The effects of particle breakage and abrasion—from simulated fluvial transport,on phosphorus sorption by two soils

Phosphorus sorption studies were carried out on particle size fractions of soils collected from the walls of gullies through a granitic and a sedimentary soil, as well as on particle size classes derived from breakage and abrasion of the 500 to 1400 μm components of these soils. Sorption of phosphorus by the particle size classes of the sedimentary soil was much greater than those of the granite soil, and this also applied to the particles derived from breakage and abrasion. For the original sedimentary soil, sorption of phosphorus by the particle size components was strongly associated with the iron content and less strongly associated with the aluminium content and this also applied to the particles derived from breakage and abrasion. For the granitic soil these relationships were much less precise. A period of vigorous mixing, after 165 hours of gentle mixing, caused release of a proportion of the sorbed phosphorus from all particle sizes of the original granitic soil and for most of the breakage/abrasion derived particles. The released phosphorus was re‐sorbed during a subsequent 48 hour period of settling. Relationships were evident between labile P and sorbed P for the particle size classes of the soils and treatments tested. Because particle size, lithology of the transported sediments and flow dynamics affect the distribution of phosphorus between water and sediments, they can also be expected to effect bio‐availability of phosphorus. Particle breakage and abrasion during sediment transport is another factor likely to influence the bio‐availability of P. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Maude Weir sediments. 1. Desorption and sorption of phosphorus,and related changes in mineral magnetic properties after desorption

Algal blooms frequently occur in the Maude Weir in the Murrumbidgee River of NSW, which are related to the availability of nutrients, particularly phosphorus. A clayey sediment from the bottom released P to the water when kept under reducing conditions, but did not release P when the supernatant water was aerated. The same material, with and without aeration, sorbed P when resuspended in water containing 1 mg P L⁻¹. The resuspended anaerobic material adsorbed almost twice as much as the same material under aerobic conditions. Vigorous mixing, simulating transport breakage and abrasion, caused a substantial increase in sorption, with the effect being greater for the aerobic material. This was attributed to fragmentation of iron oxide aggregates formed during oxidation. Mineral magnetic properties, susceptibility and remanence ratios SIRM/χ, SIRM/ARM and IRMh%, of the material from the desorption experiment reflected changes in the chemical state of iron caused by oxidation and reduction. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laboratory and theoretical evaluation of impact of packing density,particle shape,and uniformity coefficient on erodibility of coarse-grained soil particles

Sedimentation – including erosion, transport, and deposition of coarse-grained particles – is a primary and growing environmental, engineering, and agricultural issue around the world. Soil erosion occurs when the hydrodynamic force induced by flowing water exceeds the geotechnical resistance of soils, as measured by critical shear stress for initiation of soil-particle motion. Even though various quantitative methods have been suggested with respect to different types of soil, the most widely accepted formula to estimate critical shear stress for coarse-grained soil is a direct function of the median grain size of the soil particles; however, the erosion resistance of soils also varies with other geotechnical properties, such as packing density, particle shape, and uniformity coefficient. Thus, in this study, a combined rolling–lift model for particle detachment was derived based on theoretical analysis. A series of experimental flume tests were conducted with specimens prepared with standard soil types, as well as laboratory-prepared mixtures of coarse-grained soil to validate the theoretical model and determine the effect of other geotechnical properties on the erosion characteristics of coarse grains, coupled with the effect of median particle size. The results indicated that the median grain size is the primary variable determining the resistance of coarse grains, but the critical shear stress also varies with the packing density of the soil matrix. In addition, angular particles show more erosion resistance than rounded particles, and the erosion potential of a soil decreased when the grain is well graded (higher value of uniformity coefficient). Additionally, regression analysis was performed to quantify the effect of each parameter on the critical shear stress of coarse grains. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Graphical representation of particle shape using triangular diagrams: an Excel spreadsheet method

Analysis of the shape of sedimentary particles can provide information about their transport history and aid facies differentiation and the characterization of depositional environments. Triangular (Sneed and Folk) diagrams, employing ratios of the three orthogonal particle axes, have been advocated as the most appropriate method for unbiased presentation of primary particle shape data. A spreadsheet method for the production of these diagrams is described. Clast data‐sets from a range of environments are presented using this method. An alternative use of the spreadsheet for the presentation of sedimentary fabric shape is suggested. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment particle selectivity and its response to overland flow hydraulics within grass strips

Particle selectivity plays an important role in clarifying sediment transport processes in vegetative filter strips (VFS). 10-m long grass strips at slopes of 5° and 15° were subjected to a series of sediment-laden inflows experiments with different particle sizes to investigate the sediment transport and its response to overland flow hydraulics. The inflow sediments came from local soil, river-bed sand, and mixed, with median particle size d₅₀ of 39.9, 207.9 and 77.4 μm, respectively. Three independent repeated experiments were carried for each treatment. The results show that when the sediment trapping lasted for a certain length of time, the re-entrainment of some small-sized particles was greater than the deposition; that is, net loss occurred, which was not erosion of the original soil. Net loss of particles is mainly determined by the particle diameter. The coarser the inflow sediment particles and/or the steeper the slope, the coarser the particles can be net lost. Deposited sediment causes the VFS bed surface to become smooth and hydraulic resistance decrease exponentially. Unit stream power P is more suitable than shear stress τ of overland flow to be used to describe the process of sediment particle transport in VFS. The relationship between P and d₅₀ of outflow sediment is very consistent with the form of power function with a constant term. These results are helpful to understand the physical process of sediment transport on vegetation hillslopes.     

A prediction method for the size distribution of saltating particles above a mixed-size bed

In aeolian saltation, the sand bed is a mixture of sand particle with a wide range of particle sizes. Generally, the particle size distribution (PSD) of saltating particles is ignored by previous aeolian transport models, which will result in differences between predictions and observations. To better understand the saltation process, a prediction method of the PSD of saltating particles was proposed in this article. The probability of contact between incident sand and bed sand was introduced into the particle-bed collision process. An artificial PSD of the incident saltating particles was set as the initial condition. A stochastic particle-bed collision model considering contact probability was then used in each iteration step to calculate a new PSD of saltating particles. Finally, the PSD of saltating particles can be determined when aeolian saltation reaches a steady state (saltation is in a steady state when its primary characteristics, such as horizontal mass flux and the concentration of saltating particles, remain approximately constant over time and distance). Meanwhile, according to the experimental results, a calculation formula for the contact parameter n is given, which characterizes the shielding effect of particles on each other. That is, if soil PSD and friction velocity were given, the PSD of saltating particles can be determined. Our results do not depend on the initial conditions, and the predicted results are consistent with the experimental results. It indicated that our method can be used to determine the PSD of saltating particles. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From soil aggregates to riverine flocs: a laboratory experiment assessing the respective effects of soil type and flow shear stress on particles characteristics

Particles eroded from hillslopes and exported to rivers are recognized to be composite particles of high internal complexity. Their architecture and composition are known to influence their transport behaviour within the water column relative to discrete particles. To‐date, hillslope erosion studies consider aggregates to be stable once they are detached from the soil matrix. However, lowland rivers and estuaries studies often suggest that particle structure and dynamics are controlled by flocculation within the water column. In order to improve the understanding of particle dynamics along the continuum from hillslopes to the lowland river environment, soil particle behaviour was tested under controlled laboratory conditions. Seven flume erosion and deposition experiments, designed to simulate a natural erosive event, and five shear cell experiments were performed using three contrasting materials: two of them were poorly developed and as such can not be considered as soils, whilst the third one was a calcareous brown soil. These experiments revealed that soil aggregates were prone to disaggregation within the water column and that flocculation may affect their size distribution during transport. Large differences in effective particle size were found between soil types during the rising limb of the bed shear stress sequence. Indeed, at the maximum applied bed shear stress, the aggregated particles median diameter was found to be three times larger for the well‐developed soil than for the two others. Differences were smaller in the falling limb, suggesting that soil aggregates underwent structural changes. However, characterization of particles strength parameters showed that these changes did not fully turn soil aggregates into flocs, but rather into hybrid soil aggregate–floc particles. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal enhancement of natural magnetism as a tool for tracing eroded soil

Determining sources, quantities and travel distances of eroding soil is of increasing importance given its impact on‐ and off‐site, the sediment‐associated transport of nutrients, metals and micro‐organisms and the ongoing need to provide data for soil erosion model development and validation. Many soil tracers have been developed; however, most comprise foreign materials, such as fluorescent beads and rare earth oxides, which cast doubts on the validity of tracing results given their different physical characteristics. To avoid these problems, we have investigated the potential of soil, which has been heated under reducing conditions to enhance its ferrimagnetic content, as a soil erosion tracer; while the technique has been used successfully to trace river sediment it has not been successfully applied to soil erosion studies. For a suite of 16 magnetic concentration‐dependent properties, values were found to be significantly greater, by at least one order of magnitude, after heating, both for the bulk soil and nine individual particle size fractions. Individual size fractions could be differentiated using two different magnetic properties, thus illustrating the technique's potential to provide information on particle size‐specific erosion. Soil box experiments demonstrated the potential for both in situ measurement of magnetic susceptibility and laboratory measurement of the magnetic properties of eroded sediment, to trace and quantify soil erosion. Thus, heated soil, with artificially‐enhanced ferrimagnetic properties, is successfully demonstrated to have great potential as a size‐specific, cost‐effective and representative soil erosion tracer. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

贵州省麦岗水库沉积物磁性特征及其与粒度的关系

对贵州省麦岗水库沉积物环境磁性特征的研究表明,亚铁磁性矿物主导了沉积物矿物磁性特征,但同时也存在反铁磁性矿物等其他矿物,超顺磁颗粒在沉积物中广泛存在.在所选矿物磁性参数中,χlf、χfd、SOFT与粒度不相关;χARM、SIRM、F300与粒度相关,但相关系数不高;χARM/χlf、χARM/SIRM和粒度显著相关,可以作为粒度的代用指标.研究结果显示,磁性参数确实可以作为粒度的代用指标.但对比研究表明,在不同沉积环境,甚至相似沉积环境的沉积物中,矿物磁性参数和粒度的关系可能不同,在特定沉积环境中,利用磁性参数作为粒度的代用指标应该在充分研究的基础上进行,使研究结果更为可靠.     

Response of soil erosion and sediment sorting to the transport mechanism on a steep rocky slope

A deeper understanding of the sediment characteristics associated with rock fragment content can improve our knowledge of the erosional processes and transport mechanisms of sediments on steep rocky slopes. This research used simulated rainfall experiments lasting for 1 h at a rate of 90 mm h⁻¹ and employed 5 × 1 × 0.4 m parallel troughs filled with purple soils with different rock fragment volumetric contents (0, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40%) on a 15° slope gradient. For each simulated event, runoff and sediment were sampled at 1- and 3-min intervals, respectively, to study, in detail, the temporal changes in the size distributions of the eroded sediments. The results show that sediment concentrations, soil erosion rates and soil loss ratios significantly decreased as rock fragment content increased for rock fragment contents from 0 to 40% in purple soils. During the transportation process, clay particles often formed aggregates and were then transported as larger particles. Silt particles were more likely to be transported as primary particles with a low degree of sediment aggregation. Sand-sized particles, which constituted a greater proportion of the original soil than the eroded sediments, were formed from other fine particles and transported as aggregates rather than as primary particles. Suspension-saltation, which mainly transports fine particles of 0.02–0.05 mm and coarse particles larger than 0.5 mm in size, was the most important transport mechanism on steep rocky slopes. The results of this study can help to explain the inherent laws of erosional processes on steep rocky slopes and can provide a foundation for improving physical models of soil erosion. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulations demonstrating interaction between coarse and fine sediment loads in rain‐impacted flow

Rain‐impacted flows dominate sheet and interrill erosion and are important in eroding soil rich in nutrients and other chemicals which may have deleterious effects on water quality. Erosion in rain‐impacted flow is associated with raindrop detachment followed by transport either by the combination of flow velocity and raindrop impact (raindrop‐induced flow transport, RIFT) or the inherent capacity of the flow to transport detached material. Coarse particles tend to be transported by RIFT, while fine particles tend to be transported without any assistance from raindrop impact. Because the transport process associated with coarse particles is not 100 per cent efficient, it generates a layer of loose particles on the soil surface and this layer protects the underlying soil from detachment. Simulations were performed by modelling the uplift and downstream movement of both fine and coarse particles detached from the soil surface by individual raindrop impacts starting with a surface where no loose material was present. The simulations produced a flush of fine material followed by a decline in the discharge of fine material as the amount of loose material built up on the bed. The decline in the discharge of fine material was accompanied by an increase in the discharge of coarse material. The relative amounts of coarse and fine material discharged in the flow varied with flow velocity and cohesion in the surface of the soil matrix. The results indicate that the discharge of various sized sediments is highly dependent on local soil, rain and flow conditions and that extrapolating the results from one situation to another may not be appropriate. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lithology‐controlled evolution of stream bed sediment and basin‐scale sediment yields in adjacent mountain watersheds,Idaho, USA

The composition, grain‐size, and flux of stream sediment evolve downstream in response to variations in basin‐scale sediment delivery, channel network structure, and diminution during transport. Here, we document downstream changes in lithology and grain size within two adjacent ~300 km² catchments in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA, which drain differing mixtures of soft and resistant rock types, and where measured sediment yields differ two‐fold. We use a simple erosion–abrasion mass balance model to predict the downstream evolution of sediment flux and composition using a Monte Carlo approach constrained by measured sediment flux. Results show that the downstream evolution of the bed sediment composition is predictably related to changes in underlying geology, influencing the proportion of sediment carried as bedload or suspended load. In the Big Wood basin, particle abrasion reduces the proportion of fine‐grained sedimentary and volcanic rocks, depressing bedload in favor of suspended load. Reduced bedload transport leads to stronger bed armoring, and coarse granitic rocks are concentrated in the stream bed. By contrast, in the North Fork Big Lost basin, bedload yields are three times higher, the stream bed is less armored, and bed sediment becomes dominated by durable quartzitic sandstones. For both basins, the geology‐based mass balance model can reproduce within ~5% root‐mean‐square error the composition of the bed substrate using realistic erosion and abrasion parameters. As bed sediment evolves downstream, bedload fluxes increase and decrease as a function of the abrasion parameter and the frequency and size of tributary junctions, while suspended load increases steadily. Variable erosion and abrasion rates produce conditions of variable bed‐material transport rates that are sensitive to the distribution of lithologies and channel network structure, and, provided sufficient diversity in bedrock geology, measurements of bed sediment composition allow for an assessment of sediment source areas and yield using a simple modeling approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shape-related factors in the magnetization of immobilized magnetite particles

Some of the magnetic properties of dispersions of immobilized multidomain magnetite particles are determined by intrinsic crystalline properties but others are strongly affected by the state of division and the particle shape. Various theories of magnetization have included shape effects but the experimental evidence is meagre, due principally to the great difficulty in determining precisely the amount of magnetite. A series of measurements have been made on dispersions of particles which appear to be pure magnetite with only a non-magnetic gangue-mineral impurity. The specimens used contained low concentrations of magnetite — so the specimen shape was unimportant — and either restricted particle sizes or bimodal size-distributions. The results are not in agreement with either the previously proposed value of the shape factor nor with the properties of mixed particle-sizes.     

Effect of particle density and inflow concentration of suspended sediment on bedload transport in rill flow

Laboratory flume experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of particle density on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles and the effect of a suspended load of clay particles (kaolinite) on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles in rill flow conditions. Three materials in the range 400–600 µm were selected to simulate bedload transport of primary particles and aggregates: sand (2650 kg/m³), crushed brick (2450 kg/m³) and anthracite (1300–1700 kg/m³). In the two first experiments, two different methods were applied to determine bedload transport capacity of coarse particles for various conditions of flow discharge (from 2 to 15 L/min) and slope (2.2, 3 and 4%). In the third experiment, clear water was replaced with kaolinite–water mixture and bedload transport capacity of crushed brick particles was determined for a 4% slope and different concentrations of kaolinite (0, 7, 41 and 84 g/L). The results showed that bedload transport increased significantly with the decrease in particle density but the effect of particle density on transport rates was much less important than flow discharge. Velocity measurements of clear flow, flow mixed with coarse particles and coarse particles confirmed the existence of a differentiation between suspended load and bedload. In these experimental conditions, suspended load of kaolinite did not affect bedload rates of crushed brick particles. Three transport capacity formulae were tested against observed bedload rates. A calibration of the Foster formula revealed that the shear stress exponent should be greater than 1.5. The Low and the Govers unit stream power (USP) equations were then evaluated. The Low equation was preferred for the prediction of bedload rates of primary particles but it was not recommended in the case of aggregates of low density because of the limited experimental conditions applied to derive this equation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The transport of aggregates associated with soil organic carbon under the rain-induced overland flow on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Organic carbon (OC) is easily enriched in sediment particles of different sizes due to aggregate breakdown and selective transport for sheet erosion. However, the transport of aggregate-associated OC has not been thoroughly investigated. To address this issue, 27 simulated rainfall experiments were conducted in a 1 m × 0.35 m box on slope gradients of 15°, 10°, and 15°and under three rainfall intensities of 45 mm h⁻¹, 90 mm h⁻¹ and 120 mm h⁻¹. The results showed that OC was obviously enriched in sediment particles of different sizes under sheet erosion. The soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations of each aggregate size class in sediments were different from those in the original soil, especially when the rainfall intensity or slope was sufficiently low, such as 45 mm h^–1 or 5°, respectively. Under a slope of 5°, the SOC enrichment ratios (ERocs) of small macroaggregates and microaggregates were high but decreased over time. As rainfall intensity increased, OC became enriched in increasingly fine sediment particles. Under a rainfall intensity of 45 mm h^–1, the ERocs of the different aggregate size classes were always high throughout the entire erosion process. Under a rainfall intensity of > 45 mm h^–1 and slope of > 5°, the ERocs of the different aggregate size classes were close to 1.0, especially those of clay and silt. Therefore, the high ERocs in sediments resulted from the first transport of effective clay. Among total SOC loss, the proportion of OC loss caused by the transport of microaggregates and silt plus clay-sized particles was greater than 50%. We also found that low stream power and low water depth were two requirements for the high ERocs in aggregates. Stream power was closely related to sediment particle distribution. Flow velocity was significantly and positively related to the percentage of OC-enriched macroaggregates in the sediments (P > 0.01). Our study will provide important information for understanding the fate of SOC and building physical-based SOC transport models. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

亚热带地区发育于不同母岩风化壳上的红壤磁学特征对比及其环境意义

本研究对发育于亚热带地区花岗岩和变质岩风化壳之上的两个红壤剖面进行了系统的环境磁学测量及色度分析,探讨在同一地区不同母质上发育的红壤磁性差异的原因及其环境意义.研究区的两个剖面分别位于福建省南平市高铁北站和纺织厂附近,相距约15 km,气候条件基本相同.研究结果表明：（1）较强磁性的花岗岩母质层上发育的南平北站红壤（NPN）,在发育过程因母质层中多畴（MD）颗粒磁赤铁矿化的磁铁矿溶解,剖面上部的淋溶层和淀积层虽以较细的稳定单畴（SSD）颗粒和少量的假单畴（PSD）颗粒磁铁矿为主,但剖面磁性自下而上减弱.相较而言,南纺红壤（NF）剖面发育在磁性较弱的变质砂岩上,其过渡层和母质层以赤铁矿为主,因成壤过程中生成较细的超顺磁（SP）磁铁矿使得土壤淋溶层和淀积层磁性增强;说明母质不同是亚热带地区红壤磁性差异的主要原因.（2） NPN和NF两个剖面的气候条件基本相同,磁性差异比色度指标差异更为显著.亚热带地区因剖面受母质影响显著,整体磁性特征不能反映气候;黄度和红度的比值（b^*/a^*）远小于磁性的差异,说明针铁矿和赤铁矿的比值更能反映研究区的平均气候状况,即反映次生磁性矿物含量的参数为更适合的气候指标.     

A study of pore geometry effects on anisotropy in hydraulic permeability using the lattice-Boltzmann method

We hypothesize that anisotropy in soil properties arises from pore-scale heterogeneity caused by the alignment of aspherical soil particles. We developed a method to predict the permeability tensor from particle shape and packing structure. Digital geometry maps were created for the pore space in regular cubic and random packs of particles with various aspect ratios using a numerical packing algorithm. The lattice-Boltzmann method was used to simulate saturated flow through these packs, and the effect of particle shape and degree of alignment on the permeability tensor was characterized. Results show that the degree of anisotropy in permeability depends not only upon particle shape and alignment, but also on the three-dimensional structure of the pack. In random packs, more oblate particles and higher degrees of particle alignment lead to reduced permeability perpendicular to the direction of particle alignment compared to the direction parallel to particle alignment.     

Effects of overlying velocity,particle size,and biofilm growth on stream–subsurface exchange of particles

Stream–subsurface exchange strongly influences the transport of contaminants, fine particles, and other ecologically relevant substances in streams. We used a recirculating laboratory flume (220 cm long and 20 cm wide) to study the effects of particle size, overlying velocity, and biofilm formation on stream–subsurface exchange of particles. Sodium chloride was used as a non‐reactive dissolved tracer and 1‐ and 5‐µm fluorescent microspheres were used as particulate tracers. Surface–subsurface exchange was observed with a clean sand bed and a bed colonized by an autotrophic–heterotrophic biofilm under two different overlying velocities, 0·9 and 5 cm s^?1. Hydrodynamic interactions between the overlying flow and sand bed resulted in a reduction of solute and particle concentrations in the water column, and a corresponding accumulation of particles in both the sediments and in the biofilm. Increasing overlying velocity and particle size resulted in faster removal from the overlying water due to enhanced mass transfer to the bed. The presence of the biofilm did not affect solute exchange under any flow condition tested. The presence of the biofilm significantly increased the deposition of particles under an overlying velocity of 5 cm s^?1, and produced a small but statistically insignificant increase at 0·9 cm^?1. The particles preferentially deposited within the biofilm matrix relative to the underlying sand. These results demonstrate that hydrodynamic transport conditions, particle size, and biofilm formation play a key role in the transport of suspended particles, such as inorganic sediments, particulate organic matter, and pathogenic microorganisms in freshwater ecosystems, and should be taken into consideration when predicting the fate and transport of particles and contaminants in the environment. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.