Magnetic tracing of sediment dynamics of mudbanks off southwest coast of India

In this study, we utilized environmental magnetic in combination with sedimentological and hydrodynamic data to investigate the formative processes of mudbanks along southwest coast of India. We document the linkages between enrichment of silt-sized magnetic particles and formation processes of mudbanks along Alappuzha coast. A trend of increasing magnetite concentration and coarsening in magnetic grain size is observed at mudbank stations M2 and M3, while the mud-deficient station (M1) showed an opposite trend. A strong relationship between magnetic and physical grain size for all samples implies that the magnetic particle size and clastic grain size are largely adjunct. Analysis of rock magnetic and grain size data of surficial and suspended sediments from non-mudbank (M1) and two mudbank stations (M2, M3) reflect the differential sediment partitioning and transport regimes which controlled the formation of mudbanks along Alappuzha coast. Two plausible mechanisms responsible for the formation of mudbanks are identified: grain size-selective entrainment is the dominant process during pre-monsoon; weaker hydrodynamics (waves and bottom currents) favors accumulation of silt-sized (fine and coarse) magnetic and non-magnetic fractions resulting in the formation of magnetically low-enriched sediment bed of mixed grain sizes. At the onset of monsoon, wave-induced energetic bottom currents enhance the suspension of entire sediment bedload at stations M2, M3 to form fluid mud. Concurrently, mineral-density-based selective fractionation allows the settling of coarse silt-sized magnetic particles, while the fine magnetic silt-size particles accumulate forming thick fluid mud as a suspension load resulting in the formation of mudbanks. An observed increase in magnetic susceptibility and coarsening in magnetic grain size of surficial sediments at mudbank stations (M2, M3) during monsoon period supports the interpretation. Our findings are summarized in a conceptual model which can be very well applied to investigate sediment dynamics associated with mudbank formation in coastal and shelf sedimentary systems.     

南流江河口水下三角洲表层沉积物端元分析及其沉积动力环境意义

沉积物粒度分布特征可揭示沉积动力环境。基于广西南流江河口水下三角洲的粒度分析数据,采用Folk分类法进行分类,应用端元分析对其粒度数据进行分解,探讨了南流江河口水下三角洲的物源和现代沉积动力环境。结果表明,研究区表层沉积物可划分为9类,其中含砾沉积物5类,不含砾沉积物4类,沉积物类型与河口环境动力特征相吻合。端元分析结果显示,研究区有5个不同类型的端元,分别代表着5种类型的沉积物动力环境:端元1反映了风浪和潮流对表层沉积物的动力作用;端元2指示了外海涌浪对表层沉积物的作用过程;端元3代表了南流江冲淡水引起的表层沉积物的输运;端元4代表了大陆架残留沉积物;端元5为干扰端元,可能是由于工程建设等人类活动所引起的。利用端元分析探讨复杂环境(如小型山溪性河口)下的沉积动力环境时,一方面需要综合考虑研究区域的物源与环境动力特征;另一方面可以结合参数拟合、粒径趋势分析等研究手段。     

Linking pattern to process in reef sediment dynamics at Lady Musgrave Island,southern Great Barrier Reef

Linking surficial sediment patterns in reef environments to the processes that underlie their depositional dynamics enables predictions to be made of how environmental changes will influence reef‐associated sedimentary landforms, such as islands and beaches. Geomorphic linkages between sediment deposition patterns and the biophysical processes that drive them are often poorly resolved, particularly at broad landscape scales where tangible statements can be made about structural changes to landforms. The present study applies geospatial techniques to link patterns in reef sediment dynamics at Lady Musgrave Island to the underlying processes driving them. In situ calcification is characterized by developing a high resolution map of the surficial calcium carbonate producing communities inhabiting the reef platform, and associated sediments across the reef flat are analysed for grain size, kurtosis, sorting and threshold bed shear stress to explore transport pathways across the reef flat and lagoon. Wave energy is modelled across the entire reef platform as a potential driver of sediment dynamics, and morphometric linkages are empirically defined between wave energy and grain size. Findings indicate that carbonate sediments are primarily sourced from calcifying communities colonizing the outer periphery of the reef platform and that sediment grain size can be reliably linked to wave energy by virtue of a linear model.     

长江口泥沙运动形式分类及对深水航道淤积影响

潮汐河口泥沙运动复杂多变,科学划分泥沙运动形式并评估其对航道淤积的影响,是厘清航道淤积泥沙来源、制定有效减淤措施的关键。基于长江口深水航道所处南港—北槽河段2015年和2018年洪季、枯季表层沉积物和近底悬沙的现场采样数据,分析提出潮汐条件下推移质、悬移质和时推时悬泥沙3类泥沙运动形式的粒径划分方法,量化3类泥沙对深水航道淤积的贡献比例。结果表明：近底悬沙级配曲线上拐点粒径对泥沙由推移质向悬移质转化具有较好的指示意义;长江口南港—北槽悬沙、底沙交换显著,深水航道淤积物中除仅做推移质或悬移质运动的泥沙外,还包括大量的时推时悬泥沙,其在航道淤积泥沙中的占比最高,约达50%～60%;南港段航道洪季、枯季推移质淤积占比分别为36%和26%,高于悬移质的6%和13%;北槽段航道悬移质落淤泥沙占比为44%～48%,明显较推移质3%～6%的占比高。3类泥沙运动形式粒径划分方法为深化潮汐河口泥沙运动规律认识、判别航道淤积泥沙来源提供了新途径。     

REE Geochemistry of Surficial Sediments from the Yellow Sea of China

REE geochemical studies of surficial sediment samples from the Yellow Sea of China have shown:(1)The average content of RE2O3 in the Yellow Sea sediments is 175 ppm,close to that in the East China Sea sediments.The REE distribution patterns in the Yellow Sea sediments are also similar to anomalies.These REE characteristics are typical of the continental crust.(2)The contents of REE are controlled mainly by the sediment grain size,i.e.,REE contents increase gradually with decreasing sediment grain size.REE are present mainly in clay minerals.In addition,REE contents are controlled obviously by heavy minerals.REE abundances in heavy minerals are much greater than those in light minerals.(3)Correlation analysis shows that REE have a close relationship with siderophile elements,especially Ti,which has the largest correlation coefficient relative to REE.Terrigenous clastic materials subjected to weathering and transport are suggested to be the main source of REE in the Yellow Sea sediments.     

The variability of critical shear stress, friction angle, and grain protrusion in water-worked sediments

The erodibility of a grain on a rough bed is controlled by, among other factors, its relative projection above the mean bed, its exposure relative to upstream grains, and its friction angle. Here we report direct measurements of friction angles, grain projection and exposure, and small-scale topographic structure on a variety of water-worked mixed-grain sediment surfaces. Using a simple analytical model of the force balance on individual grains, we calculate the distribution of critical shear stress for idealized spherical grains on the measured bed topography. The friction angle, projection, and exposure of single grain sizes vary widely from point to point within a given bed surface; the variability within a single surface often exceeds the difference between the mean values of disparate surfaces. As a result, the critical shear stress for a given grain size on a sediment surface is characterized by a probability distribution, rather than a single value. On a given bed, the crtitical shear stress distributions of different grain sizes have similar lower bounds, but above their lower tails they diverge rapidly, with smaller grains having substantially higher median critical shear stresses. Large numbers of fines, trapp.ed within pockets on the bed or shielded by upstream grains, are effectively lost to the flow. Our calculations suggest that critical shear stress, as conventionally measured, is defined by the most erodible grains, entrained during transient shear stress excursions associated with the turbulent flow; this implies a physical basis for the indeterminacy of initial motion. These observations suggest that transport rate/shear stress relationships may be controlled, in part, by the increasing numbers of grains that become available for entrainment as mean shear stress increases. They also suggest that bed textures and grain size distributions may be controlled, within the constraints of an imposed shear stress and sediment supply regime, by the influence of each size fraction on the erodibility of other grain sizes present on the bed.     

Sediment Accumulation Rates and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Distributions in the Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay, USA

This study assesses spatial and temporal sedimentological trends in four mesohaline Chesapeake Bay submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) habitats, two with persistent SAV beds and two with ephemeral SAV beds, to determine their relationship to current and historical sediment characteristics??grain size, organic content, and accumulation rates. In general, grain size is similar among all sites, and subsurface sediment differs from surficial sediment only at one site where a thin surficial sand layer (??2?C3?cm) is present. This thin sand layer is not completely preserved in the longer-term sedimentary record even though it is critical to determining whether the sediment is suitable for SAV. Evidence for nearshore fining, similar to that observed in the deeper waters of the Bay, is present at the site where the shoreline has been hardened suggesting that locations with hardened shorelines limit exchange of coarser (sandy) material between the shore and nearshore environments. Whether the fining trend will continue to a point at which the sediment will become unsuitable for SAV in the future or whether some new type of equilibrium will be reached cannot be addressed with our data. Instead, our data suggest that SAV presence/absence is related to changes in sedimentary characteristics??persistent beds have relatively steady sediment composition, while ephemeral beds have finer sediments due to reduced sand input. Additionally, sediment accumulation rates in the persistent beds are ??9?mm/year, whereas rates in the ephemeral beds are ??3?mm/year. Thus, the ephemeral sites highlight two potential sedimentary controls on SAV distribution: the presence of a sufficiently thick surficial sand layer as previously postulated by Wicks (2005) and accumulation rates high enough to bury seeds prior to germination and/or keep up with sea-level rise.     

Downstream grain‐size changes associated with a transition from single channel to anabranching

Downstream variation in grain size associated with changes in river pattern is a topic that interests multiple disciplines. How grain size varies between adjacent reaches with strongly contrasting river pattern is an outstanding question. This study presents a combined field and numerical modelling investigation of a river with a downstream planform change from single channel to anabranching, where the planform is controlled by a change in underlying lithology. This approach enabled exploration of the controls on sedimentology in a river for which there is very limited opportunity to collect flow and sediment transport data. This study shows that the surficial grain size decreases as a result of the downstream change in planform. This is because of a decrease in flow velocity and shear stress associated with a decrease in channel depth related to the planform change. Channel geometries in both the field and modelling data fit into distinct groups based on channel depth, the deepest being the single channel reach and the shallowest being the anabranching. This downstream reduction in channel dimension (depth) is caused because the total discharge is split from one channel into multiple channels. The coarsest grain sizes (cobble) are deposited at the terminus of the single channel and in the distributary channels; anabranching channels contain sand‐size sediments. This study shows that, in a transition from single channel to anabranching, the channel dimensions decrease as the number of channels increases, resulting in a decrease in bed shear stress and the fining of bed material downstream.     

The influence of sediment thickness on energy delivery to the bed by bedload impacts

Fluvial bedrock erosion rates due to impacting sediment particles are thought to be proportional to the energy delivered to the bedrock. When sediment particles cover the bed, they reduce the energy transmitted to the bed by an impacting particle. We measured the decline of energy transferred through sediment cover of increasing thickness in laboratory experiments. The energy arriving at the bed is a function both of the cover thickness and the grain size of the covering sediment. Using a simple stochastic model of cover distribution, the experimental results were upscaled to the reach scale. Although cover thickness influences energy delivery heavily at a given point, when averaging over the whole bed, cover-free areas dominate total energy delivery, making partial energy transfer through the cover negligible when a small or intermediate fraction of the bed is covered by sediment. Partial energy delivery through the bed cover is not negligible when a large fraction or the complete bed is already covered, but in this situation, an erosion threshold may become important. On grounds of the presented data, we expect that the areal distribution of sediment in a bedrock channel dominates total energy delivery and that partial energy delivery to the bed through a sediment layer can be neglected for most modelling purposes.     

贵州普定碳酸盐岩上覆松散堆积物的沉积环境初探

通过对贵州省普定县马官地区不同地貌部位的4个剖面进行详细的粒度分析,把粒度参数以及频率曲线与各种沉积环境的特征进行对比,排除了河流沉积、风成沉积的可能性。研究区域各剖面的粒度分布特征表明其沉积环境属于碳酸盐岩溶蚀残余风化,同时还有坡面流水和地下水作用的参与。     

别里库姆沙漠胡杨回涡沙丘表层沉积物粒度特征

胡杨回涡沙丘是别里库姆沙漠常见的一种风积地貌类型,通过测试分析来自6个样区胡杨回涡沙丘的195个表层沉积物样品,结合粒级-标准偏差法、Sahu成因判别和相关统计分析法,对其粒度特征进行研究,以分析别里库姆沙漠表层沉积物类型、沉积环境的稳定性。结果表明:(1)胡杨回涡沙丘表层沉积物粒度组成以砂和粉砂为主,从北向南、从东向西沉积物粒级均呈现变细趋势。(2)6个样区平均粒径的均值属于极细砂或细砂范围,71.79%的物质样品分选较好,97.94%的沉积物样品属于近对称分布,100%的物质样品属于中等峰态。(3)6个样区的粒级-标准偏差曲线均呈现多峰分布,沉积环境不稳定。(4)6个样区胡杨回涡沙丘表层沉积物的Sahu成因判别值介于-7.277~ -5.912,均属于风成沉积。     

Zur Geometrie von Wellenrippeln in Sanden unterschiedlicher Korngröße

Field research of wave generated bed forms within complex sediment size distributions near the inlet of a tidal lagoon at the northern coast of Brittany has stimulated an experimental study in a laboratory wave tank. Several sediment mixtures, most of them with bimodal grain size distributions, were exposed to different monochromatic shallow water waves. The observations and measurements included the dynamics of the water waves and the generation, shape, and size of oscillatory bed forms. The experiments confirm the known relationship between grain size and ripple size. In addition it is shown that coarse sand, added to a preexisting fine bed material leads to an increasing asymmetry of ripples. There is some suggestion that the variability of ripple heights is reduced by higher contents of coarse sand. Bimodal sediment size distributions obviously do not cause unusual geometry of ripples — at least within the range of the experimental tests. The different sand size modes move together in one phase, forming structures with more or less homogeniously distributed bed material. Differentiation of sediment sorting does of course occur, but this is in the range of the whole test section. Finally the experiments allowed to test the validity of some wave formulas. The own experiments are compared with some results from field and laboratory studies of other authors.     

Regulation of sand transport in the Colorado River by changes in the surface grain size of eddy sandbars over multi-year timescales

In settings where the transport of sand is partially or fully supply limited, changes in the upstream supply of sand are coupled to changes in the grain size of sand on the bed. In this manner, the transport of sand under the supply-limited case is ‘grain-size regulated’. Since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the downstream reach of the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons has exhibited evidence of sand-supply limitation. Sand transport in the river is now approximately equally regulated by changes in the discharge of water and changes in the grain sizes of sand on the channel bed and eddy sandbars. Previous work has shown that changes in the grain size of sand on the bed of the channel (driven by changes in the upstream supply of sand owing to both tributary floods and high dam releases) are important in regulating sand transport over timescales of days to months. In this study, suspended-sand data are analysed in conjunction with bed grain-size data to determine whether changes in the grain size of sand on the bed of the channel or changes in the grain size of sand on the surface of eddy sandbars have been more important in regulating sand transport in the post-dam Colorado River over longer, multi-year timescales. The results of this study show that this combined theory- and field-based approach can be used to deduce which environments in a complicated setting are the most important environments for regulating sediment transport. In the case of the regulated Colorado River in Marble and Upper Grand Canyons, suspended-sand transport has been regulated mostly by changes in the surface grain size of eddy sandbars.     

辽西义县组尖山沟层沉积环境粒度分析

尖山沟层沉积剖面粒度分析结果表明该层为湖相由浅变深、湖体扩张的两个相似的正粒序沉积旋回组成,与内陆河流密切相关、离岸不远的半深湖深湖沉积环境。碎屑颗粒以递变悬浮方式搬运,沉积物按粒度大小和密度梯度成层分布,在流动中由下至上粒度逐渐变细。由于涡流发育及作用,使沉积物中基本没有滚动颗粒。受火山作用的影响,尖山沟层粒度分析参数与特征表现出与正常沉积相不完全一致性,呈现出独特的粒度分布规律。     

Concentration distribution and assessment of several heavy metals in sediments of west-four Pearl River Estuary

Grain size parameters, trace metals (Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr, Zn, Ba, Zr and Sr) and total organic matter (TOM) of 38 surficial sediments and a sediment core of west-four Pearl River Estuary region were analyzed. The spacial distribution and the transportation procession of the chemical element in surficial sediments were studied mainly. Multivariate statistics are used to analyses the interrelationship of metal elements, TOM and the grain size parameters. The results demonstrated that terrigenous sediment taken by the rivers are main sources of the trace metal elements and TOM, and the lithology of parent material is a dominating factor controlling the trace metal composition in the surficial sediment. In addition, the hydrodynamic condition and landform are the dominating factors controlling the large-scale distribution, while the anthropogenic input in the coastal area alters the regional distribution of heavy metal elements Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr and Zn. The enrichment factor (EF) analysis was used for the differentiation of the metal source between anthropogenic and naturally occurring, and for the assessment of the anthropogenic influence, the deeper layer content of heavy metals were calculated as the background values and Zr was chosen as the reference element for Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr and Zn. The result indicate prevalent enrichment of Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Cr, and the contamination of Pb is most obvious, further more, the peculiar high EF value sites of Zn and Pb probably suggest point source input.     

联用筛析法与激光法进行粒度接序分析的界点选择

筛析法、激光法和图像法是三种常用的粒度分析方法,但由于测试原理的不同,三种测试方法有不同的适用性。筛析法和图像法能够精确测量砂质颗粒的粒径,但不适用于泥质细颗粒（<0.063 mm）的粒径测量;相反,激光法无法准确测量中粗砂粒级颗粒（2~0.21 mm）,但能高精度测量较细沉积物粒径。分选较差的天然沉积物粒径分布范围较广,需要综合运用筛析法-激光法进行接序粒度测试。通常选用2 mm为界点开展接序粒度分析,但因激光法在测量中粗砂颗粒时误差较大,易导致接序粒度分析结果准确性不高。建议以0.21 mm为分界点开展接序粒度分析,分别避开筛析法和激光法测量精度不高的粒级区间,可使测试结果的准确性得到有效的提高。     

河床粗化过程中推移质输移特征试验研究

为了研究河床粗化破坏与形成过程中推移质的输移特征,基于一套新型的接沙系统,在上游无来沙条件下,进行了3组不同床沙级配的水槽试验,研究了递增梯级流量作用下河床粗化破坏与形成的过程,采集到一套高精度（0.1 g）、高频率（1 Hz）的实时推移质输沙率及分时段输沙级配数据,分析了累积输沙量、输沙率及输沙级配的变化特征。结果表明,粗化过程中累积输沙量随时间基本呈幂函数规律增长,且"粗化破坏再形成"的累积输沙量曲线出现明显转折点;推移质输沙率表现出明显的非恒定性,其粗化形成阶段的耗时要远大于粗化破坏阶段的时间,两者之比范围为3.5~20.5;推移质输沙级配中粗颗粒比例随时间变化趋势与输沙率相似,在输沙率达到峰值附近时,输沙级配与原始床沙级配相同。     

Suspended-load fallout rate as an independent variable in the analysis of current structures

The dynamic interpretation of most current-structure sequences derives directly from experiments on the succession of bedforms produced by flows in flumes. The results of these and related studies have been used to construct stability field diagrams in which the fields of individual bedforms are usually expressed as a function of flow intensity (power, velocity, bed shear stress, etc.) and grain size. The data underlying existing stability-field diagrams were collected largely from the study of flows carrying coarse-grained sediment entrained through particle-by-particle bed erosion. Many flows, however, do not entrain sediment through simple bed erosion. Most turbidity currents originate by the development of turbulence in slumps, slides, and other slope failures. Such flows generally form with highly concentrated suspended loads and their bed-load layers derive sediment from the collapsing suspended-sediment clouds. Because the collapse properties of such clouds may be related as much to suspended particle concentration, size distribution, particle interactions, and other factors as to flow intensity, the stability fields of bedforms developed beneath such flows may differ in flow intensity-grain-size relationships from those beneath flows deriving sediment from bed erosion alone. Useful stability-field diagrams for turbidity currents must include suspended-load fallout rate as a third variable, independent of flow intensity and mean grain size. A preliminary stability-field diagram of this type indicates that Bouma T_abc sequences may theoretically form with essentially no velocity variation of the attendant flow. This type of analysis may have considerable relevance to the interpretation not only of turbidites but also of other deposits formed where bed-load layers are fed from above rather than below. These include shallow-shelf storm units deposited from highly concentrated flows and volcaniclastic layers formed where pyroclastic debris falls directly into moving water.     

Porosity and size gradation of saturated gravel with percolated fines

Fine particles may infiltrate through coarse alluvial beds and eventually saturate the subsurface pore space. It is essential to understand the conditions that lead to bed saturation, and to forecast the packing characteristics of saturated beds to assess the effect of excess fine sediment supply on a number of processes that occur in the stream–sediment boundary. To address this problem, in this study, a new method is introduced to predict the grain‐size distribution for the saturated condition, and the resulting porosity decrease, given the characteristics of the bed and the supplied sediments. The new method consists of the numerical aggregation of infilling fines in a finite bed volume, during which the bed properties change to affect further infilling. An existing semi‐empirical, particle packing model is implemented to identify these properties. It is shown that these types of models are adequate to describe regimes of natural sediment fabric quantitatively, and are thus useful tools in the analysis of sediment infiltration processes. Unlike previous developments to quantify saturated bed conditions, which assume that the supplied material is uniform and finer than the bed pore openings, the method developed herein considers poorly sorted fines, and can identify size fractions that are able to ingress into the bed due to being smaller than the particles that form the bed structure. Application of the new method to published experimental data showed that the final content of infiltrated fines is strongly sensitive to the initial bed packing density, highlighting the need to measure and understand open‐work gravel deposits. In addition, the new method was shown to be suitable for assessing the degree of bed saturation, when it was applied to a published data set of field samples.     

近期长江口-杭州湾邻近海域沉积物粒径的时空变化及其影响因素

为了研究长江口-杭州湾外近海沉积物粒径的现状和近期变化,于2008年4月在该区域用箱式取样器取得了33个表层样,用震动活塞采样器取得7个柱状样;在室内用激光粒度仪对沉积物样品进行了粒度分析并与历史时期的研究成果进行对比。结果表明,1）表层沉积物总体上呈东粗（砂）西细（泥）的特点,粒径总体上的空间格局与历史时期相似;但砂-泥区界线在研究区北部（长江口和杭州湾外）有向西迁移（蚀退）迹象（西移10~30 km）,而在南部（舟山群岛以南）则出现明显向东迁移（淤进）现象（最大超过50 km）。2）当前的表层沉积物形成一条南北连续的泥质带（粒径向南逐渐变细）,反映过去存在于舟山群岛以东的最细组分（“黏土”）带不连续现象在表层现已趋于消失。3）表层沉积物粒径趋势分析揭示长江入海泥沙的运移方向主要是向南-东南。4）泥质区柱状沉积物具有粉砂和黏土为主但在垂向上（反映在时间上）有粗细多变的特点（侵蚀区表层沉积物有粗化迹象）。研究认为,长江口-杭州湾邻近海域现代沉积物对流域和沿海重大人类活动有较敏感的响应。