Sonic anemometers in aeolian sediment transport research

Fast-response wind and turbulence instruments, including sonic anemometers, are used more and more in aeolian sediment transport research. These instruments give information on mean wind, but also on fluctuations and turbulent statistics, such as the uw covariance, which is a direct measure of Reynolds' stress (RS) and friction velocity. This paper discusses the interpretation of sonic anemometer data, the transformations needed to get proper results and turbulence spectra, and how they are influenced by instrument size, sampling frequency, and measurement height.Turbulence spectra characterize how much the different frequencies in the turbulent signals contribute to the variance of wind speed, or to the covariance of horizontal and vertical wind speed. They are important in determining the measurement strategy when working with fast-response instruments, such as sonic anemometers, and are useful for interpreting the measurement results. Choices on the type of sonic anemometer, observation height, sampling period, sampling frequency, and filtering can be made on the basis of expected high and low-frequency losses in turbulent signals, which are affected by those variables, as well as wind speed and atmospheric stability.Friction velocity and RS, important variables in aeolian sediment transport research, are very sensitive to tilt or slope errors. During a field experiment, the slope sensitivity of the RS was established as 9% per degree of slope, which is 1.5 times the value reported in literature on the basis of theoretical considerations. An important reason for the difference probably is the large influence of streamline curvature on turbulence statistics and thereby on the slope sensitivity of the RS. An error of 9% per degree of slope in the RS will translate into an error of approximately 4% per degree of slope in the calculated friction velocity.Space–time correlation of the horizontal wind speed is much larger than that of the vertical wind speed and the instantaneous RS. This largely explains why, in previous studies, a poor correlation was found between instantaneous RS measured at 3 m height and saltation flux near the surface, whereas the correlation between wind speed at some height and saltation flux was much better. Therefore, the poor correlation between RS away from the surface and saltation flux does not contradict that saltation flux is caused by RS.     

Mobility of a remobilised parabolic dune in Kennemerland, The Netherlands

A parabolic dune in the Netherlands was remobilised in December 1998 by removing vegetation and soil. The main aim of the experiment was ecological: to investigate whether permanent rejuvenation at the landscape scale is possible by restoration of natural processes. If processes can be reactivated at coarse scale, periodic rejuvenation of the landscape over the long term is possible, without the need for managers to interfere further. The experiment provides the opportunity to address another important question: can large parabolic dunes in the Netherlands be mobile in the present climate? Mobility of the dune is investigated by means of erosion pins, aerial photography and measurement of cross sections. Activity indices are derived from erosion pin recordings and correlated to weather conditions. From 1999 to 2001, displacement of the dune ranged from 0 to 12 m in east–northeasterly direction. Activity of the dune is related to wind conditions, but the relationship is strongly influenced by precipitation and therefore differs for wet and dry periods. Periods with extreme wind speeds resulted in much less geomorphic change than expected.     

Patterns of sand transport on vegetated foredunes

The aeolian development of coastal foredunes is studied at two sites along the Dutch coast. Amounts of sand transport are measured in cross-sections over the foredunes, and changes in surface height are monitored. Sand transport decreases rapidly landward of the vegetation boundary. Near the dunefoot, changes in surface roughness and topography generate turbulence and upward flow, causing a small part of the sand to be transported in suspension. Patterns of transport are found to be closely related to air flow, which in turn is related to topography and vegetation density. With steeper topography, the amounts of sand transported landward from the dunefoot increase, if vegetation density is low. During oblique onshore winds, most of the sand accumulates at the dune front. During perpendicular onshore winds, a large proportion of the sand is deposited landward of the slope. When deflection of flow occurs, landward transport of sand is interrupted.     

Theoretical calculation of the yield functions for a Neutron multiplicity analyzer

The yield functions for a neutron multiplicity analyzer of a neutron monitor NM-64 have been calculated for the observed multiplicities 1, 2, 3 and 4. The accuracy of these functions, which is limited by the scattering in the mean lifetimes of the neutrons in the monitor, has been given.     

Tsunami inundation in Napier, New Zealand, due to local earthquake sources

Deterministic analysis of local tsunami generated by subduction zone earthquakes demonstrates the potential for extensive inundation and building damage in Napier, New Zealand. We present the first high-resolution assessments of tsunami inundation in Napier based on full simulation from tsunami generation to inundation and demonstrate the potential variability of onshore impacts due to local earthquakes. In the most extreme scenario, rupture of the whole Hikurangi subduction margin, maximum onshore flow depth exceeds 8.0 m within 200 m of the shore and exceeds 5.0 m in the city centre, with high potential for major damage to buildings. Inundation due to single-segment or splay fault rupture is relatively limited despite the magnitudes of M_W 7.8 and greater. There is approximately 30 min available for evacuation of the inundation zone following a local rupture, and inundation could reach a maximum extent of 4 km. The central city is inundated by up to three waves, and Napier Port could be inundated repeatedly for 12 h. These new data on potential flow depth, arrival time and flow kinematics provide valuable information for tsunami education, exposure analysis and evacuation planning.     

Approaches to stress monitoring in deep boreholes for future CCS projects

There is no monitoring technology available to observe possible changes of stress in the rock mass of a CO₂ reservoir or its cap rock formations. Any development of a stress-monitoring technique must be related to the natural regional stress conditions and must be adjusted to the possibly changing in situ stress conditions due to CCS activity. As a step towards an in situ stress-monitoring probe, a lab scale device was developed and used for investigations on the practicability of a hard-inclusion tool for stress monitoring. In situ stress conditions, as deduced from the Altmark Gas Field, were applied to evaluate the efficiency and the limits of this stress-monitoring technique. At lab-scale the applied stresses resp. stress differences with moderate amounts of 9?C15?% of the vertical stress component Sv coincide sufficiently with the resulting strain answers of the hard inclusion tool (i.e., a steel tube corresponding to the liner in the borehole). Therefore, it was possible to re-calculate the stresses and to compare them with the applied ones. The resulting coincidence, however, can be disturbed at high pressure levels due to rock failure around the borehole with extended deformations. In addition, the results are influenced by the mechanical behaviour of the surrounding rock mass type. Nevertheless, a further development of a hard inclusion probe for monitoring of stress changes in deep boreholes can be successful and may be the only possible way to detect stress changes without fracturing damages in deep boreholes.     

Spatio-Temporal Surface Shear-Stress Variability in Live Plant Canopies and Cube Arrays

This study presents spatiotemporally-resolved measurements of surface shear-stress τ _s in live plant canopies and rigid wooden cube arrays to identify the sheltering capability against sediment erosion of these different roughness elements. Live plants have highly irregular structures that can be extremely flexible and porous resulting in considerable changes to the drag and flow regimes relative to rigid imitations mainly used in other wind-tunnel studies. Mean velocity and kinematic Reynolds stress profiles show that well-developed natural boundary layers were generated above the 8 m long wind-tunnel test section covered with the roughness elements at four different roughness densities (λ = 0, 0.017, 0.08, 0.18). Speed-up around the cubes caused higher peak surface shear stress than in experiments with plants at all roughness densities, demonstrating the more effective sheltering ability of the plants. The sheltered areas in the lee of the plants are significantly narrower with higher surface shear stress than those found in the lee of the cubes, and are dependent on the wind speed due to the plants ability to streamline with the flow. This streamlining behaviour results in a decreasing sheltering effect at increasing wind speeds and in lower net turbulence production than in experiments with cubes. Turbulence intensity distributions suggest a suppression of horseshoe vortices in the plant case. Comparison of the surface shear-stress measurements with sediment erosion patterns shows that the fraction of time a threshold skin friction velocity is exceeded can be used to assess erosion of, and deposition on, that surface.