Suspended sediment concentration and the ripple–dune transition

Flume experiments were conducted in order to monitor changes in flow turbulence intensity and suspended sediment concentration at seven stages across the ripple–dune transition and at three different positions above the bed surface. Three‐dimensional velocity measurements were obtained using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV). Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was monitored indirectly using ADV signal amplitude. Although limited to time‐averaged parameters, the analysis reveals that SSC varies significantly with stage across the transition and with sampling height. The statistical analysis also reveals an apparent uniformity of suspended sediment concentration with height above the bed in the lower half of the flow depth at the critical stage in the transition from ripples to dunes. This is also the stage at which turbulence intensity is maximized. Statistically significant correlations were also observed between suspended sediment concentrations and root‐mean‐square values of vertical velocity fluctuations. These correlations reflect the various levels of shear‐layer activity and the distinct turbulent flow regions across the transition. Conversely, time‐averaged values of Reynolds shear stress exhibit a very weak relationship with suspended sediment concentrations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient three‐dimensional‐patterned ripples appear during deformation of a two‐dimensional ripple field under wave‐induced oscillatory flow

Wave‐flume experiments on the process of deformation of pre‐existing two‐dimensional ripples revealed that one of two distinct types of three‐dimensional patterned ripple, the rhombic or the barrel type, emerged in the early stages of the experimental runs. Rhombic‐type ripples were characterized by a staggered pattern of similar‐sized mounds, whereas the barrel‐type ripples had a barrel‐like plan shape arranged in echelons. The former ripples were formed under strongly asymmetrical flow conditions with large excursion distances of water particle motion near the pre‐existing rippled bed, whereas the latter were formed under relatively symmetrical flow conditions with small excursion distances. The emergence of both types of ripples was also highly dependent on sediment grain size. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A field study of mean and turbulent flow characteristics upwind,over and downwind of barchan dunes

Field‐measured patterns of mean velocity and turbulent airflow are reported for isolated barchan dunes. Turbulence was sampled using a high frequency sonic anemometer, deriving near‐surface Reynolds shear and normal stresses. Measurements upwind of and over a crest‐brink separated barchan indicated that shear stress was sustained despite a velocity reduction at the dune toe. The mapped streamline angles and enhanced turbulent intensities suggest the effects of positive streamline curvature are responsible for this maintenance of shear stress. This field evidence supports an existing model for dune morphodynamics based on wind tunnel turbulence measurements. Downwind, the effect of different dune profiles on flow re‐attachment and recovery was apparent. With transverse incident flow, a re‐attachment length between 2·3 and 5·0h (h is dune brink height) existed for a crest‐brink separated dune and 6·5 to 8·6h for a crest‐brink coincident dune. The lee side shear layer produced elevated turbulent stresses immediately downwind of both dunes, and a decrease in turbulence with distance characterized flow recovery. Recovery of mean velocity for the crest‐brink separated dune occurred over a distance 6·5h shorter than the crest‐brink coincident form. As the application of sonic anemometers in aeolian geomorphology is relatively new, there is debate concerning the suitability of processing their data in relation to dune surface and streamline angle. This paper demonstrates the effect on Reynolds stresses of mathematically correcting data to the local streamline over varying dune slope. Where the streamline angle was closely related to the surface (windward slope), time‐averaged shear stress agreed best with previous wind tunnel findings when data were rotated along streamlines. In the close lee, however, the angle of downwardly projected (separated) flow was not aligned with the flat ground surface. Here, shear stress appeared to be underestimated by streamline correction, and corrected shear stress values were less than half of those uncorrected. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow structure over a wavy bed with vegetation cover

On the basis of experiments carried out in flume with a wavy bed with vegetation cover, flow velocity, turbulence intensities and Reynolds stress distributions are investigated. The wavy bed was similar to dune in this study. The fixed artificial dunes were constructed over the bed and artificial vegetation put over them in a laboratory flume. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter and spatially-averaged method were applied to determine turbulent flow components and shear velocity. Results were compared with a gravel bedform. It was observed that vegetation cover influences considerably the flow structure and displays clearly the flow separation and reattachment point. The law of the wall was not valid within the vegetation cover, but it was fitted well to the zone above the vegetation cover within the inner layer. For a wavy bed having the same dimensions, shear velocity and friction factor over vegetation cover are 1.7 and 2.6 times of those for the gravel bedform, respectively. The results of laboratory study were compared with those of river study.     

Conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over 2D dunes in the presence of surface waves

This study presents the analysis of the velocity fluctuations to describe the conditional statistics of Reynolds shear stress in flow over two‐dimensional dunes in the presence of surface waves of varying frequency. The flow velocity measurements over the dunes are made using a 16‐MHz 3D acoustic Doppler velocimeter. The joint probability distributions of the normalized stream‐wise and vertical velocity fluctuations at different vertical locations are calculated in the trough region of a selected dune in quasi‐steady region of the flow. Third‐order moments of the stream‐wise and vertical velocity components over one dune length are also calculated throughout the flow depth for understanding the effect of surface waves on relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress due to the four quadrant events. The structure of instantaneous Reynolds stresses is analysed using quadrant analysis technique. It has been shown that the contributions of second and fourth quadrant events to the Reynolds shear stress increase with increase in the frequency of surface waves. In fact, the largest contribution to turbulent stresses comes from the second quadrant. The cumulant discard method is applied to describe the statistical properties of the covariance term u′w′. Conditional statistics and conditional sampling are used to compare the experimental and theoretical relative contributions to the Reynolds shear stress from the four quadrant events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aeolian processes across transverse dunes. I: Modelling the air flow

This paper discusses a two-dimensional second-order closure model simulating air flow and turbulence across transverse dunes. Input parameters are upwind wind speed, topography of the dune ridge and surface roughness distribution over the ridge. The most important output is the distribution of the friction velocity over the surface. This model is dynamically linked to a model that calculates sand transport rates and the resulting changes in elevation. The sand transport model is discussed in a separate paper. The simulated wind speeds resemble patterns observed during field experiments. Despite the increased wind speed over the crest, the friction velocity at the crest of a bare dune is reduced compared to the upstream value, because of the effect of stream line curvature on turbulence. These curvature effects explain why desert dunes can grow in height. In order to obtain realistic predictions of friction velocity it was essential to include equations for the turbulent variables in the model. In these equations streamline curvature is an important parameter. The main flaw of the model is that it cannot deal with flow separation and the resulting recirculation vortex. As a result, the increase of the wind speed and friction velocity after a steep dune or a slipface will be too close to the dune foot. In the sand transport model this was overcome by defining a separation zone. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling river dune development and dune transition to upper stage plane bed

Large asymmetric bedforms known as dunes commonly dominate the bed of sand rivers. Due to the turbulence generation over their stoss and lee sides, dunes are of central importance in predicting hydraulic roughness and water levels. During floods in steep alluvial rivers, dunes are observed to grow rapidly as flow strength increases, undergoing an unstable transition regime, after which they are washed out in what is called upper stage plane bed. This transition of dunes to upper stage plane bed is associated with high transport of bed sediment in suspension and large decrease in bedform roughness. In the present study, we aim to improve the prediction of dune development and dune transition to upper stage plane bed by introducing the transport of suspended sediment in an existing dune evolution model. In addition, flume experiments are carried out to investigate dune development under bed load and suspended load dominated transport regimes, and to get insight in the time scales related to the transition of dunes to upper stage plane bed. Simulations with the extended model including the transport of suspended sediment show significant improvement in the prediction of equilibrium dune parameters (e.g. dune height, dune length, dune steepness, dune migration rate, dune lee side slope) both under bed load dominant and suspended load dominant transport regimes. The chosen modeling approach also allows us to model the transition of dunes to upper stage plane bed which was not possible with the original dune evolution model. The extended model predicts change in the dune shapes as was observed in the flume experiments with decreasing dune heights and dune lee slopes. Furthermore, the time scale of dune transition to upper stage plane bed was quite well predicted by the extended model. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observations of the stability of oscillatory flow above the seabed and of sand ripple formation

The results of two field experiments are described, both of which were carried out at Blackpool Sands, Start Bay. In the first experiment in 1978, observations were made of the near-bed flow, and of the movement of coarse sand on the bed, beneath progressive swell waves in shallow water. In the second experiment in 1980, similar observations were made, but for a bed comprising medium to fine sand, and for a more varied range of wave periods. In addition, a number of observations were made of the formation of ripples on an initially flat sand bed. For the naturally rippled beds, critical conditions for the onset of vortex formation and shedding have been established, and reasonable agreement with previous laboratory results has been found. In particular, it has been shown that vortex formation occurs above the lee slopes of ripples only if the near-bed orbital excursion exceeds the ripple wavelength. Prior to certain experimental runs, the area of the seabed in the vicinity of the bottom rig was flattened by divers, and an (equilibrium) ripple pattern was allowed to develop. The wavelengths of the ripples which formed have been found to be in close agreement with the field results of previous workers. To examine in detail some of the properties of separating flow above a rippled bed, an irrotational standing vortex model is presented.     

The effect of asymmetric dune roughness on tidal asymmetry in the Weser estuary

The bed of estuaries is often characterized by ripples and dunes of varying size. Whereas smaller bedforms adapt their morphological shape to the oscillating tidal currents, large compound dunes (here: asymmetric tidal dunes) remain stable for periods longer than a tidal cycle. Bedforms constitute a form roughness, that is, hydraulic flow resistance, which has a large-scale effect on tidal asymmetry and, hence, on hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and morphodynamics of estuaries and coastal seas. Flow separation behind the dune crest and recirculation on the steep downstream side result in turbulence and energy loss. Since the energy dissipation can be related to the dune lee slope angle, asymmetric dune shapes induce variable flow resistance during ebb and flood phases. Here, a noncalibrated numerical model has been applied to analyze the large-scale effect of symmetric and asymmetric dune shapes on estuarine tidal asymmetry evaluated by residual bed load sediment transport at the Weser estuary, Germany. Scenario simulations were performed with parameterized bed roughness of symmetric and asymmetric dune shapes and without dune roughness. The spatiotemporal interaction of distinct dune shapes with the main drivers of estuarine sediment and morphodynamics, that is, river discharge and tidal energy, is shown to be complex but substantial. The contrasting effects of flood- and ebb-oriented asymmetric dunes on residual bed load transport rates and directions are estimated to be of a similar importance as the controls of seasonal changes of discharge on these net sediment fluxes at the Lower Weser estuary. This corroborates the need to consider dune-induced directional bed roughness in numerical models of estuarine and tidal environments.     

Observation and numerical modeling of tidal dune dynamics

Tidal sand dune dynamics is observed for two tidal cycles in the Arcachon tidal inlet, southwest France. An array of instruments is deployed to measure bathymetric and current variations along dune profiles. Based on the measurements, dune crest horizontal and vertical displacements are quantified and show important dynamics in phase with tidal currents. We observed superimposed ripples on the dune stoss side and front, migrating and changing polarity as tidal currents reverse. A 2D RANS numerical model is used to simulate the morphodynamic evolution of a flat non-cohesive sand bed submitted to a tidal current. The model reproduces the bed evolution until a field of sand bedforms is obtained that are comparable with observed superimposed ripples in terms of geometrical dimensions and dynamics. The model is then applied to simulate the dynamics of a field of large sand dunes of similar size as the dunes observed in situ. In both cases, simulation results compare well with measurements qualitatively and quantitatively. This research allows for a better understanding of tidal sand dune and superimposed ripple morphodynamics and opens new perspectives for the use of numerical models to predict their evolution.     

Turbulence fields in the lee of two‐dimensional transverse dunes simulated in a wind tunnel

The turbulence field of airflow in the lee of a dune has significant impacts on dune dynamics and related processes. We used particle image velocimetry in a wind tunnel simulation to obtain detailed velocity measurements in the lee of two‐dimensional transverse dune models, then used the results to analyse their turbulence fields. The dune models used in this study had a single lee angle of 30°, and a total of six stoss angles: 3°, 5°, 10°, 15°, 20° and 25°. We used vorticity, turbulence intensity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy to characterize the turbulence fields. These parameters were functions of stoss angle, wind velocity, distance from the dune crest and height above the ground surface. The stoss angles could generally be divided into two groups based on the profiles of mean velocity, turbulence and Reynolds stress. Stoss angles of 3° and 5° usually had similar profiles, and angles of 15°, 20° and 25° formed a second group with similar profiles. The profiles for the stoss angle of 10° were usually transitional and were intermediate between the two groups. Vorticity, Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy increased monotonically with increasing free‐stream wind velocity, but their variations with respect to the stoss angle were complex. The stoss angles of 15° and 20° had the maximum values of these three parameters, thus these angles may have special significance in dune development given the characteristics of the mean velocity fields and turbulence fields they produce within the lee airflow. It is the streamwise velocity component and its turbulence that determine the surface shear stress. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.     

Flow and sedimentary processes in the meandering river South Esk,Glen Clova,Scotland

Channel geometry, flow and sedimentation in a meander bend of the River South Esk were studied from bankfull stages (January–February) to low water stages (May) in 1974. Bed topography varied little over the study period, showing a typical pool and ripple geometry. Variation of mean depth and velocity with discharge differed from section to section around the bend, due primarily to locally varying flow resistance with stage. The flow pattern for all stages was dominated by a single spiral over the point bar, with a development zone at the bend entrance. Deviation of bed shear stress from the mean flow direction was in general accord with theory, especially for high stages. The use of a uniform longitudinal water surface slope in the calculation of bed shear stress is not justified because of a complicated water surface topography, also such calculated shear may not represent effective bed shear on grains, as it accounts also for energy losses associated with secondary flows. Dunes covered much of the bar at high stages, with increasing proportions of ripples, sand ribbons and lower phase plane beds at low stages. Local flow resistance generally decreases from dunes, diminished and ripple-backed dunes, ripples, sand ribbons to plane beds, and bed forms are predicted quite well by the stream power-grain size scheme. Mean size, sorting and skewness of sediment over the bed changes little with stage. In general, size decreases, sorting improves and skewness changes from positive to negative from the talweg to the inner bank, and in the downstream direction. Allen's (1970a, b) force balance equation for moving bed load particles is supported for bankfull stage, with some reservations, and textural characteristics are explained by progressive sorting in the direction of sediment transport. Large-scale trough cross stratification (with some flat bedding) formed at high stage by dunes (and lower phase plane beds) dominates the point bar sediments. Alternations of fine-medium sand (often cross-laminated) and vegetation-rich layers result from periodic deposition on the grassed upper bar surface. Fining upwards sequences produced by lateral channel migration are modified by a coarsening upward subsequence in the upstream bar region where spiral flow is developing from the bend upstream.     

Velocity profiles and bed shear stress over various bed configurations in a river bend

Vertical velocity profiles measured over various bed configurations (plane beds, ripples, and dunes) in. the meandering River South Esk, Glen Clova, Scotland are presented on semilogarithmic paper. Local bed shear stress and roughness height are calculated from the lowermost parts of the profiles using the Karman-Prandtl law of the wall; these parameters, and the geometrical properties of the profiles, are related to the various bed configurations. A graphical model is used to identify profiles developed on specific regions of dune geometry, in order to discriminate those profiles that define bed shear effective in transporting sediment over dunes. An assessment is made of the errors involved in estimating local mean velocity from extrapolating the law of the wall to the water surface. A Darcy-Weisbach friction coefficient is related to bed configuration and local stream power.     

The influence of dunes on mixing in a migrating salt‐wedge: Fraser River estuary,Canada

Dune bedforms and salt‐wedge intrusions are common features in many estuaries with sand beds, and yet little is known about the interactions between the two. Flow visualization with an echosounder and velocity measurements with an acoustic Doppler current profiler over areas of flat‐bed and sand dunes in the highly‐stratified Fraser River estuary, Canada, were used to examine the effect of dunes on interfacial mixing. As the salt‐wedge migrates upstream over the flat‐bed, mixing is restricted to the lower portion of the water column. However, as the salt‐wedge migrates into the dune field from the flat bed, there is a dramatic change in the flow, and large internal in‐phase waves develop over each of the larger dunes, with water from the salt‐wedge reaching the surface of the estuary. The friction Richardson number shows that bed friction is more important in interfacial mixing over the dunes than over the flat‐bed, and a plot of internal Froude Number versus obstacle (dune) height shows that the salt‐wedge flow over the dunes is mainly supercritical. Such bedforms can be expected to cause similar effects in interfacial mixing in other estuaries and sediment‐laden density currents, and may thus be influential in fluid mixing and sediment transport. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of near bed stochastic turbulence and sediment entrainment over the ripples at the bed of open channel using image processing technique

In this study, the coherent structure in near bed bursting events over the ripples and mechanism of sediment bed load transport were investigated experimentally. The experiments in this study were carried out in the laboratory flume, in two parts; fixed bed ripple and mobile bed ripple. Tow artificial ripples, were built and used for making both fixed and mobile bed. For the fixed bed part, velocity fluctuations were measured using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. In order to apply bursting analysis for obtained data, a computer program was written in visual basic language. Then, variation of turbulence shear stress associated with different bed form geometries was determined and mechanism of sediment transport by ripple shape at the bed of open channel was investigated. For the mobile bed part, artificial ripples were used as mould to make ripples. An image processing technique was used to record amount of sediment particles which are entrained and deposited over the same selected points at the fixed bed part. Results of mobile bed part, confirmed the results of shear stress analysis of fixed bed part.     

Transition from wavelets to ripples in a laboratory flume with a diverging channel

An experimental investigation on the initiation and development of bed forms on a bed of fine silica sand was conducted under alluvial flow conditions in a laboratory flume with a diverging channel. The main aims of the study were to assess： i） the steepness of bed forms in the transition stage of development; and ii） the threshold height of wavelets （ηt） that triggered the start of ripple development. Detailed bed profile measurements were carried out using an acoustic Doppler probe, traversed longitudinally over the sediment bed at various experimentation times. The bed form dimensions were extracted from such bed profile records and analysed for the wavelet, transition and equilibrium stages. It was found that the steepness of ripples in the transition and equilibrium stages were similar, confirming predictions of previous mathematical model simulations. A lognormal distribution fitted the wavelet length data. The wavelet threshold height was estimated as ηt ≈ 7 mm, or ηt≈ 80 in wall units. Such a height magnitude suggested that ripple development could be triggered by the wavelets reaching the outer flow zone of a turbulent boundary layer. The ηt value obtained corresponded generally to the intersection point between two predictive equations for bed form dimensions. A formulation was developed to predict ηt as a function of the sediment grain size, which was confirmed for the fine sand used in this study.     

Modelling transverse dunes

Transverse dunes appear in regions of mainly unidirectional wind and high sand availability. A dune model is extended to two‐dimensional calculation of the shear stress. It is applied to simulate dynamics and morphology of three‐dimensional transverse dunes. In the simulations they seem to reach translational invariance and do not stop growing. Hence, simulations of two‐dimensional dune ?elds have been performed. Characteristic laws were found for the time evolution of transverse dunes. Bagnold's law of the dune velocity is modi?ed and reproduced. The interaction between transverse dunes led to the interesting conclusion that small dunes can travel over bigger ones. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study on transient and steady‐state dynamics of bedforms in supply limited configuration

The purpose of the present study is to investigate experimentally the development of bedforms in a configuration where the sediment supply is limited. The experimental setup is a rectangular closed duct combining an innovative system to control the rate of sediment supply Q_in , and a digitizing system to measure in real time the 3D bedform topography. We carried out different sets of experiments with two sediment sizes (100 µm and 500 µm) varying both the sediment supply and the water flow rate to obtain a total of 46 different configurations. After a transient phase, steady sub‐centimeter bedforms of various shapes have been observed: barchans dunes, straight transverse dune, linguoid transverse dunes and bedload sheets. Height, spacing, migration speed, and mean bed elevation of the equilibrium bedforms were measured. For a given flow rate, two regimes were identified with fine sediment: (i) a monotonic increasing regime where the equilibrium bedform height and velocity increase with the sediment supply rate Q_in and (ii) an invariant regime for which both parameters are almost independent of Q_in. For coarse sediment, only the first regime is observed. We interpret the saturation of height and velocity for fine sediment bedforms as the transition from a supply‐limited regime to a transport‐limited regime in which the bedload flux has reached its maximum value under the prevailing flow conditions. We also demonstrate that all experiments can be rescaled if the migration speed and height of the bedforms are, respectively, divided and multiplied by the cube of the shear velocity. This normalization is independent of grain size and of bedform morphology. These experimental results provide a new quantification of the factors controlling equilibrium height and migration speed of bedforms in supply‐limited conditions against which theoretical and numerical models can be tested.     

Spatial variability of three‐dimensional Reynolds stresses in a developing channel bend

Experimental results of the mean flow field and turbulence characteristics for flow in a model channel bend with a mobile sand bed are presented. Acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) were used to measure the three components of instantaneous velocities at multiple cross sections in a 135° channel bend for two separate experiments at different stages of clear water scour conditions. With measurements at multiple cross sections through the bend it was possible to map the changes in both the spatial distribution of the mean velocity field and the three Reynolds shear stresses. Turbulent stresses are known to contribute to sediment transport and the three‐dimensionality inherent to flow in open channel bends presents a useful case for determining specific relations between three‐dimensional turbulence and sediment entrainment and transport. These measurements will also provide the necessary data for validating numerical simulations of turbulent flow and sediment transport. The results show that the magnitude and distribution of three‐dimensional Reynolds stresses increase through the bend, with streamwise‐cross stream and cross stream‐vertical components exceeding the maximum principal Reynolds stress through the bend. The most intriguing observation is that near‐bed maximum positive streamwise‐cross stream Reynolds stress coincides with the leading edge of the outer bank scour hole (or thalweg), while maximum cross stream‐vertical Reynolds stress (in combination with high negative streamwise‐cross stream Reynolds stress near the bend apex) coincides with the leading edge of the inner bank bar. Maximum Reynolds stress and average turbulent kinetic energy appear to be greater and more localized over the scour hole before final equilibrium scour is reached. This suggests that the turbulent energy in the flow is higher while the channel bed is developing, and both lower turbulent energy and a broader distribution of turbulent stresses near the bed are required for cessation of particle mobilization and transport. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding river dune splitting through flume experiments and analysis of a dune evolution model

Forecasts of water level during river floods require accurate predictions of the evolution of river dune dimensions, because the hydraulic roughness of the main channel is largely determined by the bed morphology. River dune dimensions are controlled by processes like merging and splitting of dunes. Particularly the process of dune splitting is still poorly understood and – as a result – not yet included in operational dune evolution models. In the current paper, the process of dune splitting is investigated by carrying out laboratory experiments and by means of a sensitivity analysis using a numerical dune evolution model. In the numerical model, we introduced superimposed TRIAS ripples (i.e. triangular asymmetric stoss side‐ripples) on the stoss sides of underlying dunes as soon as these stoss sides exceed a certain critical length. Simulations with the model including dune splitting showed that predictions of equilibrium dune characteristics were significantly improved compared to the model without dune splitting. As dune splitting is implemented in a parameterized way, the computational cost remains low which means that dune evolution can be calculated on the timescale of a flood wave. Subsequently, we used this model to study the mechanism of dune splitting. Literature showed that the initiation of a strong flow separation zone behind a superimposed bedform is one of the main mechanisms behind dune splitting. The flume experiments indicated that besides its height also the lee side slope of the superimposed bedform is an important factor to determine the strength of the flow separation zone and therefore is an important aspect in dune splitting. The sensitivity analysis of the dune evolution model showed that a minimum stoss side length was required to develop a strong flow separation zone. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.