Characterization of the Structure of River-Bed Gravels Using Two-Dimensional Fractal Analysis

This paper is concerned with the application of fractal analysis to understand the structure of water-worked gravel-bed river surfaces. High resolution digital elevation models, acquired using digital photogrammetric methods, allowed the application of two-dimensional fractal methods. Previous gravel-bed river studies have been based upon sampled profiles and hence one-dimensional fractal characterisation. After basic testing that bed elevation increments are Gaussian, the paper uses two-dimensional variogram surfaces to derive directionally dependent estimates of fractal dimension. The results identify mixed fractal behavior with two characteristic fractal bands, one associated with the subgrain scale and one associated with the grain scale. The subgrain scale characteristics were isotropic and sensitive to decisions made during the data collection process. Thus, it was difficult to differentiate whether these characteristics were real facets of the surfaces studied. The second band was anisotropic and not sensitive to data collection issues. Fractal dimensions were greater in the downstream direction than in other directions suggesting that the effects of water working are to alter the level of surface organisation, by increasing surface irregularity and hence roughness. This is an important observation as it means that water-worked surfaces may have a distinct anisotropic signal, revealed when using a fractal type analysis.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000570

Mid-Cretaceous strata within the Tintina Trench.3 km west of the community of Ross River, contain evidence of deposition in two distinct,alternating,fluvial settings.Coal-bearing,mud-dominated strata are commonly associated with high-constructive sandy channel systems,with extensive overbank. levee and splay deposits.Channels are between 3 and 30 m wide and 0.4-7 m thick.They show repetitive development of side and in-channel bar-forms,as well as up-channel widening of the rivers by selective erosion of associated overbank and levee deposits.Levees extended for several hundred metres away from the channels.In this setting low-angle inclined stratification and epsilon cross stratification may reflect lateral migration of crevasse channels or small streams.The paucity of exposure prevents recognition of the channels as products of multiple channel anastomosed systems or single channel high-constructive systems. Gravel-dominated strata,inter-bedded with,and overlying coal-bearing units,are interpreted as deposits of wandering gravel-bed rivers,with sinuosity approaching 1.4.In most exposures they appear to be dominated by massive and thin planar-bedded granule to small pebble conglomerates,which would traditionally be interpreted as sheet-flood or longitudinal bar deposits of a high-gradient braided stream or alluvial fan.Architectural analysis of exposures in an open-pit shows that the predominance of flat bedding is an artefact of the geometry of the roadside exposures.In the pit the conglomerates are dominated by large scale cross stratification on a scale of 1-5.5 m.These appear to have developed as downstream and lateral accretion elements on side-bars and on in-channel bars in water depths of 2-12 m.Stacking of strata on domed 3rd order surfaces suggests development of longitudinal in-channel bar complexes similar to those observed in parts of the modern Rhone River system.Mudstone preserved in some of the channels reflects intervals of channel abandonment or avulsion.Minimum channel width is from 70 to 450 m.     

An empirical model of subcritical bedform migration

The ability to predict bedform migration in rivers is critical for estimating bed material load, yet there is no relation for predicting bedform migration (downstream translation) that covers the full range of conditions under which subcritical bedforms develop. Here, the relation between bedform migration rates and transport stage is explored using a field and several flume data sets. Transport stage is defined as the non‐dimensional Shields stress divided by its value at the threshold for sediment entrainment. Statistically significant positive correlations between both ripple and dune migration rates and transport stage are found. Stratification of the data by the flow depth to grain‐size ratio improved the amount of variability in migration rates that was explained by transport stage to ca 70%. As transport stage increases for a given depth to grain‐size ratio, migration rates increase. For a given transport stage, the migration rate increases as the flow depth to grain‐size ratio gets smaller. In coarser sediment, bedforms move faster than in finer sediment at the same transport stage. Normalization of dune migration rates by the settling velocity of bed sediment partially collapses the data. Given the large amount of variability that arises from combining data sets from different sources, using different equipment, the partial collapse is remarkable and warrants further testing in the laboratory and field.     

Variability in bedform morphology and kinematics with transport stage

Bedform geometry is widely recognized to be a function of transport stage. Bedform aspect ratio (height/length) increases with transport stage, reaches a maximum, then decreases as bedforms washout to a plane bed. Bedform migration rates are also linked to bedform geometry, in so far as smaller bedforms in coarser sediment tend to migrate faster than larger bedforms in finer sediment. However, how bedform morphology (height, length and shape) and kinematics (translation and deformation) change with transport stage and suspension have not been examined. A series of experiments is presented where initial flow depth and grain size were held constant and the transport stage was varied to produce bedload dominated, mixed‐load dominated and suspended‐load dominated conditions. The results show that the commonly observed pattern in bedform aspect ratio occurs because bedform height increases then decreases with transport stage, against a continuously increasing bedform length. Bedform size variability increased with transport stage, leading to less uniform bedform fields at higher transport stage. Total translation‐related and deformation‐related sediment fluxes all increased with transport stage. However, the relative contribution to the total flux changed. At the bedload dominated stage, translation‐related and deformation‐related flux contributed equally to the total flux. As the transport stage increased, the fraction of the total load contributed by translation increased and the fraction contributed by deformation declined because the bedforms got bigger and moved faster. At the suspended‐load dominated transport stage, the deformation flux increased and the translation flux decreased as a fraction of the total load, approaching one and zero, respectively, as bedforms washed out to a plane bed.     

Mineral Weathering in a Semiarid Mountain River: Its assessment through PHREEQC inverse modeling

By means of PHREEQC inverse modeling, we have simulated the weathering reactions in Los Reartes River, a mountainous (2400–670 m a.s.l.) drainage basin from the Sierras Pampeanas of Córdoba, Argentina, analyzing the effect of lithology, relief, and climate. The steep upper half of the basin (slopes > 20) is occupied by exposed granite; the remaining area is mostly metamorphic, with cropping out gneisses and progressively decreasing slopes (< 6). Climate is semihumid to semiarid; rainfall mainly occurs in summer and decreases with decreasing height. PHREEQC inverse models developed using water chemical data showed that (a) oligoclase was the major supplier of solutes, while the main precipitated phase was kaolinite in the granite domain; (b) muscovite is the chief supplier of solutes and illite is the main precipitated phase in the gneissic realm; (c) the steeper portions of the metamorphic reach are less crucial in supplying solutes than the lower ones, thus highlighting the importance of the water residence time in the kinetics of dissolution; (d) in the driest time of the year (winter, 20 mm/month) we registered the highest production of dissolved and precipitated phases; fluxes (mmol/month), however, are higher at the end of the rainy season; (e) CO₂ consumption is important all along the Los Reartes drainage basin and, in terms of mmol/kg H₂O, the lowermost portion of the basin is the most significant supplier; (f) CO₂ accounts for over 50 of all the species involved in the weathering reactions occurring at the Los Reartes drainage basin.     

Supply‐limited bedform patterns and scaling downstream of a gravel–sand transition

A distinct suite of sand bedforms has been observed to occur in laboratory flows with limited sand supply. As sand supply to the bed progressively increases one observes sand ribbons, discrete barchans and, eventually, channel spanning dunes; but there are relatively few observations of this sequence from natural river channels. Furthermore, there are few observations of transitions from limited sand supply to abundant supply in the field. Bedforms developed under limited, but increasing, sand supply downstream of the abrupt gravel–sand transition in the Fraser River, British Columbia, are examined using multi‐beam swath‐bathymetry obtained at high flow. This is an ideal location to study supply‐limited bedforms because, due to a break in river slope, sand transitions from washload upstream of the gravel–sand transition to bed material load downstream. Immediately downstream, barchanoid and isolated dunes are observed. Most of the bedform field has gaps in the troughs, consistent with sand moving over a flat immobile or weakly mobile gravel bed. Linear, alongstream bedform fields (trains of transverse dunes formed on locally thick, linear deposits of sand) exhibit characteristics of sand ribbons with superimposed bedforms. Further downstream, channel spanning dunes develop where the bed is composed entirely of sand. Depth scaling of the dunes does not emerge in this data set. Only where the channel has accumulated abundant sand on the bed do the dunes exhibit scaling congruent with previous data compilations. The observations suggest that sediment supply plays an important, but often overlooked, role in bedform scaling in rivers.     

Accuracy of dynamic disk-based DDA with respect to a single sliding disk cluster

Disk clusters are developed to represent the shape of granular materials more precisely (compared to circular particles) and to minimise excessive rolling. Investigating the behaviour of dynamic disk-based discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) with disk clusters is very important to evaluate the applicability of disk-based DDA to dynamic problems in geomechanics. In this paper, the accuracy of disk-based DDA under dynamic conditions is studied by a comprehensive sensitivity analysis. The results obtained by disk-based DDA are compared with the analytical solutions of a disk cluster on an incline subjected to gravitational force only, and three different accelerations of increasing complexity with sinusoidal input functions as well as gravitational load. In this research, the effects of time step size and interface friction angles on the results are studied. Overall, most of the error for both velocity and displacement occurs at the beginning of the solution. With increasing friction angle, the initial perturbation of the solution increases in the case of sliding under gravitational force only, and decreases in the case of sliding under dynamic loads. This study shows that disk-based DDA predicts accurately the velocities and displacements derived with respect to the frictional resistance offered by the inclines.     

Identification and significance of ice-flow-transverse subglacial ridges (Rogen moraines) in northern central Ireland

In the Omagh Basin, north central Ireland, subglacial diamict ridges lie transverse to southwestward Late Devensian (ca. 23–13 ka) ice flow. These ridges (0.5–2.5 km long, 100–450 m wide, 15–35 m high), are similar morphologically to Rogen moraines, which have not been described previously from the British Isles. The crests of some transverse ridges are streamlined, cross-cut or overprinted by drumlins, whereas other ridges are unmodified and were not affected by later drumlinisation. At Kilskeery, west–east trending eskers overlying unmodified transverse ridges post-date drumlinisation (17–14 ¹⁴C ka). Esker formation shows that the subglacial thermal regime changed from cold-based, favouring bedform preservation, to warm-based with meltwater flowing through enclosed subglacial channels. Patterns of flow-transverse-ridges and spatial variations in the degree of bedform modification record dynamic changes in regional subglacial environments during the last deglacial cycle. This ice-mass variability cannot be reconciled with current Irish glacial models, which are based on immobile ice centres and ordered stages of ice retreat. In a wider context, these changes in bedform patterns and basal ice regimes have a similar signature to millennial-scale ice-mass oscillations recorded by dated proxy evidence elsewhere in the amphi-North Atlantic. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Statistical properties of sediment bed profiles in alluvial channels

The objective of this study is to investigate in detail the statistical properties of series of bed elevations measured on gravel-bed and sand-bed alluvial channels, in order to identify means of quantifying bed roughness effects on streamflow. The semivariogram is used as the basic statistical method for investigating roughness properties of bed profiles obtained from field work and laboratory experiments. For sand bedforms, the semivariograms include exponential and periodic components from which can be obtained reliable measures of bedform spacing and height, as well as information on the degree of regularity of bedform arrangement. Because of the irregular nature of gravel-bed profiles, the approach in this case uses the semivariogram to investigate fractal properties of series of bed elevations to determine scales of bed roughness associated with grain sizes and small-scale bedforms and to estimate the Hausdorff dimension corresponding to each scale. These superimposed scales of roughness may be responsible for the greater flow resistance generally observed in gravel-bed rivers rather than predicted from the theoretical friction equation.     

Cainozoic Stratigraphy of the lake Eyre basin and part of the arid region lying to the South

The Cainozoic history of the Lake Eyre region opened with a period of deep weathering during which many of the older rocks were extensively kaolinized. Following erosion and later deposition of a thin sheet of Tertiary fluviatile deposits, a period of weathering resulted in the widespread formation of silcrete. Another period of erosion and deposition was followed by soil formation and minor silici‐fication.

An important period of erosion followed during which some of the main elements of the present landscape were outlined. Warping during this interval gave rise to shallow basins in which lacustrine sediments accumulated. At about the same time, a system of mound springs developed near the western margin of the Great Artesian Basin. Another major period of erosion followed, by which time the main topographic features of the present landscape had evolved. This last event probably took place near the close of the Tertiary. Throughout the Tertiary, drainage was external and ancestral Lake Eyre remained fresh.

The Quaternary was characterized by four periods of aeolian and, to a lesser extent, water erosion and deposition alternating with periods of landscape stability, when weathering and soil formation took place.

Throughout the Cainozoic there was an alternation of relatively humid and dry periods, but true aridity and internal drainage did not appear until the Quaternary. Sand ridges were not formed until the late Quaternary. Intervals of gentle warping occurred from time to time during the Tertiary, but the Quaternary has for the most part been a period of stability. These events have given rise to a sequence of distinctive rock and soil‐stratigraphic units whose characteristics are considered in some detail.     

Spatio-temporal variability of bedload transport rate: analysis and 2D modelling approach

Field measurements to calibrate numerical bedload formulae are largely missing. Measurements using a Large Helley-Smith sampler were performed over a period of five years in the large Alpine Drau River, Austria. Our results reveal the high spatio-temporal variability of bedload transport rates. Commonly used bedload predictors poorly describe measured transport rates. Temporal and localised cross-sectional variation in bedload transport rates are observed in short time frames. To obtain significant mean values, the measurement period has to be extended to cover the existing bedload transport periodicity. The discrepancy between bedload transport measurements and simulation is partially explained by local hydraulic variations. The results can be improved, particularly for verticals where most of the bedload occurs, by relating measured transport rates to local hydraulic parameters. The incorporation of local cross-sectional parameters demonstrates the utility of 2D bedload models and their greater predictive power over similar 1D models.     

Sedimentary architecture and 3D ground-penetrating radar analysis of gravelly meandering river deposits (Neckar Valley, SW Germany)

Sedimentological outcrop analysis and sub‐surface ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are combined to characterize the three‐dimensional sedimentary architecture of Quaternary coarse‐grained fluvial deposits in the Neckar Valley (SW Germany). Two units characterized by different architectural styles are distinguished within the upper part of the gravel body, separated by an erosional unconformity: (i) a lower unit dominated by trough‐shaped depositional elements with erosional, concave‐up bounding surfaces that are filled by cross‐bedded sets of mainly openwork and filled framework gravel; and (ii) an upper unit characterized by gently inclined sheets of massive and openwork gravels with thin, sandy interlayers that show lateral accretion on a lower erosional unconformity. The former is interpreted as confluence scour pool elements formed in a multi‐channel, possibly braided river system, the latter as extensive point bar deposits formed by the lateral migration of a meandering river channel. The lateral accretion elements are locally cut by chute channels mainly filled by gravels rich in fines, and by fine‐grained abandoned channel fills. The lateral accretion elements are associated with gravel dune deposits characterized by steeply inclined cross‐beds of alternating open and filled framework gravel. Floodplain fines with a cutbank and point bar morphology cover the gravel deposits. The GPR images, revealing the three‐dimensional geometries of the depositional elements and their stacking patterns, confirm a change in sedimentary style between the two stratigraphic units. The change occurred at the onset of the Holocene, as indicated by ¹⁴C‐dating of wood fragments, and is related to a re‐organization of the fluvial system that probably was driven by climatic changes. The integration of sedimentological and GPR results highlights the heterogeneity of the fluvial deposits, a factor that is important for modelling groundwater flow in valley‐fill aquifers.     

床面形态驱动下潜流交换试验

为揭示河床形态特征引起的潜流交换规律,构建循环式水槽装置,通过NaCl示踪对比分析了4种河床地形驱动下的潜流交换规律,并基于扩散理论探讨了潜流交换与地表水水动力及床沙渗透特性之间的关系.结果表明,潜流交换可以发生在平坦河床地形,且交换速率随地形起伏度和雷诺数的增大而增大;在相似的地形条件下,地表流速是影响潜流交换速率的主导因素,地表水深对潜流交换速率影响较弱;此外,分析表明,有效扩散系数与河床特征粒径之间具有2次方幂率函数关系,且与河床渗透系数成正比;交换深度d正比于雷诺数Re的1/2次方.     

Assessment of sedimentation processes determined from side-scan sonar surveys in the Buffalo River, New York, USA

An assessment of sedimentation processes was made using side-scan sonar records collected over a 15-year period in the Buffalo River, New York, USA. Spatial and temporal changes in natural and man-made bedforms documented sediment erosion, slumping, and sediment depositional sites. Bedforms and sediment texture were used to divide the mapped portion of the river (9 km) into four sedimentary environments, with Section 1 at the upper end and Section 4 near the mouth where the river discharges into the east end of Lake Erie. Based on annual changes in side-scan sonar records, depositional rates decrease in the downriver direction. Section 2, located 5 km from the river’s mouth, contains sedimentary furrows. The persistence of furrows in this portion of the river requires both sediment erosion and deposition under a bidirectional flow regime. Results from this study confirmed that side-scan sonar is a valuable tool in understanding sediment dynamics and can be useful in river restoration decision making.     

Proposed river-linking project of India: a boon or bane to nature

India is a vast country and is highly diversified in terms of natural resources and socio-economic setup. Moreover, its water resources are unevenly distributed in space and time. With increasing population and increasing aspiration for improved standard of living, there is an acute pressure on the demand and availability of water. Though the idea of interlinking of rivers is not a new concept in India, it had rather persisted long back as much as in other countries of ancient civilization. National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has given the real shape to the proposal of the interlinking of rivers of the country. In India the river-linking project in a sensible and scientific manner will not only allow the prevention of the colossal wastage of a vitally important natural resource, mitigate the flood and inundation by detaining flowing surface water of rainy seasons, but also ensure availability of water to drier areas; combating both flood and drought simultaneously. Moreover, this project will generate 34,000 MW of hydropower and irrigation of an additional 35 million hectares (135,135 square miles) of land. Though linking of rivers may initially appear to be a costly proposition in ecological, geological, hydrological and economical terms, in the long run the net benefits coming from it will far outweigh these costs or losses. However, in the absence of any definite international legal framework, Bangladesh has raised objections against the project. This paper aims at looking at this long-term plan, the project proposal, its involvement and impact not only on the states of India, India as a whole, but also on its neighbouring nations which are linked with India through the waterways, and share the common climatic conditions and economic status.     

Response of low‐angle dunes to variable flow

Current understanding of bedform dynamics is largely based on field and laboratory observations of bedforms in steady flow environments. There are relatively few investigations of bedforms in flows dominated by unsteadiness associated with rapidly changing flows or tides. As a consequence, the ability to predict bedform response to variable flow is rudimentary. Using high‐resolution multibeam bathymetric data, this study explores the dynamics of a dune field developed by tidally modulated, fluvially dominated flow in the Fraser River Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. The dunes were dominantly low lee angle features characteristic of large, deep river channels. Data were collected over a field ca 1·0 km long and 0·5 km wide through a complete diurnal tidal cycle during the rising limb of the hydrograph immediately prior to peak freshet, yielding the most comprehensive characterization of low‐angle dunes ever reported. The data show that bedform height and lee angle slope respond to variable flow by declining as the tide ebbs, then increasing as the tide rises and the flow velocities decrease. Bedform lengths do not appear to respond to the changes in velocity caused by the tides. Changes in the bedform height and lee angle have a counterclockwise hysteresis with mean flow velocity, indicating that changes in the bedform geometry lag changes in the flow. The data reveal that lee angle slope responds directly to suspended sediment concentration, supporting previous speculation that low‐angle dune morphology is maintained by erosion of the dune stoss and crest at high flow, and deposition of that material in the dune trough.     

Geomorphological signature and flow dynamics of The Minch palaeo‐ice stream,northwest Scotland

Large‐scale streamlined glacial landforms are identified in 11 areas of northwest Scotland, from the Isle of Skye in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north. These ice‐directional features occur in bedrock and superficial deposits, generally below 350 m above sea level, and where best developed have elongation ratios of >20:1. Sidescan sonar and multibeam echo‐sounding data from The Minch show elongate streamlined ridges and grooves on the seabed, with elongation ratios of up to 70:1. These bedforms are interpreted as mega‐scale glacial lineations. All the features identified formed beneath The Minch palaeo‐ice stream which was ca. 200 km long, up to 50 km wide and drained ca. 15 000 km² of the northwest sector of the last British‐Irish Ice Sheet (Late Devensian Glaciation). Nine ice‐stream tributaries and palaeo‐onset zones are also identified, on the basis of geomorphological evidence. The spatial distribution and pattern of streamlined bedforms around The Minch has enabled the catchment, flow paths and basal shear stresses of the palaeo‐ice stream and its tributaries to be tentatively reconstructed. © British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2007. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unique Aeolian Bedforms of Mars: Transverse Aeolian Ridges

Transverse Aeolian Ridges (TARs) are among the unique aeolian bedforms of Mars, which witnessed a series of investigation for the last two decades thanks to the high-resolution remote sensing data. This paper summarized the understanding with respect to distribution, morphology, sedimentology, formation hypotheses and formation time of TARs. It is suggested that TARs are a kind of aeolian bedforms with meter-scale height and decameter-scale wavelength. TARs are primarily distributed in the equator and low-latitude regions, being rare in high and mid-latitude regions, and more popular in the south hemisphere than in the north hemisphere. Higher albedo and symmetric cross-sections are the most outstanding features of TARs, being analogous to the megaripples and reversing dunes on the Earth. The grain-size distribution of TARs’ sediments is generally bimodal, with granule cover and low thermal inertia. Three formation hypotheses were proposed for TARs: Megaripple hypothesis, reversing dune hypothesis and dust induration hypothesis, with more evidences supporting the megaripple hypothesis. Similar to dunes, TARs are geologically recent morphology on Mars, but generally predate dunes, formed in the last few million years so that most TARs are indurated or lithified and are immobile. However, contemporary mobileTARs are also developed in some regions. The unique features of TARs make them the mostenigmatic aeolian bedforms of Mars. It is proposed that high-resolution information on TARs sedimentology and integrated regional surveying should be listed in the priorities of future Mars exploration with respect to TARs study.     

Evidence of lacustrine sedimentation in the Upper Permian Bijori Formation, Satpura Gondwana basin: Palaeogeographic and tectonic implications

The Upper Permian Bijori Formation of the Satpura Gondwana basin comprising fineto coarse-grained sandstone, carbonaceous shale/mudstone and thin coal bands was previously interpreted as the deposits of meandering rivers. The present study documents abundance of wave ripples, hummocky and swaley cross-stratification and combined flow bedforms in the Bijori Formation, suggesting that a significant part of the formation was deposited in a wave-agitated environment. Evidence of near-emergent depositional conditions provided by repeated occurrence of rootlet beds and hydromorphic paleosols, local flooding surfaces denoting rapid fluctuation of water level, occurrences of temnospondyl vertebrate fossils, and absence of tidal signatures and marine fossils suggest a lacustrine rather than marine depositional regime. Five facies associations recognised within the Bijori Formation are inferred to represent fluvial channels and associated floodplains (FA1), lake shorelines (FA2), subaqueous distributary channels and associated levees (FA3), waveand storm-affected delta front (FA4), and open lacustrine/lower shoreface (FA5) deposits. The planoconcave fluvial channel-fill sandbodies with unidirectional cross-beds are clearly distinguishable from the delta front bars that show a convexo-plan or bi-convex sandbody geometry and dominance of wave and combined flow bedforms. Some of the distributary channels record interaction of fluvial and wave-dominated basinal processes. Major distributary sandbodies show a north to northwest flow direction while wave-affected delta front sandbodies show very complex flow patterns reflecting interaction between fluvial discharge and wave processes. Wave ripple crest trends show that the lake shoreline had an overall east-northeast to west-southwest orientation. The lack of documented contemporaneous lacustrine or marine sediments in the Satpura Gondwana basin posed a major problem of basin-scale palaeogeographic reconstruction. The existence of Bijori lake solves the problem and the lake is inferred to have acted as repository for the contemporaneous alluvial drainage. Development of the large Bijori lake body implies generation of accommodation space exceeding the rate of sediment supplied and thus represents locus of high tectonic subsidence. Transition of fluvial sediments with red mudstone and calcareous soil profile in the lower part of the succession to carbonaceous shale and coal-bearing lacustrine sediments in the upper part, denote a change from a warm semi-arid climate with seasonal rainfall to a more humid one.