the dynamics of the shear layer rather than classical turbulent boundary layer bursting. The fluid dynamic distinction between dunes and ripples is reasoned to be linked to the velocity differential across the shear layer and hence the magnitude of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which are both greater for dunes than ripples. These instabilities control the local flow and turbulence structure and dictate the modes of sediment entrainment and their transport rates.     

Scour holes and ripples occur below the hydraulic smooth to rough transition of movable beds

Scour holes often form in shallow flows over sand on the beach and in morphodynamic scale experiments of river reaches, deltas and estuarine landscapes. The scour holes are on average 2 cm deep and 5 cm long, regardless of the flow depth and appear to occur under similar conditions as current ripples: at low boundary Reynolds numbers, in fine sand and under relatively low sediment mobility. In landscape experiments, where the flow is only about 1 cm deep, such scours may be unrealistically large and have unnatural effects on channel formation, bar pattern and stratigraphy. This study tests the hypotheses that both scours and ripples occur in the same conditions and that the roughness added by sediment saltation explains the difference between the ripple–dune transition and the clear‐water hydraulic smooth to rough transition. About 500 experiments are presented with a range of sediment types, sediment mobility and obstructions to provoke scour holes, or removal thereof to assess scour hole persistence. Most experiments confirm that ripples and scour holes both form in the ripple stability field in two different bedform stability diagrams. The experiments also show that scours can be provoked by perturbations even below generalized sediment motion. Moreover, the hydraulic smooth to rough transition modified with saltation roughness depending on sediment mobility was similar in magnitude and in slope to ripple–dune transitions. Given uncertainties in saltation relations, the smooth to rough transitions modified for movable beds are empirically equivalent to the ripple–dune transitions. These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that scours form by turbulence caused by localized flow separation under low boundary Reynolds numbers, and do not form under generalized flow separation over coarser particles and intense sediment saltation. Furthermore, this suggests that ripples are a superposition of two independent forms: periodic bedforms occurring in smooth and rough conditions plus aperiodic scours occurring only in hydraulic smooth conditions.     

Drag reduction in turbulent muddy seawater flows and some sedimentary consequences

Turbulent saline flows which contain low concentrations of suspended clay (< 10 g 1^?1) have previously been reported to possess dramatically different boundary layer characteristics from clearwater flows and to exhibit the phenomenon of drag reduction. Drag reduction causes significantly lower friction factors and higher erosion thresholds in muddy saline flows than predicted by experimental data gained from fresh-water flows using the law of the wall to estimate bed shear stress. Confirmation is given by experimental results on drag reduction using non-intrusive laser Doppler measurements in seawater flows with <2·2 g 1^?1 maximum concentration of suspended clay. Increasing the concentration of clay caused progressively lower velocities near the wall due to a gradual thickening of the buffer region of the turbulent boundary layer. Several aspects of sediment transport, deposition and bedform development in natural marine environments are thus considered to be significantly affected by the drag reduction process.     

Subaqueous sediment density flows: Depositional processes and deposit types

Submarine sediment density flows are one of the most important processes for moving sediment across our planet, yet they are extremely difficult to monitor directly. The speed of long run‐out submarine density flows has been measured directly in just five locations worldwide and their sediment concentration has never been measured directly. The only record of most density flows is their sediment deposit. This article summarizes the processes by which density flows deposit sediment and proposes a new single classification for the resulting types of deposit. Colloidal properties of fine cohesive mud ensure that mud deposition is complex, and large volumes of mud can sometimes pond or drain‐back for long distances into basinal lows. Deposition of ungraded mud (T_E‐3) most probably finally results from en masse consolidation in relatively thin and dense flows, although initial size sorting of mud indicates earlier stages of dilute and expanded flow. Graded mud (T_E‐2) and finely laminated mud (T_E‐1) most probably result from floc settling at lower mud concentrations. Grain‐size breaks beneath mud intervals are commonplace, and record bypass of intermediate grain sizes due to colloidal mud behaviour. Planar‐laminated (T_D) and ripple cross‐laminated (T_C) non‐cohesive silt or fine sand is deposited by dilute flow, and the external deposit shape is consistent with previous models of spatial decelerating (dissipative) dilute flow. A grain‐size break beneath the ripple cross‐laminated (T_C) interval is common, and records a period of sediment reworking (sometimes into dunes) or bypass. Finely planar‐laminated sand can be deposited by low‐amplitude bed waves in dilute flow (T_B‐1), but it is most likely to be deposited mainly by high‐concentration near‐bed layers beneath high‐density flows (T_B‐2). More widely spaced planar lamination (T_B‐3) occurs beneath massive clean sand (T_A), and is also formed by high‐density turbidity currents. High‐density turbidite deposits (T_A, T_B‐2 and T_B‐3) have a tabular shape consistent with hindered settling, and are typically overlain by a more extensive drape of low‐density turbidite (T_D and T_C,). This core and drape shape suggests that events sometimes comprise two distinct flow components. Massive clean sand is less commonly deposited en masse by liquefied debris flow (D_CS), in which case the clean sand is ungraded or has a patchy grain‐size texture. Clean‐sand debrites can extend for several tens of kilometres before pinching out abruptly. Up‐current transitions suggest that clean‐sand debris flows sometimes form via transformation from high‐density turbidity currents. Cohesive debris flows can deposit three types of ungraded muddy sand that may contain clasts. Thick cohesive debrites tend to occur in more proximal settings and extend from an initial slope failure. Thinner and highly mobile low‐strength cohesive debris flows produce extensive deposits restricted to distal areas. These low‐strength debris flows may contain clasts and travel long distances (D_M‐2), or result from more local flow transformation due to turbulence damping by cohesive mud (D_M‐1). Mapping of individual flow deposits (beds) emphasizes how a single event can contain several flow types, with transformations between flow types. Flow transformation may be from dilute to dense flow, as well as from dense to dilute flow. Flow state, deposit type and flow transformation are strongly dependent on the volume fraction of cohesive fine mud within a flow. Recent field observations show significant deviations from previous widely cited models, and many hypotheses linking flow type to deposit type are poorly tested. There is much still to learn about these remarkable flows.     

Suspended sediment dynamics and morphodynamics in the Yellow River, China

The Yellow River in China carries large amounts of sediments in suspension at concentrations up to several hundreds of kilograms per cubic metre; the sediment is composed mainly of silt. These high sediment concentrations influence the hydrodynamics (flow velocity and turbulence) which, in turn, determine the sediment concentration profile, whereas both the high sediment concentrations and pseudo-cohesive properties of silt determine the morphodynamics of the Yellow River. The effect of sediment on the hydrodynamics is analysed using the Richardson number and the Reynolds number to provide a framework to differentiate between various flow regimes in the Yellow River, which is calibrated and validated with Yellow River data. The flow may be sub-saturated (stable flow), super-saturated (unstable flow characterized by high deposition rates, caused by collapse of turbulence), or hyperconcentrated sub-saturated (stable flow because of hindered settling effects), depending on the Richardson number. Independent of this, the flow may be turbulent, transitional or laminar, depending on the Reynolds number. Analysis of these flow types improves understanding of the flow regimes and morphodynamics of the Yellow River. The morphodynamics of the Yellow River are also affected by pseudo-cohesive behaviour caused by shear dilatance, which results in increasing critical shear stress for erosion at decreasing grain-size. This pseudo-cohesive behaviour may be partly responsible not only for the high deposition rates which characterize the lower Yellow River, but also for mass erosion during river floods.     

含植物河道紊流结构研究进展

自然河流中,水生植物的存在改变了河道中的紊流结构.与普通明渠紊流相比,含植物河道水体掺混更剧烈,紊流结构更复杂.由于紊流结构直接影响河流中泥沙、污染物和营养物的输移,含植物河道紊流结构研究越来越受到重视.从紊流平均结构、紊动特性、拟序结构和紊流类型几方面归纳并总结了国内外研究进展,综合分析了影响紊流结构的因素,提出利用场与点相结合的综合分析方法,对拟序结构的形成及发展过程进行定量刻画,探究植物条件下紊流机理是今后的重要研究方向.     

Laboratory sustained turbidity currents form elongate ridges at channel mouths

The turbulent flow structure, suspended sediment dynamics and deposits of experimental sustained turbidity currents exiting a channel across a break in slope into a wide tank are documented. The data shed light on the flow evolution and deposit geometry of analogous natural channel‐fed submarine fans. Flows generated in a 0·3 m wide, sloping (0°, 6°, 9° or 20°) channel crossed an angular slope break and spread onto a horizontal tank floor. Flow development comprised: (i) channelized phase (unsteady channel flow developing into steady channel flow); (ii) initial lateral expansion phase (unsteady‐spreading wall jet phase); (iii) constant lateral expansion phase (steady‐spreading wall jet phase); and (iv) rapid waning phase. Phases (i) and (iv) are similar to laterally constrained turbidity currents, but phases (ii) and (iii) are considerably different from such two‐dimensional currents. Steeper channel slopes produced greater flow velocities and turbulence intensities, but these effects diminished markedly with distance from the channel mouth. Flow velocity vectors in the tank had similar patterns for all channel slopes, with a central core of faster velocity and narrow vector dispersion and slower flow with larger dispersion at the jet margins. Suspended sediment concentrations were higher within flow heads and dense basal layers in flow bodies. Time‐averaged acoustic backscatter data showed vertical concentration gradients, confirmed by siphon samples. The deposits comprised a thick central ridge, of similar order width to the channel mouth, with abrupt margins and a surrounding, very thin, fan‐like sheet. The ridge was coarser grained and better sorted than the original sediment, with grain‐size fining downstream, particularly over the fan‐like sheet. The formation of a central ridge suggests that, in the tank, vertical turbulent momentum exchange is more significant for sediment dynamics than spanwise momentum exchange due to lateral expansion. The streamwise elongate geometry of the ridge contrasts with conventional fan‐like geometry found with surge‐type turbidity flows, a result that has widespread stratigraphic and economic implications.