Modern subaerial sand beds deposited by major tsunamis and hurricanes were compared at trench, transect, and sub-regional spatial scales to evaluate which attributes are most useful for distinguishing the two types of deposits. Physical criteria that may be diagnostic include: sediment composition, textures and grading, types and organization of stratification, thickness, geometry, and landscape conformity.
Published reports of Pacific Ocean tsunami impacts and our field observations suggest that sandy tsunami deposits are generally < 25 cm thick, extend hundreds of meters inland from the beach, and fill microtopography but generally conform to the antecedent landscape. They commonly are a single homogeneous bed that is normally graded overall, or that consists of only a few thin layers. Mud intraclasts and mud laminae within the deposit are strong evidence of tsunami deposition. Twig orientation or other indicators of return flow during bed aggradation are also diagnostic of tsunami deposits. Sandy storm deposits tend to be > 30 cm thick, generally extend < 300 m from the beach, and will not advance beyond the antecedent macrotopography they are able to fill. They typically are composed of numerous subhorizontal planar laminae organized into multiple laminasets that are normally or inversely graded, they do not contain internal mud laminae and rarely contain mud intraclasts. Application of these distinguishing characteristics depends on their preservation potential and any deposit modifications that accompany burial.
The distinctions between tsunami and storm deposits are related to differences in the hydrodynamics and sediment-sorting processes during transport. Tsunami deposition results from a few high-velocity, long-period waves that entrain sediment from the shoreface, beach, and landward erosion zone. Tsunamis can have flow depths greater than 10 m, transport sediment primarily in suspension, and distribute the load over a broad region where sediment falls out of suspension when flow decelerates. In contrast, storm inundation generally is gradual and prolonged, consisting of many waves that erode beaches and dunes with no significant overland return flow until after the main flooding. Storm flow depths are commonly < 3 m, sediment is transported primarily as bed load by traction, and the load is deposited within a zone relatively close to the beach. 相似文献
Here we investigate geochemical characteristics of sediment in different compartments of a karst aquifer and demonstrate
that mobile sediments in a karst aquifer can exhibit a wide range of properties affecting their contaminant transport potential.
Sediment samples were collected from surface streams, sinkholes, caves, wells, and springs of a karst aquifer (the Barton
Springs portion of the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer, Central Texas) and their mineralogy, grain-size distribution,
organic carbon content, and specific surface area analyzed. Statistical analysis of the sediments separated the sampling sites
into three distinct groups: (1) streambeds, sinkholes, and small springs; (2) wells; and (3) caves. Sediments from the primary
discharge spring were a mix of these three groups. High organic carbon content and high specific surface area gives some sediments
an increased potential to transport contaminants; the volume of these sediments is likely to increase with continued urbanization
of the watershed.
Received: 13 April 1998 · Accepted: 6 October 1998 相似文献
The imbalance between incoming and outgoing salt causes salinization of soils and sub-soils that result in increasing the
salinity of stream-flows and agriculture land. This salinization is a serious environmental hazard particularly in semi-arid
and arid lands. In order to estimate the magnitude of the hazard posed by salinity, it is important to understand and identify
the processes that control salt movement from the soil surface through the root zone to the ground water and stream flows.
In the present study, Malaprabha sub-basin (up to dam site) has been selected which has two distinct climatic zones, sub-humid
(upstream of Khanapur) and semi-arid region (downstream of Khanapur). In the upstream, both surface and ground waters are
used for irrigation, whereas in the downstream mostly groundwater is used. Both soils and ground waters are more saline in
downstream parts of the study area. In this study we characterized the soil salinity and groundwater quality in both areas.
An attempt is also made to model the distribution of potassium concentration in the soil profile in response to varying irrigation
conditions using the SWIM (Soil-Water Infiltration and Movement) model. Fair agreement was obtained between predicted and
measured results indicating the applicability of the model. 相似文献