Geologic influences on fluvial hydrology and bedload transport in small mountainous watersheds,Northern New Mexico,U.S.A.

Discharge characteristics in six adjacent mountainous watersheds in northern New Mexico, U.S.A., vary substantially between basins underlain by different lithologies. Relatively resistant gneisses and granites underlie two basins (drainage areas: 43 and 94 km²) that have high unit discharge (0·010 to 0·14 m³s^?1 km^?2), high bankfull discharge, and sustained high discharge. Less resistant sandstones and shales underlie four basins (drainage areas: 96 to 215 km²) that have relatively low unit discharge (0·001 to 0·005 m³s^?1 km^?2), relatively low bankfull discharge, and peak discharges that are not sustained as long as those in the crystalline terrane. Analysis of snowmelt-runoff water budgets suggests that three factors control hydrologic conditions in the basins. First, area-elevation distributions appear to control the timing and amounts of water input. These distributions probably reflect the erosional resistance of the different lithologies. Second, lithology appears to control runoff production in areas having minor amounts of storage. Third, glacial deposits in headwater regions control discharge duration and timing via storage and return flow releases. The amount of return flow released by glacial deposits, however, is probably controlled by the permeability of underlying bedrock. Therefore it appears that the duration, timing, and magnitude of discharge events in the study area are controlled both directly and indirectly by lithology. Stream power and shear stress estimates derived from bankfull discharge and bed-material size data suggest that higher bedload transport rates and larger bedload particle sizes exist in streams draining crystalline rocks than in streams draining sedimentary terrane. It appears that source-area lithology, by controlling discharge production, also influences stream power, bedload transport capabilities, and therefore total amounts of bedload transport.     

Use of Large-Eddy Simulation for the bed shear stress estimation over a dune

Environmental flows are generally characterized by complex bed morphology and high current speeds. Such configurations favor the formation of vortex structures that strongly affect hydrody-namics and sediment transport. Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) enables investigation of the dynam-ics of the largest turbulence scales and, thanks to enhanced calculation resources, has now become applicable for simulating environmental flows. In this paper, a LES approach is developed in a CFD code (TELEMAC-3D), which was originally developed to simulate free surface flows using RANS methods. The present developments involve implementing subgrid models, boundary con-ditions and numerical schemes suitable for LES. The LES version of TELEMAC-3D was validated by comparing results on the model with experimental data for flow past a cylinder. Then, the model was applied to a test case representing flow over dunes. After validating the hydrodynamics, the model was used to assess the bottom shear stress, using both a RANS and a LES approach. Com-parison highlighted the potential contribution of LES to investigating the hydrodynamic forces acting on the bottom.     

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.     

Erodibility study of sediment in a fast-flowing river

Determination of sediment stability in the field is challenging because bed shear stress (BSS), a determining factor of sediment erosion, can’t easily be directly measured. To tackle this challenge and reliably assess sediment erodibility in a fast flowing river, a standalone underwater camera system and a new insitu flume (ISF) were developed and applied in this study. The camera system was used to record sediment movement and the new ISF was used for measuring critical bottom shear stress (CBSS). The camera can be deployed alone in water to record videos or take pictures with light emitting diode (LED) lighting and flexible schedule settings. The ISF is based on the concept that the amount of force needed to erode the same particle under different flow conditions should be similar. Two high resolution Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) also were deployed in the field to collect velocity-depth profiles which are used by conventional methods to calculate BSS with the law of the wall. The sediment erodibility was then assessed based on the comparison between the obtained CBSS and BSS and then further verified with the recorded observations from the deployed camera. The results reveal that the widely used conventional method can produce large uncertainties and is not adequate to provide meaningful conclusion under these conditions.     

Velocity distribution in a gradually accelerating free surface flow

This study investigates the interaction of the vertical velocity v and the streamwise velocity u in a gradually accelerating flow. The analytical result shows that the momentum of uv driven by the mean velocities in a non-uniform flow is not negligible. This additional momentum directly results in the concave profiles of Reynolds shear stress in gradually accelerating flows, a departure from the expected linear profile. Consequently, this momentum causes the maximum velocity to be located below the free surface, i.e., the dip-phenomenon. This paper investigated the interactions of the Reynolds shear stress, non-zero vertical velocity and dip-phenomenon, it is found that the non-zero vertical velocity causes the dip-phenomenon. The approach is tested using the experimental data of Song and others, and good agreements between the predicted and measured velocity profiles have been achieved.     

Modeling depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in compound channels with emergent and submerged vegetation

This paper presents an approach to modeling the depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in compound channels with emergent and submerged vegetation. The depth-averaged equation of vegetated compound channel flow is given by considering the drag force and the blockage effect of vegetation, based on the Shiono and Knight method (1991) [40]. The analytical solution to the transverse variation of depth-averaged velocity is presented, including the effects of bed friction, lateral momentum transfer, secondary flows and drag force due to vegetation. The model is then applied to compound channels with completely vegetated floodplains and with one-line vegetation along the floodplain edge. The modeled results agree well with the available experimental data, indicating that the proposed model is capable of accurately predicting the lateral distributions of depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress in vegetated compound channels with secondary flows. The secondary flow parameter and dimensionless eddy viscosity are also discussed and analyzed. The study shows that the sign of the secondary flow parameter is determined by the rotational direction of secondary current cells and its value is dependent on the flow depth. In the application of the model, ignoring the secondary flow leads to a large computational error, especially in the non-vegetated main channel.     

Flow and grainsize pattern in a sharply curved river bend

The main characteristics of river flow and grainsize in a bend of the sand bedded meandering river Dommel, The Netherlands, are presented. Measurements were carried out at a relatively low discharge in a sharply curved bend following a long straight reach. In the studied bend, secondary circulation is restricted to the thalweg area; only in the downstream part of the bend it exists over the entire cross-section. Therefore, on the entire pointbar platform, which comprises the larger part of the bend, the median sedimentation diameter of the bedload material is governed by the distribution of the longitudinal components of the bed shear stress only.     

Form drag is a major component of bed shear stress associated with tidal flow in the vicinity of an isolated sand bank,Torres Strait,northern Australia

Tidal current and elevation data were collected from five oceanographic moorings during October 2004 in Torres Strait, northern Australia, to assess the effects of large bedforms (i.e., sand banks) on the drag coefficient (C_D) used for estimating bed shear stress in complex shallow shelf environments. Ten minute averages of tidal current speed and elevation data were collected for 18 days at an on-bank site (<7 m water depth) and an off-bank site (<10 m). These data were compared to data collected simultaneously from two shelf locations (<11 m) occupied to measure regional tidal behaviour. Overall C_D estimates at the on- and off-bank sites attained 7.0±0.1×10⁻³ and 6.6±0.1×10⁻³, respectively. On-bank C_D estimates also differed between the predominant east–west tidal streams, with easterly directed flows experiencing C_D=7.8±0.18×10⁻³ and westerly directed flows C_D=6.4±0.12×10⁻³. Statistically significant differences between the off-bank and on-bank sites are attributed to the large form drag exerted by the sand banks on the regional tidal currents, and statistically significant differences between the westward and eastward flows is ascribed to bedform asymmetry. Form drag from the large bedforms in Torres Strait comprises up to 65% of the total drag coefficient. When constructing sediment transport models, different C_D estimates must therefore be applied to shelf regions containing steep bedforms compared to regions that do not. Our results extend the limited inventory of seabed drag coefficients for shallow shelf environments, and can be used to improve existing regional seabed mobilisation models, which have direct application to environmental management in Torres Strait.     

Near‐bed shear stress,turbulence production and dissipation in a shallow and narrow tidal channel

Near‐bed, highly resolved velocity profiles were measured in the lower 0.03 m of the water column using acoustic Doppler profiling velocimeters in narrow tidal channels in a salt marsh. The bed shear stress was estimated from the velocity profiles using three methods: the log‐law, Reynolds stress, and shear stress derived from the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). Bed shear stresses were largest during ebbing tide, while near‐bed velocities were larger during flooding tide. The Reynolds stress and TKE method gave similar results, while the log‐law method resulted in smaller bed shear stress values during ebbing tide. Shear stresses and turbulent kinetic energy followed a similar trend with the largest peaks during ebbing tide. The maximum turbulent kinetic energy was on the order of 1 × 10^{? 2} m²/s². The fluid shear stress during flooding tide was approximately 30% of the fluid shear stress during ebbing tide. The maximum TKE‐derived shear stress was 0.7 N/m² and 2.7 N/m² during flooding and ebbing tide, respectively, and occurred around 0.02 m above the bed. Turbulence dissipation was estimated using the frequency spectrum and structure function methods. Turbulence dissipation estimates from both methods were maximum near the bed (~0.01 m). Both the structure function and the frequency spectrum methods resulted in maximum dissipation estimates on the order of 4 × 10^{? 3} m²/s³. Turbulence production exceeded turbulence dissipation at every phase of the tide, suggesting that advection and vertical diffusion are not negligible. However, turbulence production and dissipation were within a factor of 2 for 77% of the estimates. The turbulence production and dissipation decreased quickly away from the bed, suggesting that measurements higher in the water column cannot be translated directly to turbulence production and dissipation estimates near the bed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

渭河断陷盆地及邻区环境剪应力场及其与震源参数关系研究

利用陕西数字地震台网的数字地震资料研究了渭河断陷盆地及邻区的震源参数和环境剪应力场, 结果表明该地区地壳内环境剪应力处于较低水平, 平均值为12.7×10⁵ Pa, 并据此分析了该地区的地震活动性, 建立并探讨了环境剪应力与震级M_L、 地震矩M₀、 矩震级M_W的关系, 讨论了环境剪应力与震源深度间的关系。     

In situ stress measurements in a borehole close to the Nojima Fault

Abstract In situ stress was measured close to the fault associated with the 1995 Kobe Earthquake (Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake; January 1995; M 7.2) using the hydraulic fracturing method. The measurements were made approximately 2 years after the earthquake. The measured points were approximately 40 m from the fault plane at depths of about 1500 m. The maximum and the minimum horizontal compressive stresses were 45 MPa and 31 MPa, respectively. The maximum compressive stress and the maximum shear stress are very small in comparison with those of other seismically active areas. The azimuth of the maximum horizontal compressive stress was estimated from the observed azimuths of well bore breakouts at depths between 1400 m and 1600 m and was found to be N135° (clockwise). The maximum stress axis is perpendicular to the fault strike, N45°. These features are interpreted in terms of a small frictional coefficient of the fault. The shear stress on the fault was released and dropped almost to zero during the earthquake and it has not yet recovered. Zero shear stress on the fault plane resulted from the perpendicular orientation of one of the principal stress to the fault plane.     

Simulation and measurement of surface shear stress over isolated and closely spaced transverse dunes in a wind tunnel

Topographic interactions generate multidirectional and unsteady air?ow that limits the application of velocity pro?le approaches for estimating sediment transport over dunes. Results are presented from a series of wind tunnel simulations using Irwin‐type surface‐mounted pressure sensors to measure shear stress variability directly at the surface over both isolated and closely spaced sharp‐crested model dunes. Findings complement existing theories on secondary air?ow effects on stoss transport dynamics and provide new information on the in?uence of lee‐side air?ow patterns on dune morphodynamics. For all speeds investigated, turbulent unsteadiness at the dune toe indicates a greater, more variable surface shear, despite a signi?cant drop in time‐averaged measurements of streamwise shear stress at this location. This effect is believed suf?cient to inhibit sediment deposition at the toe and may be responsible for documented intermittency in sand transport in the toe region. On the stoss slope, streamline compression and ?ow acceleration cause an increase in ?ow steadiness and shear stress to a maximum at the crest that is double that at the toe of the isolated dune and 60–70 per cent greater than at ?ow reattachment on the lower stoss of closely spaced dunes. Streamwise ?ow accelerations, rather than turbulence, have greater in?uence on stress generation on the stoss and this effect increases with stoss slope distance and with incident wind speed. Reversed ?ow within the separation cell generates signi?cant surface shear (30–40 per cent of maximum values) for both spacings. This supports ?eld studies that suggest reversed ?ow is competent enough to return sediment to the dune directly or in a de?ected direction. High variability in shear at reattachment indicates impact of a turbulent shear layer that, despite low values of time‐averaged streamwise stress in this region, would inhibit sediment accumulation. Downwind of reattachment, shear stress and ?ow steadiness increase within 6 h (h = dune height) of reattachment and approach upwind values by 25 h. A distance of at least 30 h is suggested for full boundary layer recovery, which is comparable to ?uvial estimates. The Irwin sensor used in this study provides a reliable means to measure skin friction force responsible for sand transport and its robust, simple, and cost‐effective design shows promise for validating these ?ndings in natural dune settings. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of shallowness,bank inclination and bank roughness on the variability of flow patterns and boundary shear stress due to secondary currents in straight open-channels

Boundary shear stress and flow variability due to its interaction with main flow and secondary currents were investigated under conditions that extend previous research on trapezoidal channels. Secondary currents that scale with the flow depth were found over the entire width in all experiments. These findings contradict the widespread perception that secondary currents die out at a distance of 2.5 times the flow depth from the bank, a perception which is largely based on experiments with smooth boundaries. The reported results indicate that a stable pattern of secondary currents over the entire channel width can only be sustained over a fixed horizontal bed if the bed's roughness is sufficient to provide the required transverse oscillations in the turbulent shear stresses. Contrary to laboratory flumes, alluvial river bed always provide sufficient roughness. The required external forcing of this hydrodynamic instability mechanism is provided by the turbulence-generated near-bank secondary currents. The pattern of near-bank secondary currents depends on the inclination and the roughness of the bank. In all configurations, secondary currents result in a reduction of the bed shear stress in the vicinity of the bank and a heterogeneous bank shear stress that reaches a maximum close to the toe of the bank. Moreover, these currents cause transverse variability of 10–15% for the streamwise velocities and 0.2u_*²–0.3u_*?² for the bed shear stress. These variations are insufficient to provide the flow variability required in river restoration projects, but nevertheless must be accounted for in the design of stable channels.     

Investigation of Coulomb stress changes in south Tibet(central Himalayas) due to the 25th April 2015 M_W 7.8 Nepal earthquake using a Coulomb stress transfer model

After M_W 7.8 Nepal earthquake occurred, the rearrangement of stresses in the crust commonly leads to subsequent damaging earthquakes. We present the calculations of the coseismic stress changes that resulted from the 25 th April event using models of regional faults designed according to south Tibet-Nepal structure, and show that some indicative significant stress increases. We calculate static stress changes caused by the displacement of a fault on which dislocations happen and an earthquake occurs. A M_W 7.3 earthquake broke on 12 May at a distance of * 130 km SEE of the M_W 7.8 earthquake, whose focus roughly located on high Coulomb stress change(CSC) site. Aftershocks(first 15 days after the mainshock)are associated with stress increase zone caused by the main rupture. We set receiver faults with specified strikes, dips,and rakes, on which the stresses imparted by the source fault are resolved. Four group normal faults to the north of the Nepal earthquake seismogenic fault were set as receiver faults and variant results followed. We provide a discussion on Coulomb stress transfer for the seismogenic fault, which is useful to identify potential future rupture zones.