Bedload transport and bed resistance associated with density and turbidity currents

Turbidity currents in the ocean are driven by suspended sediment. Yet results from surveys of the modern sea floor and turbidite outcrops indicate that they are capable of transporting as bedload and depositing particles as coarse as cobble sizes. While bedload cannot drive turbidity currents, it can strongly influence the nature of the deposits they emplace. This paper reports on the first set of experiments which focus on bedload transport of granular material by density underflows. These underflows include saline density flows, hybrid saline/turbidity currents and a pure turbidity current. The use of dissolved salt is a surrogate for suspended mud which is so fine that it does not settle out readily. Thus, all the currents can be considered to be model turbidity currents. The data cover four bed conditions: plane bed, dunes, upstream‐migrating antidunes and downstream‐migrating antidunes. The bedload transport relation obtained from the data is very similar to those obtained for open‐channel flows and, in fact, is fitted well by an existing relation determined for open‐channel flows. In the case of dunes and downstream‐migrating antidunes, for which flow separation on the lee sides was observed, form drag falls in a range that is similar to that due to dunes in sand‐bed rivers. This form drag can be removed from the total bed shear stress using an existing relation developed for rivers. Once this form drag is subtracted, the bedload data for these cases collapse to follow the same relation as for plane beds and upstream‐migrating antidunes, for which no flow separation was observed. A relation for flow resistance developed for open‐channel flows agrees well with the data when adapted to density underflows. Comparison of the data with a regime diagram for field‐scale sand‐bed rivers at bankfull flow and field‐scale measurements of turbidity currents at Monterey Submarine Canyon, together with Shields number and densimetric Froude number similarity analyses, provide strong evidence that the experimental relations apply at field scale as well.     

Bedload transport of mud as pedogenic aggregates in modern and ancient rivers

Abundant sand-sized mud aggregates in the Cooper and Diamantina Rivers, Lake Eyre Basin, Australia are attributed to bedload transport of aggregates formed in deeply-cracked floodplain soils. The conditions required for formation of pedogenic mud aggregates are: (i) abundant clay containing at least minor swelling clay, and (ii) a climate with at least seasonally hot dry periods. The worldwide distribution of these soils (Vertisols) suggests that a significant amount of mud is transported as pedogenic aggregates by modern rivers. Ancient analogues in which mud aggregates and Vertisol profiles have been recognized are the Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Connecticut, USA) and the Carboniferous Maringouin Formation (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada). The dominant red mudstones of these formations are interpreted as mainly bedload sediments deposited by sheet floods in semi-arid palaeoclimates. The Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone (NSW, Australia) also contains sand-sized mudstone aggregates, thought to be pedogenic, but its paleosol and other facies point to formation in a wetter palaeoclimate. The indications are that bedload transport of mud as pedogenic aggregates was as significant a process in ancient rivers as it is at present.     

Bedload transport of aggregated muddy alluvium from Cooper Creek, central Australia: a flume study

The ability of mud aggregates to form depositional bedforms is of considerable sedimentological importance for explaining the geomorphology of the Channel Country of central Australia as well as for understanding the depositional environment of certain argillaceous fluvial sequences in the rock record. The sediment transport and bedform development of mud aggregates from the floodplain of Cooper Creek, central Australia, was examined in a laboratory flume over a range of flow conditions. The aggregates were found to be clay-rich (>60% clay), nonsaline (<0·02%), fine sand-sized (mean d₅₀=0·13 mm), low density (2300 kg m^?3) and water-stable. Three wetting rates were applied to the sediment in the laboratory prior to wet sieving to replicate various field conditions and results in three mean aggregate sizes. Immersion wetting (no tension) represents inundation of the sediment by overland flow and results in aggregates of 0·13 mm. Tension wetting at 20 and 50 mm corresponds to high- and low-intensity rainfall and results in mean d₅₀ sizes of 0·75 and 0·70 mm, respectively. Immersion wetting is the most applicable wetting mode for hydraulic transport of aggregated sediment on the Cooper Creek floodplain. Considerable variability in sediment transport rates in the field could result from differences in pre-wetting of the aggregated sediment. The dominance of smectite in the clay mineralogy of the sediment is an important factor in the development of the aggregates; disaggregated sediment reaggregated in a laboratory after 2–3 wetting/drying cycles. In flume experiments, bedforms of aggregated mud ranging from lower-regime plane beds to upper-regime antidunes were observed. The aggregates moved predominantly as bedload with measured peak bedload concentrations being high compared with other flume studies. The highly mobile nature of this sediment in the field is due to the ready entrainment of low-density aggregates in the form of self-mulching vertisols across extensive floodplains. The occurrence of low-sinuosity braid-like channels on this extensive low-gradient semi-arid floodplain can be attributed to: (a) the passage of floodwaters across a floodplain with steeper gradients than adjacent more sinuous anastomosing channels; (b) the highly mobile nature of the low-density sediment aggregates; (c) the ability of the aggregates to be transported as bedload; and (d) their durable nature during transport.     

Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment

Aeolian sand and dust in polar regions are transported offshore over sea ice and released to the ocean during summer melt. This process has long been considered an important contributor to polar sea floor sedimentation and as a source of bioavailable iron that triggers vast phytoplankton blooms. Reported here are aeolian sediment dispersal patterns and accumulation rates varying between 0·2 g m^?2 yr^?1 and 55 g m^?2 yr^?1 over 3000 km² of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, south‐west Ross Sea, adjacent to the largest ice free area in Antarctica. Sediment distribution and the abundance of southern McMurdo Volcanic Group‐derived glass, show that most sediment originates from the McMurdo Ice Shelf and nearby coastal outcrops. Almost no sediment is derived from the extensive ice free areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys due to winnowed surficial layers shielding sand‐sized and silt‐sized material from wind erosion and because of the imposing topographic barrier of the north‐south aligned piedmont glaciers. Southerly winds of intermediate strength (ca 20 m sec^?1) are primarily responsible for transporting sediment northwards and offshore. The results presented here indicate that sand‐sized sediment does not travel more than ca 5 km offshore, but very‐fine sand and silt grains can travel >100 km from source. For sites >10 km from the coast, the mass accumulation rate is relatively uniform (1·14 ± 0·57 g m^?2 yr^?1), three orders of magnitude above estimated global atmospheric dust values for the region. This uniformity represents a sea floor sedimentation rate of only 0·2 cm kyr^?1, well below the rates of >9 cm kyr^?1 reported for biogenic‐dominated sedimentation measured over much of the Ross Sea. These results show that, even for this region of high‐windblown sediment flux, aeolian processes are only a minor contributor to sea floor sedimentation, excepting areas proximal to coastal sources.     

Side-scan targets in Lake Superior—evidence for bedforms and sediment transport

A high-resolution side-scan sonar survey of the lake bed off the Keweenaw Peninsula, Lake Superior, demonstrates that bottom currents are affecting lake bed morphology at depths up to 240 m. Numerous lineations which run parallel to the shore appear to be sand ribbons. A field of sedimentary furrows which occurs in one area demonstrates the long-term directional stability of the near-bottom flow. Large (100–300 m in diameter, 2–5 m deep), unusual ring-like or arcuate depressions are common throughout the western half of Lake Superior. These rings themselves do not appear to have been formed by bottom currents, but may have developed as water was released by the rapid compaction of glacial sediments which underlie the lake bed. Off the Keweenaw Peninsula the forms of the rings have been modified by bottom currents. The bottom currents which have modified the lake bed are probably generated when storms cross the lake at times when it is poorly stratified.     

输沙能力模式在坡面非恒定输沙过程中的应用

在坡面土壤侵蚀输沙计算中,可选用的输沙能力模式较多,但这些模式多运用于恒定输沙,在非恒定输沙中运用不多。建立了坡面土壤侵蚀非恒定输沙数学模型,模型中的输沙能力运用水流切应力、水流功率、单位水流功率3种模式,对模型过程采用有限差分格式离散求解。根据实测水沙资料进行模型参数率定,运用3种输沙能力模式于不同降雨强度、不同坡度的非恒定坡面输沙过程中。结果表明:在坡面非恒定输沙计算中,不同输沙能力模式对计算结果有明显影响,在降雨强度较小时,单位水流功率模式结果较其他两个模式为好,而在雨强较大时,切应力模式计算结果较好。     

Beach fetch distance and aeolian sediment transport

An experiment was conducted to examine the influence of fetch distance on aeolian sediment transport on a natural sand beach at Benone Strand, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The site consisted of a wide dissipative beach, approximately 150 m wide at low tide and 80 m wide during high tide. Surface moisture levels (and hence dry fetch distance) were dictated by both local groundwater, from a stream outlet across the beach, as well as local tidal levels. An abundant dry sediment supply was available during the experiment. High-resolution (1 Hz) measurements were made of wind speed and direction along with sediment flux. Wind velocity ranged from 2·1 to 8·1 m s^–1 during the study. Second-order polynomial sand transport equations were derived from the wind speed and trap results with r ² values of better than 0·93 for all data. When the data were sorted into velocity bins of 1 m s^–1, there was no discernible relationship between fetch distance and sand transport, with a measured fetch distance range of 10–58 m available during the experiment. Results show that fetch distance is unimportant when an adequate sand supply is available. However, it is suggested that fetch may restrict the development of steady-state transport under sediment-limited conditions. Sediment availability is thus identified as a key variable in aeolian transport studies on natural beaches.     

Seasonal cycling of estuarine sediment and contaminant transport

The seasonal cycling of fine sediment in the upper reaches of a hypothetical macrotidal estuary and its possible consequences for the behaviour of a contaminant which partitions between dissolved and particulate forms are investigated theoretically. The simplest one-dimensional models are used as a starting point for future studies: (a) a within-tide hydrodynamic (tidal) model, (b) an associated sediment transport model and (c) a tidally-averaged contaminant dispersal model. The calculations are made for a four-year period and show that a cyclic migration of mobile sediment occurs in the upper reaches of the estuary. Sediment accumulates during spring to late summer, and is redistributed in the lower estuary during high runoff periods (autumn and winter). For a fluvial input of contaminant, the dissolved contaminant levels during summer are greatly depressed below conservative mixing values in the upper (turbidity maximum) region, whereas they are slightly enhanced in the lower reaches. During winter, the levels are substantially greater than conservative values except for a slight depression at very low salinities. Thus, sediment here acts as a source of contaminant for most of the salinity range. For a marine input of contaminant, levels are enhanced above the conservative mixing line at low salinities throughout the year, the effect being much larger during summer.     

Deriving transport pathways in a sediment trend analysis (STA)

Sediment trend analysis (STA) is a technique that enables patterns of net sediment transport to be determined by relative changes in grain-size distributions of all naturally occurring sediments. In addition, STA can determine the dynamic behaviour of bottom sediments with respect to erosion, accretion or dynamic equilibrium. The data requirements for STA are the full grain-size distributions taken from sediment grab samples collected at a regular spacing over a particular area of interest. Two types of methods are presently used in the derivation of the transport pathways: a line-by-line approach, in which transport pathways are determined by searching for sample sequences in which the distributions change, in a statistically acceptable manner; and various vector approaches, in which each sample is compared to neighbouring sites from which a vector sum is calculated.The basic assumption for STA is that the processes that cause sediment transport will affect the statistics of sediment distributions in a predictable way. In reality, this type of analysis is complicated through the inclusion of a number of uncertainties, or noise. The goal of STA is to extract the information (the transport pathways) from the noisy signal (the grain-size distributions), an approach that is made difficult because neither the nature of the information nor the noise is known. Because of this, obtaining results by simply applying its theory in a “black-box” approach may provide poor solutions.The line-by-line approach to STA draws from communications theory to achieve a solution. In some communications systems, the information from many sources is combined into one signal. The resulting signal is, from a statistical viewpoint, nothing but noise. The extraction of specific information assumes that information is indeed present, and determines if that assumption is consistent with the received signal. For STA, the procedure is to assume a transport direction over an area comprising many sample sites. From this assumption, the predicted sediment trends are compared with the pathways determined by the actual samples. The assumed transport direction is repeatedly modified until the best fit is achieved.Vector techniques may be very helpful to provide insights and guidance to the line-by-line approach. However, the approach is ultimately necessary to finalize a credible solution as well as providing important further information on the dynamic behaviour of the sediments, and to delineate specific sediment transport environments.     

Sand waves and sediment transport around the end of a tidal sand bank

Two detailed surveys have been made of the north-western end of the Haisborough Sand off the Norfolk coast using echosounder, 3-5 kHz reflection profiler and side-scan sonar. Asymmetrical sand waves indicate north-westerly sand movement on the southern side and south-easterly sand movement on the steeper northern side of the bank. Secondary, superimposed megaripples, which are probably better indicators of sediment movement, give evidence of a cross-bank component. Between the north-westerly and south-easterly facing sand waves on the tip of the bank there is a zone of symmetrical sand waves. These are usually taken to indicate zero net transport, but in this case the oblique orientation of megaripples in their troughs indicates transport parallel to the sand wave crests. This suggests the route by which sand travels around the end of the bank to form a roughly closed circulation. Sediment textural parameters support the notion that sand is winnowed from the foot of the bank on both sides and is transported to the middle with an overall net transport from the south to the north. Analysis of charts dating back to 1886 shows that the bank is stable within the error limits of position fixing, though that could allow more than 0-25 km shift to the north east in 100 years to pass undetected. A box model is drawn up for the estimated sediment fluxes around the end of the bank, and implications for residence times and circulation rates are drawn from it.     

Deducing sediment transport direction and the relative importance of rivers on a tropical microtidal beach using the "McLaren model"

 Analyses of the sedimentological trend from 90 samples collected at 1-km intervals along a tropical microtidal coastline of northern Terengganu indicate that the preferred sediment transport direction was northwards, following the McLaren model. The extent of disruption to and reestablishment of the sedimentological trend on beaches north of two river mouths within the study area was used to determine their relative importance in supplying sediment to the beaches. The extent of disruption to the sedimentological trend was 18 and 14 km for the beaches north of the Terengganu and Setiu River mouths, respectively. This suggests that the Terengganu River is more important in supplying sediments to the beach than the Setiu River. To a limited extent this study showed that the McLaren model can be applied to deduce sediment transport direction on a microtidal coastline, while disruption to the sedimentological trend adjacent to river mouths can be used to compare the relative importance of rivers in supplying sediments, provided that the disruption to the sedimentological trend is small enough so as to allow for the trend to be discernible again further along the transport path. Received: 8 May 1997 · Accepted: 12 August 1997     

莱州湾悬沙输运机制研究

基于2012年实测的潮流、含沙量及表层沉积物数据及资料等,分析了潮流、余流、潮流底应力及底质类型对含沙量变化的影响,并运用物质通量分析方法,探讨了莱州湾悬浮泥沙的输运机制.研究结果表明:研究海域受半日潮控制呈往复流特征,涨、落潮期间近底含沙量与流速及潮流底应力显著相关,存在明显的再悬浮现象,含沙量呈现潮周期变化特征;底质类型与含沙量大小密切相关,细颗粒物质更容易发生悬浮;平流输运与潮泵效应是莱州湾海域的悬沙输运的主要动力因素.     

河流水化学特性与流域泥沙输移的相关性研究

河流中的离子输移与泥沙运动有着密切的关系,通过对流域侵蚀过程中物理化学作用分析指出,流域的离子溶出与流域泥沙侵蚀过程具有伴随性,相应的泥沙和离子输移也具有相关性.通过研究嘉陵江和渭河干流站点的离子输移与泥沙输移的实测资料得出,河流离子输移量与泥沙输移量具有明显的正相关关系.河流中不同种类的离子输移与泥沙输移的相关程度不同,不同河流二者相关关系存在着一定的差异.     

Cross-shore distribution of longshore sediment transport rates on a barred non-tidal beach

This study was conducted to relate the cross-shore distribution of longshore sediment transport and grain size characteristics to cross-shore and longshore current velocities on a sandy low-energy beach in a non-tidal embayment of the Baltic Sea. Simultaneous measurements of current velocities and amount of sand caught in streamer traps were made on 31 sampling runs on 6 d in April 1999 at three fixed sites including the swash zone on the upper foreshore, the lower foreshore, and the crest of the most landward of four bars. Spilling waves broke frequently on the bar but rarely on the lower foreshore, even during onshore wind speeds up to 11.0 m s⁻¹. Waves always broke as plunging waves at the step at the base of the upper foreshore and were converted directly into swash. The greatest longshore current velocities in the swash occurred when wind speeds and water levels were greatest, but wind direction was nearly directly onshore. Longshore velocities were greater in the swash zone than at other sites except when relatively strong winds blew nearly parallel to the shoreline, causing a pronounced wind-induced current at the other two sites. Calculated longshore shear stress and rate of sediment trapped were highly correlated on the bar (r=0.90), less highly correlated in the swash zone, and least highly correlated (r=0.66) on the lower foreshore. Mean trapping rates in the swash were 14.6 times greater than on the lower foreshore and 7.2 times greater than on the bar. Greater trapping rates in the swash are attributed to the greater turbulence mobilizing sediments in the uprush and backwash. Little of the finer-grained sediment on the offshore sites was reworked under low energy conditions. The study reveals the dominance of swash transport on steep, reflective, low-energy beaches where wave energy dissipation takes place over small distances on the upper foreshore.     

A quantitative vulnerability function for fluvial sediment transport

In quantitative risk assessment, risk is expressed as a function of hazard, elements at risk exposed, and vulnerability. Vulnerability is defined as the expected degree of loss for an element at risk as a consequence of a certain event, following a natural-scientific approach combined with economic methods of loss appraisal. The resulting value ranges from 0 (no damage) to 1 (complete destruction). With respect to torrent processes, i.e., fluvial sediment transport, this concept of vulnerability—though widely acknowledged—did not result in sound quantitative relationships between process intensities and associated degrees of loss so far, even if considerable loss occurred during recent years. To close this gap and establish this relationship, data from three well-documented torrent events in the Austrian Alps were used to derive a quantitative vulnerability function applicable to residential buildings located on torrent fans. The method applied followed a spatially explicit empirical approach within a GIS environment and was based on process intensities, the spatial characteristics of elements at risk, and average reconstruction values on a local scale. Additionally, loss data were collected from responsible administrative bodies and analysed on an object level. The results suggest a modified Weibull distribution to fit best to the observed damage pattern if intensity is quantified in absolute values, and a modified Frechet distribution if intensity is quantified relatively in relation to the individual building height. Additionally, uncertainties resulting from such an empirical approach were studied; in relation to the data quality a 90% confidence band was found to represent the data range appropriately. The vulnerability relationship obtained allows for an enhanced quantification of torrent risk, but also for an inclusion in comprehensive vulnerability models including physical, social, economic, and institutional vulnerability. As a result, vulnerability to mountain hazards might decrease in the future.     

Bank-derived carbonate sediment transport and dissolution in the Hawaiian Archipelago

This investigation used two approaches to examine the flux of bank-derived carbonate particles and determine the potential influence of benthic carbonate particle dissolution on the carbon chemistry of the waters around the Hawaiian Archipelago. First, the particle flux near several representative carbonate banks in the Hawaiian Archipelago was measured and compared with the flux at a distal site (ALOHA) approximately 100 km north of Oahu, Hawaii. The results of four sediment trap deployments on three carbonate banks in the Hawaiian Archipelago demonstrate that the flux of bank-derived carbonate particles are consistently one to two orders of magnitude higher than the fluxes at the distal station. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the carbonate flux near the banks, which includes very soluble bank-derived aragonite and magnesian calcite particles, is distinctly different from that of the distal fluxes. Second, the chemistry of the waters at each bank station along the archipelago was characterized and compared with the chemistry of the distal waters to determine if differences in the particle flux were reflected in the carbon chemistry. Higher alkalinity and carbonate ion concentrations were observed around all of the banks studied. The saturation state of these waters suggests that the dissolution of some magnesian calcite and aragonite phases could explain the higher alkalinity values. Calculations suggest that the dissolution of benthically-derived aragonite and magnesian calcite may be an important component of the North Pacific alkalinity budget and a potential sink for anthropogenic CO₂.     

Boundary skin friction and sediment transport about an animal-tube mimic

ABSTRACT
A flume study was made of fluid flow, boundary skin friction, and sediment transport about an animal-tube mimic. The effect of a tube on momentum transfer depends most strongly on its height. A tube increases the net boundary skin friction locally and tends to promote sediment entrainment near its base. Flow in this region appears to be governed by the same similarity laws that apply to cylinders with much larger body Reynolds number. Particles travelling as suspended load may be deposited immediately downstream of the tube. The net sedimentological effect of any tube (i.e. deposition or scour) will depend both on its height and on the boundary shear stress imposed by the external flow. The near-wake region of a tube is dominated by a strong cross-stream exchange of momentum. Wake perturbations decay downstream seemingly in accordance with similarity laws which also govern mounted, two-dimensional structures.     

On the relationship between flow and suspended sediment transport over the crest of a sand dune, Río Paraná, Argentina

The links between large‐scale turbulence and the suspension of sediment over alluvial bedforms have generated considerable interest in the last few decades, with past studies illustrating the origin of such turbulence and its influence on flow resistance, sediment transport and bedform morphology. In this study of turbulence and sediment suspension over large sand dunes in the Río Paraná, Argentina, time series of three‐dimensional velocity, and at‐a‐point suspended sediment concentration and particle‐size, were measured with an acoustic Doppler current profiler and laser in situ scattering transmissometer, respectively. These time series were decomposed using wavelet analysis to investigate the scales of covariation of flow velocity and suspended sediment. The analysis reveals an inverse relationship between streamwise and vertical velocities over the dune crest, where streamwise flow deceleration is linked to the vertical flux of fluid towards the water surface in the form of large turbulent fluid ejections. Regions of high suspended sediment concentration are found to correlate well with such events. The frequencies of these turbulent events have been assessed from wavelet analysis and found to concentrate in two zones that closely match predictions from empirical equations. Such a finding suggests that a combination and interaction of vortex shedding and wake flapping/changing length of the lee‐side separation zone are the principal contributors to the turbulent flow field associated with such large alluvial sand dunes. Wavelet analysis provides insight upon the temporal and spatial evolution of these coherent flow structures, including information on the topology of dune‐related turbulent flow structures. At the flow stage investigated, the turbulent flow events, and their associated high suspended sediment concentrations, are seen to grow with height above the bed until a threshold height (ca 0·45 flow depth) is reached, above which they begin to decay and dissipate.