Postglacial stratigraphic evolution of a current-influenced sandy shelf: offshore Kujukuri strandplain,central Japan

Sandy shelf sediments are important elements of clastic sedimentary systems because of their wide distribution in the geological record and their significance as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although many studies have investigated shelf sediments influenced by waves or tidal currents, little is known about shelf sediments influenced by oceanic currents, particularly their lithofacies characteristics and stratigraphic evolution. This study investigated the stratigraphic evolution of shelf sediments off the Kujukuri strandplain facing the Pacific Ocean, which is influenced by the strong Kuroshio Current. Sediment cores were obtained from six locations on the Kujukuri shelf (34 to 124 m water depth) using a vibrocorer. The dominant lithofacies is mud-free sand with low-angle cross-lamination associated with alternating beds of finer and coarser sand with cross-lamination. These display depositional processes influenced by storm waves and the Kuroshio Current, respectively. This finding is consistent with the previously presented modern and historical observations of the Kuroshio Current and estimates of the storm-wave base. Radiocarbon dates show that the sediment succession formed during the last transgressive and highstand stages after 13·1 ka. The depositional processes during the stages represent a transition from storm waves with abundant sediment supply to both storm waves and the Kuroshio Current with sediment starvation mainly due to its trapping in the strandplain. Comparison to other Holocene–Modern shelf systems suggests that the sandy shelf successions are strongly influenced by oceanic currents under conditions of limited riverine input and open coastal geometry. The resultant sand-dominated succession is characterized by reversal of the proximal to distal grain-size trend compared to the fining for most other recognized wave/storm-dominated shelf successions. This is because of seaward increase in the influence of the Kuroshio Current. Thus, shelf deposits are naturally complex, and these may be further complicated by the additional influence of oceanic currents above the usual wave-dominated and tide-dominated end members.     

A new mechanism for seaward dispersion of midshelf sediments

Silt- to sand-size particles may be transported across middle continental shelves by currents forced by the radiation stress of variable-amplitude swell. With the passage of each group of waves of sufficient amplitude for the high waves in the group to resuspend bottom sediments, there is a seaward bias in the return of sediments to the seafloor. Over a storm season, with the passage of many wave groups, the net seaward sediment displacement may be 1-5 km.     

海啸波作用下泥沙运动——Ⅱ.床沙组成变化分析

在波浪水槽实验的基础上,对海啸波作用下的床沙组成变化规律开展研究。实验采用1/10~1/20的组合坡度,选取N波作为入射波。实验对波高进行采集,对波浪的上爬、回落和水跃过程进行拍摄记录,对每个波作用后的地形进行测量,并对初始和最终的床面顶层泥沙进行采样筛分。实验结果表明,N波作用下泥沙在离岸区水跃发生区域堆积,淤积沙坝泥沙粒径呈粗化趋势。同时采用规则波和非规则波进行对比,波浪作用后形成岸滩也为沙坝剖面,淤积沙坝泥沙粒径呈细化趋势,结果均遵循Çelikoğlu提出的泥沙运动的基本规律,细颗粒泥沙会在强烈的紊动作用下从床面中被筛选出来,并被搬运到低紊动地区,此过程造成了剧烈紊动区泥沙的粗化。     

A Field Study of How Wind Waves and Currents May Contribute to the Deterioration of Saltmarsh Fringe

Deltaic landscapes, such as the Mississippi River Delta, are sites of extensive conversion of wetlands to open water, where increased fetch may contribute to erosion of marsh edges, increasing wetland loss. A field experiment conducted during a storm passage tested this process through the observations of wave orbital and current velocities in the fringe zone of a deteriorating saltmarsh in Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana. Incident waves seaward of the marsh edge and wave orbital and current velocities immediate landward of the marsh edge were measured. Through a dimensional analysis, it shows that the current and orbital velocities in the marsh fringe were controlled by the incident waves, inundation depth, submergence ratio, and vegetation density. Similarly, it is shown that the longshore currents in the inundated saltmarsh fringe depended on the local wave-induced momentum flux, vegetation submergence, and vegetation density in the fringe zone. The cross-shore current showed the presence of a return flow in the lower region of the velocity profile. A high correlation between the current direction and the local flow-wave energy ratio as well as the vegetation submergence and density is found, indicating the important role of surface waves in the fringe flow landward of an inundated wetland under storm conditions. The field observations shed light on the potential ecological consequences of increased wave activities in coastal saltmarsh wetlands owing to subsidence, sea level rise, limited sediment supply, increases in wind fetch, and storm intensity.     

Changes in the critical erosion velocity for sediment colonized by biofilm

In flowing water the incipient motion of sediment can be affected by the presence of microbial biofilm growth. This article documents a series of flume experiments using non‐uniform sediments, in which sediment entrainment was investigated for cases where the sediment was immersed in deionized water, so that no biofilm developed, and for cases where a bio‐sediment was cultivated by placing the sediment in a mixture of natural water and nutrient solution. Differences in entrainment and the velocity at incipient motion were measured over an eight week period, as biofilm grew. It was found that the incipient motion phenomena were quite distinct between the two kinds of sediment. Sediment with biofilm was more stable and, over time, incipient velocity increased to a threshold level, before declining. Biofilm development is clearly an important control on the stability of sediments, especially in eutrophic water bodies. Two incipient velocity formulas were derived for sliding and rolling conditions. Film water theory was utilized to describe the cohesive force between sediment particles and the adhesive force generated by biofilm was introduced into the formula derivation; the time variation characteristics of biofilm strength and the features of the substrate were also taken into consideration. Such analyses can help to predict sediment transport changes due to biofilm presence in nutrient‐rich water bodies.     

Contributions respectives des courants et de la houle dans la mobilité sédimentaire d'une plate-forme interne estuarienne. Exemple : le seuil interinsulaire,au large du pertuis d'Antioche,France

This paper investigates the relative influence of waves, wind-induced current and tidal current on the sediment mobility of a macro-tidal environment belonging to the inner shelf seaward of the ‘pertuis Charentais’ (France). This study, mainly based on three-week hydrodynamic in-situ measurements, shows that, for a water depth of 23 m, the swell (rather than wind waves) orbital velocity is large enough to initiate the motion of medium sands that are then transported by currents. Estimations show that medium sand of 0.2 mm is transported during 92% of the measurements, whereas coarse sand and gravel move sporadically, during storm, synchronously with spring tides. Further more, bedload fluxes appear strongly larger when waves are taken into account (370 times larger for 0.2-mm sands). To cite this article: D. Idier et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Storm deposits and storm-generated coarse carbonate breccias on a pelagic outer shelf (South-East Basin, France)

Uppermost Jurassic limestones of the South‐East Basin (France) are organized into four facies associations that were deposited in four distinct zones: (1) peritidal lagoonal limestones; (2) bioclastic and reefal limestones; (3) pelagic lime mudstones; (4) lime mudstones/calcarenites/coarse breccias. Calcarenite deposits of zone 4 exhibit sedimentary structures that are diagnostic of deposition under wave‐induced combined flow. In subzone 4a, both vertical and lateral transitions from lime mudstone/calcarenite to breccia indicate in situ brecciation under wave‐cyclic loading. Breccias were produced by heterogeneous liquefaction of material previously deposited on the sea floor. Deposits in subzone 4a record relatively long periods (>400 kyr) of sedimentation below wave base, alternating with periods of deposition under wave‐induced currents and periods of in situ deformation. In this zone, storm waves were attenuated by wave–sediment interaction, and wave energy was absorbed by the deformation of soft sediment. With reference to present‐day wave attenuation, water depths in this zone ranged between 50 and 80 m. Landwards of the attenuation zone, in zone 3, storm waves were reduced to fair‐weather wave heights. Storm wave base was not horizontal and became shallower landwards. As a consequence, water depth and wave energy were not linearly related. On a small area of the seaward edge of subzone 4a, cobbles were removed by traction currents and redeposited in subzone 4b. There, they formed a 100‐m‐thick wedge, which prograded over 3 km and was built up by the stacking of 5‐ to 20‐m‐thick cross‐stratified sets of coarse breccia. This wedge records the transport and redeposition of cobbles by a high‐velocity unidirectional component of a combined flow. The increase in flow velocity in a restricted area is proposed to result from flow concentration in a channel‐like structure of the downwelling in the gulf formed by the basin. In more distal subzone 4c, the hydrodynamic effect of wave‐induced currents was quasi‐permanent, and brecciation by wave–sediment interaction occurred only episodically. This indicates that, seawards of the attenuation zone, hydrodynamic storm wave base was deeper than mechanical storm wave base. Uppermost Jurassic carbonates were deposited and soft‐sediment deformed on a hurricane‐dominated ramp of very gentle slope and characterized by a zone of storm wave degeneration, located seawards of a zone of sedimentation below wave base.     

Evaluation of criteria for predicting erosion and accretion on an estuarine sand beach, Delaware Bay, Jew Jersey

Predicting erosion and accretion of sand beaches in estuaries is important to managing shoreline development and identifying potential relationships between biological productivity and beach change. Wave, sediment and profile data, gathered over twenty-nine days on an estuarine sand beach in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, were used to evaluate the performance of four criteria that predict beach erosion and accretion due to wave-induced cross-shore sediment movement (Dean 1973; Sunamura and Horikawa 1974; Hattori and Kawamata 1980; Kraus et al. 1991). Each criterion defines a relation, between a wave and sediment parameter, and includes a coefficient that discriminates beach erosion and accretion events. Relations, based on small-scale laboratory and field data, were evaluated for predicting erosion or accretion at the study site. Significant wave heights at the study site, monitored near high water, ranged from 0.08 to 0.52 m with periods of 2.4 to 12.8 s. Median grain sizes of sediments on the beach foreshore, gathered at low water, ranged from 0.33 to 0.73 mm. All four criteria showed a clustering of erosion and accretion events. Relations derived from small-scale laboratory data were better predictors of erosion on the profile at the field site than those derived from field data gathered on exposed ocean environments. The planar profile and dominance of incident waves of low height and short period are similar to laboratory conditions characterized by initial planar beach slopes and monochromatic waves. Decreasing the value of the empirical coefficient to account for the differences in the magnitude of wave energy and grain size increases the performance of the criteria tested to predict erosion of the profile.     

破碎波作用下沙质海床床面形态变化试验

波浪在斜坡沙质海床上破碎会加剧泥沙输移导致海床形态变化,研究破碎波作用下沙质海床形态变化机制对于岸滩演变分析极为重要。在波浪水槽中采用中值粒径0.47 mm原型沙铺设1∶20坡度的底床模型进行试验研究,测量不同波浪条件下床面形态和沙坝顶端悬浮泥沙浓度变化。通过测量和计算破碎带输沙率、沙坝尺度和沙坝移动速度,分析破碎波作用下沙质斜坡海床上床面形态变化规律。试验结果表明,破碎带沙坝顶端的悬浮泥沙浓度与水深和底部床面密切相关,在形成沙坝和沙坝水平方向移动时,悬浮泥沙浓度较大;斜坡上沙坝前后来回运动的周期大小具有随机性,沙坝既有向岸又有离岸移动;在多组波长时间作用后沙坝尺度趋于稳定,底床净输沙量趋于0。     

Influence of waves and horseshoe crab spawning on beach morphology and sediment grain-size characteristics on a sandy estuarine beach

The effects of wave action and horseshoe crab spawning on the topography and grain-size characteristics on the foreshore of an estuarine sand beach in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA were evaluated using data collected over six consecutive high tides. Data were gathered inside and outside a 25 m long exclosure constructed to create a control area free of disturbance by crabs. The density of crabs in the swash zone outside the exclosure was 8·1 organisms m⁻². The maximum depth of sediment activation on the upper foreshore where spawning occurred was 0·103 m during periods characterized by low significant wave heights: < 0·08 m. This depth is greater than the depth of activation by waves alone during moderate significant wave heights of 0·16–0·18 m but less than the maximum depth (0·127 m) recorded when spawning occurred during periods of moderate wave heights. Spawning, combined with moderate wave heights, creates a concave upper foreshore that is similar to the type of profile change that occurs during storms, thus lowering the wave-energy threshold for morphological response. Spawning during low wave heights increases the mean grain size and sorting of surface sediments caused by the addition of gravel to the swash. Sedimentological differences are most pronounced on the upper foreshore, and data from this location may be most useful when using grain-size characteristics to interpret the effect of spawning in the sedimentary record. Depths of sediment reworking by horseshoe crabs can be greater than those by subsequent storm waves, so evidence of spawning can be preserved on non-eroding beaches. Greater depth of activation by horseshoe crab spawning than by waves alone, even during moderate-energy conditions, reveals the importance of crab burrowing in releasing eggs to the water column and making them available for shore birds.     

深海海底边界层原位观测系统研发与应用

为进一步研究南海北部陆坡海洋动力过程对深海海底边界层的影响,研发了“深海海底边界层原位观测系统(In-situ Observation System for Bottom Boundary Layer in Abyssal Sea)”,ABBLOS。观测系统主体为坐底式深海运载平台,最大工作水深可达6 700 m(实际工作水深取决于搭载设备的耐压水深),是研究深海海底边界层问题的重要技术创新。观测平台由上下两部分框架结构组成,上部框架用于搭载和回收观测设备,下部支撑架为配重,并且用于提供距离海底1 m的观测空间;同时创新性地设计了“卡槽定位-螺栓紧固”的连接方式连接上下两部分,连接方式简单可靠,保证了平台回收成功率。ABBLOS集成了75 k-ADCP、高频ADCP、ADV、高精度压力计、海底摄像机等设备,以及甲烷、温盐深、浊度、溶解氧、氧化还原电位等传感器,首次实现了内波、中尺度涡等海洋动力过程与海底边界层物理化学参数的动态变化同步观测,特别是可以观测距离海底1 m高度范围的水体流速剖面,并且达到7 mm一层的垂向空间分辨率。研制完成后,2020年在南海北部陆坡神狐海域655 m和1 405 m水深处分别成功布放并回收,观测时间共计34天,采集到观测站位上覆海水的流速剖面结构,捕捉到了平均周期为1天1次的内波作用过程,以及海底边界层的多种物理化学参数。初步分析655 m水深处的观测数据后,发现深海海底边界层的温度、压力、溶解氧、密度和盐度等参数受控于海洋潮汐过程,尤其是温度和压力的变化基本与潮汐周期同步。海底边界层氧化环境较为稳定,甲烷浓度由高变低,但是基本在海洋溶解甲烷平均浓度范围内。与潮汐相比,内孤立波对深海海底边界层水体的影响程度较小,但是明显可以引起沉积物的再悬浮,引起的海底边界层的海水浊度从背景值的0.01 NTU增大到48 NTU,海底摄像机也记录到了内孤立波期间深海底层海水突然变浑浊的过程,说明南海内孤立波可以影响海底沉积物的输运。     

Threshold of motion and settling velocities of mollusc shell debris: Influence of faunal composition

Bioclastic particles derived from mollusc shell debris can represent a significant fraction of sandy to gravelly sediments in temperate and cool‐water regions with high carbonate productivity. Their reworking and subsequent transport and deposition by waves and currents is highly dependent on the shape and density of the particles. In this study, the hydrodynamic behaviour of shell debris produced by eight mollusc species is investigated for several grain sizes in terms of settling velocity (measurements in a settling tube) and threshold of motion under unidirectional current (flume experiments using an acoustic profiler). Consistent interspecific differences in settling velocity and critical bed shear stress are found, related to differences in shell density, shell structure imaged by scanning electron microscopy and grain shape. Drag coefficients are proposed for each mollusc species, based on an interpolation of settling velocity data. Depending on the shell species, the critical bed shear stress values obtained for bioclastic particles fall within or slightly below empirical envelopes established for siliciclastic particles, despite very low settling velocity values. The results suggest that settling velocity, often used to describe the entrainment of sediment particles through the equivalent diameter, is not a suitable parameter to predict the initiation of motion of shell debris. The influence of the flat shape of bioclastic particles on the initiation of motion under oscillatory flows and during bedload and saltation transport is yet to be elucidated.     

Sedimentology of the December 26, 2004, Sumatra tsunami deposits in eastern India (Tamil Nadu) and Kenya

The December 26, 2004 Sumatra tsunami caused severe damage at the coasts of the Indian ocean. We report results of a sedimentological study of tsunami run-up parameters and the sediments laid down by the tsunami at the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and between Malindi and Lamu, Kenya. In India, evidence of three tsunami waves is preserved on the beaches in the form of characteristic debris accumulations. We measured the maximum run-up distance at 580 m and the maximum run-up height at 4.85 m. Flow depth over land was at least 3.5 m. The tsunami deposited an up to 30 cm thick blanket of moderately well to well-sorted coarse and medium sand that overlies older beach deposits or soil with an erosional unconformity. The sand sheet thins inland without a decrease of grain-size. The deposits consist frequently of three layers. The lower one may be cross-bedded with foresets dipping landward and indicating deposition during run-up. The overlying two sand layers are graded or parallel-laminated without indicators of current directions. Thus, it remains undecided whether they formed during run-up or return flow. Thin dark laminae rich in heavy minerals frequently mark the contacts between successive layers. Benthic foraminifera indicate an entrainment of sediment by the tsunami from water depths less than ca. 30 m water depth. On the Indian shelf these depths are present at distances of up to 5 km from the coast. In Kenya only one wave is recorded, which attained a run-up height of 3 m at a run-up distance of ca. 35 m from the tidal water line at the time of the tsunami impact. Only one layer of fine sand was deposited by the tsunami. It consists predominantly of heavy minerals supplied to the sea by a nearby river. The sand layer thins landward with a minor decrease in grain-size. Benthic foraminifera indicate an entrainment of sediment by the tsunami from water depths less than ca. 30 m water depth, reaching down potentially to ca. 80 m. The presence of only one tsunami-related sediment layer in Kenya, but three in India, reflects the impact of only one wave at the coast of Kenya, as opposed to several in India. Grain-size distributions in the Indian and Kenyan deposits are mostly normal to slightly positively skewed and indicate that the detritus was entrained by the tsunami from well sorted pre-tsunami deposits in nearshore, swash zone and beach environments.     

Wave effects on the vertical migration of two benthic microalgae: Hantzschia virgata var. intermedia and Euglena proxima

Two benthic microalgal species, Euglena proxima (Dangeard) and the diatom Hantzschia virgata var. intermedia (Grun) Round, congregated at the sediment surface of intertidal sand flats surrounding the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina, during low tide and migrated below the surface prior to tidal flooding. E. proxima was found down to a depth of 12 cm below the surface during high tide while H. virgata was not found below 8 cm. One potential advantage of vertical migration for benthic microalgae is avoidance of the sediment surface during high tide when the winnowing action of waves can remove cells from the intertidal habitat. This hypothesis was tested by comparing the mean depths of E. proxima and H. virgata exposed to calm water conditions with their mean depths under wave-exposed conditions in shallow outdoor tidal tanks equipped with wave generators. Two sediment treatments were tested in each tank to evaluate the effect of a subsurface layer of black sediment (subsurface sediments, presumably reduced) on vertical migration: a uniform column of light brown sand (surface sediments; presumably oxygenated), and a layered column with light brown sand overlying a layer of black sediment. One-way and two-way ANOVAs indicated that wave action increased the mean depth of both species under certain conditions related to the presence, absence, and depth of a subsurface layer of black sediment. In an experiment with a shallow black layer (5 mm), wave action did not result in a significant increase in the mean depth of H. virgata as it did in a previous experiment with a deeper black layer (3 cm). Unlike H. virgata, E. proxima exhibited a wave effect only in the absence of a subsurface black layer. A subsurface black layer seemed to reinforce downward migration in E. proxima under both calm water and wave conditions. The absence of a wave effect in the presence of a subsurface black layer suggests that the mean depth of E. proxima during high tide was more tightly controlled by the depth of the black layer than wave energy. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY085 00009     

磨刀门河口洪季波生流及其泄洪影响

磨刀门已由"径流型"向"径流-波浪型"河口转变,波浪已是该河口主要动力之一,但波浪对河口洪季水流及泄洪的影响缺少研究。在2-D潮流数学模型中添加随潮位实时变化的波浪辐射应力,建立波浪潮流耦合数学模型;波浪求解采用缓坡方程,背景水深由潮流模型实时提供,可通过比较考虑和未考虑波浪影响的河口流场来分析波浪对泄洪的影响。在年均常浪作用下,磨刀门河口洪季涨落潮阶段均有明显的波生环流结构。由于波浪作用方向向陆,波生流减弱了浅滩区的向海余流,增大了浅滩向陆余流;受浅滩向海余流减弱影响,河口动力自调整后形成归槽水流,促使深槽内向海余流增大。波浪有顶托河口泄洪之势,可改变滩槽泄洪分配比例;年均常浪的波高较小,其对潮流及泄洪的影响区域限制在浅水区,故对泄洪的负面影响有限。     

海啸波作用下泥沙运动——Ⅰ.岸滩剖面变化分析

在波浪水槽实验的基础上,对海啸波作用下的岸滩剖面演变规律开展研究。实验采用1/10~1/20的组合坡度,考虑3种不同的水深,选取N波作为入射波,同时采用规则波和非规则波进行对比研究。实验对波高、波浪的上爬、回落和水跃过程、每个波作用后的地形进行了测量和记录。研究结果表明,水动力特性的不同造成了N波与规则波和不规则波作用下不同的岸滩剖面演变特点。N波作用下发生了明显的岸滩冲刷和淤积,水流回落时滩肩发生冲刷,高速薄层回流和出渗水流作用是滩肩冲刷的主要原因,离岸区水跃发生水流挟沙力降低,泥沙淤积呈沙坝剖面。     

Assessment of the relative importance of major sediment‐transport mechanisms in the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon

The delivery, flux and fate of terrigenous sediment entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon has been a focus of recent studies and represents an ongoing environmental concern. Wave‐induced bed stress is the most significant mechanism of sediment resuspension in the Great Barrier Reef, and field data and mathematical modelling indicates that the combined effects of short‐period wind waves, longer period swell waves, and tidal and wind‐driven currents can often exceed the critical bed stress for resuspension. Suspended‐sediment concentrations at 20 m water depth indicate resuspension seldom occurs on the middle shelf under normal wave conditions. Non‐cyclonic turbidity events are generally confined to the inner shelf. The wave climate in the southern sector of the central Great Barrier Reef lagoon is the most erosive, and resuspension of outer shelf sediments was hindcast for recorded cyclones. Wind‐driven, longshore currents are fundamental to the northward movement of sediment, and the annual northward mass flux from embayments undergoing resuspension in the Burdekin region is estimated to be one order of magnitude larger than the mass of sediment introduced by a moderate flood plume. Strong onshore winds are estimated to generate significant three‐dimensional bottom return currents on approximately 30–70 days per year, forming a potentially significant offshore‐directed sediment flux during high suspended‐sediment concentration events on the inner shelf.     

The importance of changing oceanography in controlling late Quaternary carbonate sedimentation on a high-energy, tropical, oceanic ramp: north-western Australia

The North West Shelf is an ocean‐facing carbonate ramp that lies in a warm‐water setting adjacent to an arid hinterland of moderate to low relief. The sea floor is strongly affected by cyclonic storms, long‐period swells and large internal tides, resulting in preferentially accumulating coarse‐grained sediments. Circulation is dominated by the south‐flowing, low‐salinity Leeuwin Current, upwelling associated with the Indian Ocean Gyre, seaward‐flowing saline bottom waters generated by seasonal evaporation, and flashy fluvial discharge. Sediments are palimpsest, a variable mixture of relict, stranded and Holocene grains. Relict intraclasts, both skeletal and lithic, interpreted as having formed during sea‐level highstands of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3 and 4, are now localized to the mid‐ramp. The most conspicuous stranded particles are ooids and peloids, which ¹⁴C dating shows formed at 15·4–12·7 Ka, in somewhat saline waters during initial stages of post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sea‐level rise. It appears that initiation of Leeuwin Current flow with its relatively less saline, but oceanic waters arrested ooid formation such that subsequent benthic Holocene sediment is principally biofragmental, with sedimentation localized to the inner ramp and a ridge of planktic foraminifera offshore. Inner‐ramp deposits are a mixture of heterozoan and photozoan elements. Depositional facies reflect episodic environmental perturbation by riverine‐derived sediments and nutrients, resulting in a mixed habitat of oligotrophic (coral reefs and large benthic foraminifera) and mesotrophic (macroalgae and bryozoans) indicators. Holocene mid‐ramp sediment is heterozoan in character, but sparse, most probably because of the periodic seaward flow of saline bottom waters generated by coastal evaporation. Holocene outer‐ramp sediment is mainly pelagic, veneering shallow‐water sediments of Marine Isotope Stage 2, including LGM deposits. Phosphate accumulations at ≈ 200 m water depth suggest periodic upwelling or Fe‐redox pumping, whereas enhanced near‐surface productivity, probably associated with the interaction between the Leeuwin Current and Indian Ocean surface water, results in a linear ridge of pelagic sediment at ≈ 140 m water depth. This ramp depositional system in an arid climate has important applications for the geological record: inner‐ramp sediments can contain important heterozoan elements, mid‐ramp sediments with bedforms created by internal tides can form in water depths exceeding 50 m, saline outflow can arrest or dramatically slow mid‐ramp sedimentation mimicking maximum flooding intervals, and outer‐ramp planktic productivity can generate locally important fine‐grained carbonate sediment bodies. Changing oceanography during sea‐level rise can profoundly affect sediment composition, sedimentation rate and packaging.     

波浪作用下沙坝剖面形成过程的数值模拟

建立了波浪、底部离岸流、泥沙运动和沙滩剖面演变耦合数学模型,模拟了实验室中波浪作用下沙坝剖面的形成过程,讨论了各个物理参数对剖面上的水动力和地形变化的影响。通过参数率定,较好地复演了不规则波作用下沙滩地形由均匀斜坡向沙坝剖面的演变,波高、底部离岸流、输沙率和剖面演变的计算结果与实测数据吻合良好。采用数值实验和误差分析方法,讨论了破碎波水滚倾角、泥沙扩散系数和床面休止角等物理参数对计算结果的影响。研究表明,所建立的模型能较好地描述波浪作用下沙坝剖面形成过程中的重要物理机制。     

Effect of velocity hiatuses in oscillatory flow on migration and geometry of ripples: wave‐flume experiments

A series of wave‐flume experiments was conducted to closely look at characteristics of geometry and migration of wave‐generated ripples, with particular reference to the effect of velocity ‘hiatuses’ during which the near‐bed flow velocity becomes much smaller than the threshold of sediment movement. Three types of wave patterns were generated: two types for simulating waves with intervening velocity hiatuses; and regular waves for comparison purposes. In the former two types, two different wavelengths of water waves were generated alternately in the course of a wave test: the wave with a longer wavelength was set large enough to mobilize the bottom sediment, whereas the wave with a shorter wavelength was set too small to mobilize the sediment. The former two types were designed to be different in sequence of convexity and concavity of wave patterns. The sequence with the convex–concave longer wave and successive convex–concave shorter wave was described as a ‘zero‐up‐crossing’ wave pattern, and the inverse sequence was described as a ‘zero‐down‐crossing’ wave pattern. The ripples developed under oscillatory flow with intervening hiatuses manifested the following characteristics in geometry and migration. (i) The morphological characteristics of ripples, namely wavelength, height and the ripple steepness, are unaffected by the intervening hiatuses of velocity. (ii) The directions of ripple migration under the zero‐up‐crossing and zero‐down‐crossing wave patterns corresponded well with the directions of the flow immediately before onset of the hiatuses. (iii) The observation of sand particle movement on the ripple surface indicated that, under the zero‐up‐crossing waves, the velocity hiatus prevents the entrained sediment cloud from being thrown onshore, and thus the sediment grains thrown onshore are fewer than those thrown offshore. As a result of the sediment movement over one wave‐cycle, the net sediment transport is directed offshore under the zero‐up‐crossing wave pattern. (iv) The velocity of ripple migration was highly correlated with acceleration skewness. Under most of the zero‐up‐crossing (zero‐down‐crossing) wave patterns, flow acceleration skewed negative (positive) and ripples migrated offshore (onshore).