Drag and Sediment Dispersion Over Sand Waves

Estimates of the drag coefficient over sand waves during calm weather in the southern North Sea have been obtained from measurements of the water slope and currents at different heights (z) above the sea-bed using the log profile and momentum balance methods. An observed phase difference between principal terms in the momentum balance equation is examined theoretically. Drag coefficient estimates are found to agree broadly with previous studies. Owing to bedform asymmetry, average drag coefficient values obtained atz=1 m (C₁₀₀) are found to be 0·0021 and 0·0029 for flood and ebb tides, respectively. Systematic changes in bed roughness are not detected. Using a momentum balance approach, the average drag coefficient value (C_d) atz=10 m is found to be 0·0056. Changes in 10-min averageC_dvalues over sand waves during the tidal cycle are found to be small with bedform asymmetry having no detectable effect. Correlation betweenC_dandC₁₀₀is found to be poor and separation of skin friction and form drag terms is not possible with existing measurements. The inclusion of form drag inC₁₀₀values at the present site leads to over-estimation of the bed shear stress ({q) available to mobilize and transport sediment. Mobile sediment, detected through the use of tracers and a transmissometer, was not found to have any measurable effect on eitherC_dorC₁₀₀in calm weather conditions.     

Modeling of the Turbulence in the Water Column under Breaking Wind Waves

Past studies have shown that there is a wave-enhanced, near-surface mixed-layer in which the dissipation rate is greater than that derived from the “law of the wall”. In this study, turbulence in water columns under wind breaking waves is investigated numerically and analytically. Improved estimations of dissipation rate are parameterized as surface source of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) for a more accurate modelling of vertical profile of velocity and TKE in the water column. The simulation results have been compared with the experimental results obtained by Cheung and Street (1988) and Kitaigorodskii et al. (1983), with good agreement. The results show that the numerical full model can well simulate the near-surface wave-enhanced layer and suggest that the vertical diffusive coefficients are highly empirical and related to the TKE diffusion, the shear production and the dissipation. Analytical solutions of TKE are also derived for near surface layer and in deep water respectively. Near the surface layer, the dissipation rate is assumed to be balanced by the TKE diffusion to obtain the analytical solution; however, the balance between the dissipation and the shear production is applied at the deep layer. The analytical results in various layers are compared with that of the full numerical model, which confirms that the wave-enhanced layer near the surface is a diffusion-dominated region. The influence of the wave energy factor is also examined, which increases the surface TKE flux with the wave development. Under this region, the water behavior transits to satisfy the classic law of the wall. Below the transition depth, the shear production dominantly balances the dissipation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Discrepancy and Applicability of Various Similarity Functions in Flux Calculations Under Stable Conditions

Based on data obtained during the Hualhe River Basin Experiment （HUBEX） in 1999, this study intends to detect the quantitative discrepancies in the momentum （τ0）, sensible heat （H0） and latent heat （E0） fluxes among six sets of similarity functions with the aerodynamic method. It also aims to clarify the applicability of the functions under stable conditions. The relative discrepancy was studied with the normalized transfer coefficients for τ0, H0 and E0, namely CD, CH and CQ, respectively. Except for one set of functions that adopted a rather small von Kármán＇s constant （0.365）, the relative discrepancy in τ0 among the other functions was less than 10%, while that in H0（E0） sometimes reached 25% when the bulk Richardson number （R/B） was less than 0.07. The absolute discrepancy in the fluxes was studied with statistical computations. Among the six sets of functions, the discrepancy in τ0, H0 and E0 sometimes reached 0.03 kg m^-1 s^-2, 4 W m^-2 and 10 W m^-2, respectively, and the discrepancy in the energy balance ratio sometimes exceeded 0.1. Furthermore, when RiB exceeded the critical value （Ric） for a specific set of functions, no fluxes could be derived with the functions. It is therefore suggested that RiB be compared with Ric before computing the fluxes if RiB is less than Ric. Finally, two sets of nonlinear similarity functions are recommended, due to their unlimited applicability in terms of RiB.     

Rock surface millimetre‐scale roughness and weathering of supratidal Mallorcan carbonate coasts (Balearic Islands)

Quantitative data on rock surface millimetre‐scale roughness are presented concerning the splash and spray geomorphologic domains of two coastal profiles developed on Mediterranean carbonate rocks. Differences of the roughness characteristics are attributed to rock properties, weathering agents and bioerosion. In the splash zone, roughness is related to sparsely distributed patterns of bioerosion, salt weathering and wave attack. In the spray zone, smooth surfaces seem to be the response to the solution processes that predominate, exerting a more homogenous influence on rock surface evolution. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SURFACE IMBALANCE ENERGY CALCULATED AND ANALYZED WITH THE DATA OF EBEX-2000*

Mainly.three methods have been developed to calculate turbulence heat flux.They are eddy covariance method,Bowen ratio/energy balance method and aerodynamic method.In this paper, all the three methods have been used to calculate sensible heat flux,latent heat flux and imbalance energy near the surface with the experiment data of EBEX-2000.Then comparisons of the three methods and some possible explanations of the surface imbalance energy are given.     

Assessment of Dem Quality for Characterizing Surface Roughness Using Close Range Digital Photogrammetry

This paper presents a procedure for assessing the quality of a digital elevation model (DEM) which has been applied to the output of a normalized cross correlation based stereomatching algorithm. Using semimetric photography of natural gravel river bed surfaces acquired in the field, digital photogrammetry was used to extract DEMs automatically for use in characterizing surface roughness properties. The procedure for assessing DEM quality involves examination of (i) ortho-images, to provide a qualitative check on stereomatching performance; (ii) DEM collection statistics which quantify the percentage of correctly matched pixels as a function of those interpolated; and (iii) height differences between check points, measured using independent field survey, and corresponding DEM points. The concepts of precision, accuracy and reliability are defined in the context of DEM quality assessment and methods are outlined which can be used to assess these variables. The assessment is conducted for two adjacent stereopairs with similar characteristics, considering the effects of both DEM collection parameters and different lens models upon DEM quality. Results show that digital photogrammetry, in conjunction with independent field survey, can be used successfully for extracting high resolution, small scale DEMs from natural gravel surfaces. Components (i) and (ii) of the quality assessment suggest the need to optimize DEM collection parameters, although the effects of not using a properly specified lens model were minimal at this scale. Method (iii) showed that increasing stereomatching success does not necessarily lead to more accurately estimated DEM points. However, the use of method (iii) remained difficult because of the scale of the photogrammetric application being used; check point positioning within the photogrammetric co-ordinate system was only possible to ±10 mm which, for a gravel bed surface, was associated with elevation variance of a similar, sometimes greater, magnitude. The next stage of this research will require the use of higher quality check data, possibly from laser profiling.     

Stability Dependence of Height Scales and Effective Roughness Lengths of Momentum and Heat Transfer Over Roughness Changes

It is widely accepted that the correct formulation of an effective roughness length, defined as the area average of the roughness length in heterogeneous terrain, relies upon the appropriate de-termination of a height scale. At this height a meteorological quantity is approximately in equilibrium with local surface conditions and independent of horizontal position. This research note determines explicitly the different height scales from the perturbation solutions of flow velocity and temperature, as well as the fluxes of momentum and heat, in a stratified boundary layer. These solutions are derived from the asymptotic approximation theory and shown to capture major characteristics of momentum and heat transfer over heterogeneous terrain with changes of the underlying roughness lengths. The effective roughness lengths can then be computed by use of these height scales. The dependence of height scales and effective roughness lengths upon stratification is also discussed briefly.     

Wind effects on sediment transport by raindrop‐impacted shallow flow: a wind‐tunnel study

In wind‐driven rains, wind velocity and direction are expected to affect not only energy input of rains but also shallow ?ow hydraulics by changing roughness induced by raindrop impacts with an angle on ?ow and the unidirectional splashes in the wind direction. A wind‐tunnel study under wind‐driven rains was conducted to determine the effects of horizontal wind velocity and direction on sediment transport by the raindrop‐impacted shallow ?ow. Windless rains and the rains driven by horizontal wind velocities of 6 m s^?1, 10 m s^?1, and 14 m s^?1 were applied to three agricultural soils packed into a 20 by 55 cm soil pan placed on both windward and leeward slopes of 7 per cent, 15 per cent, and 20 per cent. During each rainfall application, sediment and runoff samples were collected at 5‐min intervals at the bottom edge of the soil pan with wide‐mouth bottles and were determined gravimetrically. Based on the interrill erosion mechanics, kinetic energy ?ux (E_rn) as a rainfall parameter and product of unit discharge and slope in the form of q^bS^c_o as a ?ow parameter were used to explain the interactions between impact and ?ow parameters and sediment transport (q_s). The differential sediment transport rates occurred depending on the variation in raindrop trajectory and rain intensity with the wind velocity and direction. Flux of rain energy computed by combining the effects of wind on the velocity, frequency, and angle of raindrop impact reasonably explained the characteristics of wind‐driven rains and acceptably accounted for the differences in sediment delivery rates to the shallow ?ow transport (R₂ ≥ 0·78). Further analysis of the Pearson correlation coef?cients between E_rn and qS_o and q_s also showed that wind velocity and direction signi?cantly affected the hydraulics of the shallow ?ow. E_rn had a smaller correlation coef?cient with the q_s in windward slopes where not only reverse splashes but also reverse lateral raindrop stress with respect to the shallow ?ow direction occurred. However, E_rn was as much effective as qS_o in the sediment transport in the leeward slopes where advance splashes and advance lateral raindrop stress on the ?ow occurred. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The shear strength of rock joints in theory and practice

SummaryThe Shear Strength of Rock Joints in Theory and Practice The paper describes an empirical law of friction for rock joints which can be used both for extrapolating and predicting shear strength data. The equation is based on three index parameters; the joint roughness coefficientJRC, the joint wall compressive strengthJCS, and the residual friction angle _r . All these index values can be measured in the laboratory. They can also be measured in the field. Index tests and subsequent shear box tests on more than 100 joint samples have demonstrated that _r can be estimated to within ± 1° for any one of the eight rock types investigated. The mean value of the peak shear strength angle (arctan/ _n ) for the same 100 joints was estimated to within 1/2°. The exceptionally close prediction of peak strength is made possible by performing self-weight (low stress) sliding tests on blocks with throughgoing joints. The total friction angle (arctan/ _n ) at which sliding occurs provides an estimate of the joint roughness coefficientJRC. The latter is constant over a range of effective normal stress of at least four orders of magnitude. However, it is found that bothJRC andJCS reduce with increasing joint length. Increasing the length of joint therefore reduces not only the peak shear strength, but also the peak dilation angle and the peak shear stiffness. These important scale effects can be predicted at a fraction of the cost of performing large scale in situ direct shear tests.With 20 Figures