Sediment deposition from turbidity currents in simulated aquatic vegetation canopies

A laboratory flume experiment was carried out in which the hydrodynamic and sedimentary behaviour of a turbidity current was measured as it passed through an array of vertical rigid cylinders. The cylinders were intended primarily to simulate aquatic vegetation canopies, but could equally be taken to represent other arrays of obstacles, for example forests or offshore wind turbines. The turbidity currents were generated by mixing naturally sourced, poly‐disperse sediment into a reservoir of water at concentrations from 1·0 to 10·0 g l^?1, which was then released into the experimental section of the flume by removing a lock gate. For each initial sediment concentration, runs with obstacle arrays with solid plant fractions of 1·0% and 2·5%, and control cases with no obstacles, were carried out. The progress of the current along the flume was characterized by the array drag term, C_Dax_c (where C_D is the array drag coefficient, at the frontal area of cylinders per unit volume, and x_c is the position of the leading edge of the current along the flume). The downward depositional flux of sediment out of the current as it proceeded was measured at 13 traps along the flume. Analysis of these deposits divided them into fine (2·2 to 6·2 μm) and coarse (6·2 to 104 μm) fractions. At the beginning of their development, the gravity currents proceeded in an inertia‐dominated regime until C_Dax_c = 5. For C_Dax_c > 5, the current transitioned into a drag‐dominated regime. For both fine and coarse sediment fractions, the rate of sediment deposition tended to decrease gradually with distance from the source in the inertial regime, remained approximately constant at the early drag‐dominated regime, and then rose and peaked at the end of the drag‐dominated stage. This implies that, when passing through arrays of obstacles, the turbidity currents were able to retain sufficient sediment in suspension to maintain their flow until they became significantly influenced by the drag exerted by the obstacles.     

Sediment suspension dynamics and a new criterion for the maintenance of turbulent suspensions

The vertical component of the turbulent flow acceleration term, , is used to determine the net positive vertical force that may support a suspended sediment load. A dimensionless criterion, Λ, is proposed for the maintenance of suspension, defined as the ratio of the maximum vertical turbulent stress to immersed weight of the suspended load above a unit bed area. In order that a suspension be maintained: where v ′ is instantaneous vertical turbulent velocity, σ and ρ are solid and fluid densities, respectively and m is the suspended load dry mass. The Λ criterion is dynamic, being a ratio of stresses and is analogous in this respect to Shields dimensionless stress criterion, θ, for the initiation of bedload motion. The new criterion is successful in predicting the maintenance of steady-state suspended sediment transport in open channel shear flow and deposition from non-uniform particulate density flows of wall jet type.     

Kaolinite deposition from moving suspensions: The roles of flocculation,salinity, suspended sediment concentration and flow velocity/bed shear

Understanding how mud moves and deposits is essential for conceptualizing the dynamic nature of surface environments and their ancient counterparts. Experimental study has largely been pursued by civil engineers, using kaolinite as an active ingredient. Yet, applying their data to the physical comprehension of mudstone sedimentology is hampered by multiple flume configurations between labs, and data sets tailored to specific engineering needs. The need for a better grasp of underlying processes is acute, given recent flume studies that show that moving suspensions form large bedload floccules, migrating floccule ripples and bed accretion under currents capable of moving sand grains. To advance mudstone sedimentology, integrated study of suspended sediment concentration, salinity and bed shear stress on the deposition of floccules is crucial. Described here is a set of tightly controlled experiments that explored suspended sediment concentrations from 70 to 900 mg/l, freshwater, brackish and marine salinities, flow velocities in the 5 to 50 cm/s range (equivalent to 0.01 to 0.58 Pa bed shear), measured the size of in-flow and bedload floccules, and the critical velocity of sedimentation that marks the onset of sustained bedload accumulation. The critical velocity of sedimentation of kaolinite clays is in the 26 to 28 cm/s flow velocity range (0.22 to 0.25 Pa), appears insensitive to a wide range of suspended sediment concentrations and salinities, and coincides with the formation of sand-size bedload floccules. Further decrease of flow velocity/bed shear stress is accompanied by a steady increase in the size of bedload floccules. Large bedload floccules appear to form in the high-shear basal part of the flow, a phenomenon requiring further investigation. Better understanding of the mechanisms that facilitate mud deposition from moving suspensions is critical for more realistic assessments of the depositional conditions of mud and mudstones, as well as for refining predictive models for the flux of fine-grained sediments across the Earth's surface.     

A numerical model for sedimentation from highly-concentrated multi-sized suspensions

The principal numerical approach to describing sedimentation from multi-component suspensions (Mirza and Richardson, 1979) has been applied only to systems containing two or three particle size populations, but is theoretically applicable to suspensions containing a wider range of particle sizes. In order to adapt this model to the simulation of sedimentation from natural high-density sediment-laden flows, we have conducted computational tests on the sedimentation of suspensions with up to ten particle size populations. The tests run smoothly with binary systems and sometimes ternary systems, but fail with systems containing more than three particle size populations. One cause of the discrepancy between theoretical predictions and computational tests arises from the method used to calculate the changing concentration of particles in each zone of a stratified settling suspension. In quantifying the changing sediment budget for each sedimentation zone, the equation set fails to include the apparent outflow of finer particle populations across the upper boundary of the zone. In the present study, we express the sediment budget of each particle population within each sedimentation zone as the net sediment flux, the algebraic sum of the apparent particle inflow from the zone's lower boundary and the apparent particle outflow across the zone's upper boundary. This revised model successfully predicts the evolution of multi-component suspensions containing up to ten particle size populations over the length of time required for complete sedimentation, up to 8×10⁵ seconds. It can be used to predict the sediment sorting and the vertical textural variation of beds formed by the simulated sedimentation of a multi-component suspension. The model provides the basis for future computer simulation of sedimentation from highly concentrated sediment flows and for the prediction of downslope textural and structural variations of turbidites.     

Long‐Term Sediment Export Estimates from Northern Jordan using Roman Cisterns as Sediment Traps

Roman cisterns served as rainwater storage devices for centuries and are densely distributed in parts of northern Jordan. A major earthquake hit the region ca. A.D. 750 and in a short time many settlements were abandoned. As a consequence, most cisterns were not maintained, and they filled with sediments that today provide a postabandonment depositional record. In two field surveys, we mapped the locations of more than 100 cisterns in the Wadi Al‐Arab basin and selected two for detailed stratigraphic analysis that included ¹⁴C and optically stimulated luminescence dating. Catchment basin area for each cistern was determined by differential GPS. Both cisterns filled with sediments after the great earthquake and consequent abandonment of the region. Calculated sediment volumes are translated to long‐term average sediment export rates of 2.6–6.6 t ha⁻¹a⁻¹, which are comparable to erosion and sediment yield rates from other studies within the Mediterranean region. Our pilot study suggests that this approach can be applied elsewhere to calculate long‐term sediment export rates on hill slopes containing relict cisterns.     

苏皖凹凸棒石粘土水悬浮液流变性能研究

研究了3种苏皖凹凸棒石粘土水悬浮液的流变性,讨论了矿物种类、粘土颗粒大小、NaCl浓度、pH值、电解质类型、分散剂添加量等影响因素对于凹凸棒石粘土水悬浮液流变性的影响,并用卡森模型对3种凹土流型曲线进行了拟合.结果表明,不同凹土中含有少量不同杂质对流变性能影响不大;经过挤压的土样粘度明显大于原矿粉碎的样品;粘土颗粒大小、溶液pH值、电解质类型、分散剂均会较大程度的影响凹土悬浮液的流变性能,其中分散剂的降粘效果最为明显;而NaCl的浓度增加对凹土悬浮液流变性影响则很小.     

添加絮凝药剂的尾矿砂浆充填材料的单轴抗压强度试验研究

尾矿充填主要包括3种类型：尾矿砂浆充填、尾矿糊状充填（paste fill）和废矿石充填（rock fill）,其中前面两种充填属于水力充填,第3种属于干式充填。3种充填方法在加拿大的矿山都有应用。压缩强度和渗透性是水力充填材料的关键力学特性,直接影响井下充填的效果。一方面,为了使充填材料具有一定的强度,必须在尾矿砂浆（slurry backfill）材料中添加水泥,其用量非常大,水泥在充填成本中占有很大的比例。另一方面,尾矿砂浆水力充填是利用水力旋流器来分级固体颗粒,颗粒较细的部分将通过溢流派到废矿池中,颗粒较粗的部分回收利用作为井下充填的材料使用,有时充填的尾矿数量不够,需要另外购置砂子混合作为充填材料。如何减少水泥的使用量和从水力旋流器底流增加尾矿砂的细颗粒的固体部分产量,以达到节约充填成本的目的,一直是矿山企业所面临的重要课题。为此,专门研究絮凝药剂对尾矿砂浆充填材料的单轴抗压强度的影响。研究结果表明,絮凝药剂能够大幅度地提高尾矿砂浆充填材料的强度,而且絮凝药剂使用量有一个最优值,使强度达到最大。当过量使用絮凝药剂,尾矿砂浆充填材料的强度则有所降低。     

Sediment supply from the Betic-Rif orogen to basins through Neogene

We present a quantification of total and partial (divided by time slices) sedimentary volumes in the Neogene basins of the Betic-Rif orogen. These basins include the Alboran Sea, the intramontane basins, the Guadalquivir and Rharb foreland basins and the Atlantic Margin of the Gibraltar Arc. The total volume of Neogene sediments deposited in these basins is ~ 209,000 km³ and is equally distributed between the internal (Alboran Basin and intramontane basins) and the external basins (foreland basins and Atlantic Margin). The largest volumes are recorded by the Alboran Basin (89,600 km³) and the Atlantic Margin (81,600 km³). The Guadalquivir and Rharb basins amount 14,000 km³ and 14,550 km³, respectively whereas the intramontane basins record 9235 km³. Calculated mean sediment accumulation rates for the early-middle Miocene show an outstanding asymmetry between the Alboran basin (0.24 mm/yr) and the foreland basins (0.06-0.07 mm/yr) and the Atlantic Margin (0.03 mm/yr). During the late Miocene, sedimentation rates range between 0.17 and 0.18 mm/yr recorded in the Alboran Basin and 0.04 mm/yr in the intramontane basins. In the Pliocene-Quaternary, the highest sedimentation rates are recorded in the Atlantic Margin reaching 0.22 mm/yr. Sedimentary contribution shows similar values for the inner and outer basins with a generalized increase from late Miocene to present (from 3500 to 6500 km³/My). Interestingly, the Alboran Basin records the maximum sedimentary contribution during the late Miocene (5500 km³/My), whereas the Atlantic Margin does during the Pliocene-Quaternary (6600 km³/My). The spatial and time variability of the sediment supply from the Betic-Rif orogen to basins is closely related to the morphotectonic evolution of the region. The high sedimentation rates obtained in the Alboran Basin during the early-middle Miocene are related to active extensional tectonics, which produced narrow and deep basins in its western domain. The highest sedimentary contribution in this basin, as well as in the foreland and intramontane basins, is recorded during the late Miocene due to the uplift of wide areas of the Betics and Rif chains. The analysis of the sedimentary supply also evidences strong relationships with the post-Tortonian crustal thickening and coeval topographic amplification that occurred in the central Betics and Rif with the concomitant evolution of the drainage network showing the fluvial capture of some internal basins by rivers draining to the Atlantic Ocean (the ancestral Guadalquivir).     

Coccolithophores from the central Arabian Sea: Sediment trap results

Sediment trap samples collected from a depth of 1018 m in the Central Arabian Sea Trap (CAST) at 14°28.2′N, 64°35.8′E were analyzed for temporal variation of coccolithophore fluxes from October 1993 to August 1994. Out of the twenty species of coccolithophores encountered,Gephyrocapsa oceanica, Emiliania huxleyi, Umbilicosphaera sibogae andUmbellosphaera irregularis were the most abundant. The total coccolithophore fluxes ranged from 28.5 × 10⁶m^-2d^-1 to 50.3 × 10⁶m^-2d^-1 showing seasonality with higher fluxes during the northeast (NE) monsoon and lower fluxes during the spring intermonsoon. The higher fluxes were attributed to the enhancement of primary production in the central Arabian Sea due to southward extent of nutrients from the northeast Arabian Sea by the prevailing surface currents. Similarly, the occurrences of relatively lower coccolithophore fluxes during the spring intermonsoon and southwest (SW) monsoon were attributed to the low nutrients in the warm, shallow surface mixed layer and downwelling to the south of Findlater Jet respectively in the central Arabian Sea. Some of the coccolithophore species such asE. huxleyi, G. oceanica, Calcidiscus leptoporus andUmbellosphaera tenuis showed signs of dissolution.     

洞庭湖和鄱阳湖泥沙冲淤特征及三峡水库对其影响

长江中游江湖关系复杂,分布有中国第一、二大淡水湖泊,江湖关系演变对防洪、生态等影响重大。通过分析反应长江中游洞庭湖和鄱阳湖泥沙冲淤的实测水沙和地形资料,初步掌握了湖区泥沙冲淤特征及主要影响因素,并着重探讨了三峡水库蓄水对两湖泥沙冲淤的影响。结果表明,近10年洞庭湖和鄱阳湖湖区泥沙淤积速度明显减缓,部分年份出现冲刷,其中洞庭湖湖区泥沙沉积率下降主要由来沙减少引起,三峡水库拦沙作用的影响明显;鄱阳湖区冲刷主要集中在入江水道,采砂活动影响显著,三峡水库蓄水影响尚不明显。     

三峡水库135m运行阶段永久船闸下引航道泥沙淤积分析

通过实测三峡水库135m运行阶段永久船闸下引航道及口门区泥沙淤积与水沙因子变化,计算分析了下引航道及口门区的淤积量及分布、拦门沙淤积形态、淤积机理及清淤时机,建立了口门含沙量与长江含沙量、口门斜流流速与长江流量、拦门沙淤积高度与来沙量等关系;并结合倒灌异重流理论,计算验证了下引航道及口门区异重流、环流淤积。结果表明,下引航道及口门区主要集中在主汛期(7~9月)淤积,汛末(10~12月)进行一次清淤即可满足航深要求。     

Sediment dispersal from Vogelsberg Basalt,Hessen, West Germany

Volcanic detritus in sand size stream sediment spreading outward from Vogelsberg extrusive and hypabyssal rocks decreases in abundance from percentages exceeding 90 % to less than 5 % within 20 km of the source area. The rapid decrease results largely from dilution of the stream sediment resulting from disintegration of friable Bunter Sandstone on the plains surrounding the crystalline rocks. The effect is more pronounced in the fine sand fraction of the stream sediment because the Bunter sand is fine grained.If a geologist of the post-Holocene were to sample this stream sand in outcrop, he would have to be located within about 10 km of the present Vogelsberg mass to infer its existence.

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Zusammenfassung Vulkano-klastische Flußsedimente im Korngrößenbereich von Sanden, die sich aus den Ergußgesteinen und hypabyssischen Gesteinen des Vogelsbergs herleiten, nehmen die Häufigkeit von mehr als 90 % bis auf weniger als 5 % innerhalb von 20 km vom Ursprungsgebiet ab.Die starke Abnahme ist als Folge einer Verdünnung der Flußsedimente entstanden. Die Verdünnung ist durch die Zersetzung des leicht verwitterbaren Buntsandsteins auf den Ebenen, die diese vulkanischen Gesteinen geben, verursacht.Da der Buntsandstein von feinkörniger Natur ist, wird der Verdünnungseffekt in der Feinsandfraktion der Flußsedimente besonders deutlich beobachtet.Würde ein Geologe einst Gesteinsproben entnehmen, die aus diesen Sedimenten entstanden sind, so müßte er sich in einem Umkreis von 10 km des heutigen Vogelsberggebietes befinden, um dessen Existenz nachweisen zu können.

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Résumé Les débris volcaniques dans les sédiments fluviaux de granularité sableuse provenant des roches extrusives et hypabyssales du Vogelsberg voient leur proportion décroÎtre de 90 % à moins de 5 % sur une distance de 20 km. à partir de leur origine. Cette décroissance rapide provient principalement de la dilution du sédiment fluvial par suite de la désintégration des grès bigarrés sur les plaines avoisinant les roches cristallines. L'effet est encore plus prononcé dans la fraction fine du sédiment fluvial à cause de la finesse du sable bigarré.Un géologue des temps futurs qui aurait à échantillonner ce sable fluvial dans ses affleurements devrait rester dans les 10 km. de l'actuel Vogelsberg pour en présumer l'existence.

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- , Vogelsberg'a, 20 90% 5%. . . .. , . , , Vogelberg'a 10 , .

     

Sediment incorporation in island-arc magmas: Inferences from 10Be

The radioisotope ¹⁰Be has been used as a tracer to evaluate subduction and recycling of sediments in island arcs. As a cosmogenic isotope strongly enriched in oceanic sediments, it is especially suitable for monitoring sediment subduction.We report here ¹⁰Be results for 106 arc volcanic rocks and 33 basalts from mid-ocean ridges, oceanic islands, continental rifts, and continental flood basalt provinces. The 33 basalts from non-arc environments all contain < 1 × 10⁶ atom/gram (g⁻¹) and form a reference or “control group” against which the arc data may be compared. Lavas from the Sunda, Mariana and Halmahera arcs, each with 12 samples, are indistinguishable from the control group. Nine samples from Japan range from 0.1 × 10⁶ to 13.5 × 10⁶ g⁻¹ of ¹⁰Be. Lavas from the Aleutians and Central America (excluding Costa Rica) consistently have ¹⁰Be contents greater than those of the control group, extending to 15.3 × 10⁶ g⁻¹ for the Aleutians and 24 × 10⁶ g⁻¹ for Central America. Both the Japan and Central American arcs show a geographic variation in ¹⁰Be abundances; the Aleutian arc does not.Conceptually, four models may be used to explain the incorporation of ¹⁰Be in island arcs. Model 1 is the limiting case calculation presented in Brownet al. (1982). Physically, it corresponds to an assumption that all ¹⁰Be in the uppermost sediment layers is carried to depth, the ¹⁰Be is mechanically decoupled from the sediment pile and is added to the arc magma source region. This model results in the highest calculated ¹⁰Be contents in arc lavas. In the more physically reasonable Model 2, the ¹⁰Be-rich upper sediments are assumed to mix with the deeper, ¹⁰Be-poor, sediments and the sediments are subsequently incorporated into the source region. Model 3 assumes ¹⁰Be to be incorporated from sedimentary layers encountered during magma ascent. In Model 4 only sediments contained within grabens in the downgoing slab may be subducted. As yet insufficient data exist to permit conclusive evaluation of these models, but correlations between ¹⁰Be contents in arc volcanic rocks and recent sedimentation rates and sediment thickness, measured outboard of the trench, suggest that Model 2 may be the most important mechanism for ¹⁰Be incorporation in many island arcs.     

东太湖钻孔揭示的重金属污染历史

2009年在东太湖运用重力采样器采集得到岩芯钻孔(DJZ和DQG)。运用核素210Pb和137Cs对沉积物钻孔进行定年,同时分析了沉积物金属元素,并研究近代东太湖重金属污染以及人类活动对其的影响。本文运用Fe元素作为粒度的代用指标对重金属进行标准化,并获取了重金属富集系数和人为污染的重金属通量。研究表明,除了钻孔的表层样以外,东太湖DQG和DJZ钻孔的Pb、Zn、Cu、Cr和Ni的富集系数都不超过2,并且Cr、Ni的富集系数接近1。结果表明最近几十年来的重金属铅、铜、锌在不断富集,尤其是在20世纪70年代以来。20世纪70年代至90年代,东太湖来源于人为污染的Pb、Zn、Cu的通量维持在一定的水平,90年代以来,东太湖来源于人为污染的Pb、Zn、Cu的通量在不断增加,这与区域污染工业类型及经济发展阶段相吻合。东太湖2000s初以来Pb通量特别是人为污染的Pb的通量出现下降,这可能部分与含铅汽油的禁用有关,另外也与该阶段流域工业结构的调整有关。     

泥沙运动引起的环境问题及环境泥沙学

从两个方面,即水环境中的泥沙问题和泥沙运动引起的环境问题出发,说明了环境中泥沙问题的普遍性,指出了结合泥沙运动研究环境问题和结合环境科学研究泥沙问题的重要性和必要性,并将这方面的工作概括为“环境泥沙学”.它研究受泥沙运动影响的污染物(包括泥沙颗粒本身)在环境中的迁移转化规律、控制及其应用,其核心是将水利工程科学主要是水力学、泥沙运动力学和环境科学的某些学科,如环境化学、环境地球化学等结合起来,研究与泥沙运动有关的环境问题,并对其研究内容和方法进行了探讨.这方面工作的深入,必然推动环境科学的加快发展,在某种程度上,也将推动泥沙科学的向前发展和丰富泥沙科学的研究内容.     

Geochemical Reference Samples, Drainage Sediment GSD 1 - 8 from China

A set of eight geochemical standard reference samples of stream sediments was prepared. The original purpose was to use these samples as primary standards for the data quality monitoring of a nation-wide regional geochemical survey program in China. But their use has been soon extended to other fields. Forty-one laboratories in China have joined in a collaborative venture to analyse these samples, using a variety of analytical procedures. Recommended values for over 50 trace and minor elements were derived by a method of repetitive elimination of outliers and calculation of central "tendency" from several central values.     

The Effects of Salinity on Nitrogen Losses from an Oligohaline Estuarine Sediment

Benthic respiration, sediment–water nutrient fluxes, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) were measured in the upper section of the Parker River Estuary from 1993 to 2006. This site experiences large changes in salinity over both short and long time scales. Sediment respiration ranged from 6 to 52 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ and was largely controlled by temperature. Nutrient fluxes were dominated by ammonium fluxes, which ranged from a small uptake of −0.3 to an efflux of over 8.2 mmol N m⁻² day⁻¹. Ammonium fluxes were most highly correlated with salinity and laboratory experiments demonstrated that ammonium fluxes increased when salinity increased. The seasonal pattern of DNRA closely followed salinity. DNRA rates were extremely low in March, less than 0.1 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹, but increased to 2.0 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in August. In contrast, denitrification rates were inversely related to salinity, ranging from 1 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ during the spring and fall to less than 0.2 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ in late summer. Salinity appears to exert a major control on the nitrogen cycle at this site, and partially decouples sediment ammonium fluxes from organic matter decomposition.     

辽东半岛全新世沉积物记录的古气候变化研究进展

全新世气候变化与人类发展关系密切,古气候重建工作对现代气候环境的研究与保护具有很大的借鉴意义,是当今全球变化研究的重点热点之一。从辽东半岛全新世沉积物入手,详细汇总了其分布、类型与岩性情况,并收集主要孢粉及贝壳堤信息对全新世气候及海平面重建成果进行总结与分析。结果表明:1）本区全新世沉积物分布较为分散、层序多样且存在缺失,剖面/钻孔大多集中于辽南地区的金州区、普兰店市、瓦房店市、庄河市及丹东东港市,且多集中于黄海海岸;2）沉积物类型主要为潟湖/湖沼沉积物、海积物、坡积/洪冲积物3种;3）该区全新世气候演变过程为干冷—湿热—干冷的模式,其中8.0～3.0 ka B.P.是气候最适宜期,沉积记录显示在5.6 ka B.P.前后,出现一次降温（变干）事件;4）该区最大的海侵发生在6.5～5.0 ka B.P.,在9.3～8.0 cal. ka B.P.经历了一次海退事件。后期需在技术应用、学科交叉等方面加强研究。     

Patterns of deposition from experimental turbidity currents with reversing buoyancy

Turbidity currents are turbulent, sediment‐laden gravity currents which can be generated in relatively shallow shelf settings and travel downslope before spreading out across deep‐water abyssal plains. Because of the natural stratification of the oceans and/or fresh water river inputs to the source area, the interstitial fluid within which the particles are suspended will often be less dense than the deep‐water ambient fluid. Consequently, a turbidity current may initially be denser than the ambient sea water and propagate as a ground‐hugging flow, but later reverse in buoyancy as its bulk density decreases through sedimentation to become lower than that of the ambient sea water. When this occurs, all or part of the turbidity current lofts to form a buoyant sediment‐laden cloud from which further deposition occurs. Deposition from such lofting turbidity currents, containing a mixture of fine and coarse sediment suspended in light interstitial fluid, is explored through analogue laboratory experiments complemented by theoretical analysis using a ‘box and cloud’ model. Particular attention is paid to the overall deposit geometry and to the distributions of fine and coarse material within the deposit. A range of beds can be deposited by bimodal lofting turbidity currents. Lofting may encourage the formation of tabular beds with a rapid pinch‐out rather than the gradually tapering beds more typical of waning turbidity currents. Lofting may also decouple the fates of the finer and coarser sediment: depending on the initial flow composition, the coarse fraction can be deposited prior to or during buoyancy reversal, while the fine fraction can be swept upwards and away by the lofting cloud. An important feature of the results is the non‐uniqueness of the deposit architecture: different initial current compositions can generate deposits with very similar bed profiles and grading characteristics, highlighting the difficulty of reconstructing the nature of the parent flow from field data. It is proposed that deposit emplacement by lofting turbidity currents is common in the geological record and may explain a range of features observed in deep‐water massive sands, thinly bedded turbidite sequences and linked debrites, depending on the parent flow and its subsequent development. For example, a lofting flow may lead to a well sorted, largely ungraded or weakly graded bed if the fines are transported away by the cloud. However, a poorly sorted, largely ungraded region may form if, during buoyancy reversal, high local concentrations and associated hindered settling effects develop at the base of the cloud.     

Driftwood deposition from debris flows at slit-check dams and fans

Experience shows that debris flows containing large woody debris (driftwood) can be more damaging than debris flows without driftwood. In this study, the deposition process of debris flows carrying driftwood was investigated using numerical simulations and flume experiments. Debris-flow trapping due to driftwood jamming in a slit-check dam was also investigated. A numerical model was developed with an interacting combination of Eulerian expression of the debris flow and Lagrangian expression of the driftwood, in which the fluctuating coordinates and rotation of the driftwood were treated stochastically. The calculated shapes and thicknesses of a debris-flow fan and the positions and orientations of the deposited driftwood on a debris-flow fan were consistent with experimental flume results. The jamming of driftwood in a slit-check dam was evaluated based on geometry and probability. The simulated results of outflow discharge and the proportion of driftwood passed through the slit-check dam also agreed with the experimental results.