Modelling free-forming meander evolution in a laboratory channel using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics

The present study investigated the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in predicting the formation, development, and migration of free-forming meander bends. The three-dimensional CFD model computed water flow and sediment transport in alluvial channels and predicted vertical and horizontal bed changes. Different algorithms and parameters were tested to provide an insight into the application range of CFD when modelling free-forming meander formation. The computational domain was discretized by an unstructured grid. A control volume method was used for the discretization of the Navier–Stokes equations for the flow calculation and of the convection–diffusion equation for the sediment transport calculation. Turbulence was modelled by the k–ε turbulence model. The simulation was started from an initially straight grid, with neither sediment feed nor any perturbation at the inflow boundary. The model computed the river bed evolution over a real time period of 3 d. Results were compared with laboratory experiments and showed that the CFD model can predict many of the characteristics of the alluvial meander formation and migration. However, some limitations and uncertainties exist that have to be clarified in future investigations.     

PREDICTING THE DEPTH OF EROSION IN RESERVOIRS FOLLOWING DAM REMOVAL USING BANK STABILITY ANALYSIS

1 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Dam Removal The aging of the more than 75,000 dams in the U.S., coupled with the increasing awareness of their environmental costs, has made dam decommissioning and removal a topic of current interest to the scientific community, management agencies, and the general public. It is estimated that 85% of the dams in the U.S. will be near the end of their operational lives by the year 2020 (FEMA, 1999), necessitating thorough consideration of dam removal or repair for…     

Theoretical regime equations for mobile gravel-bed rivers with stable banks

A system of rational regime equations is developed for gravel-bed rivers with stable banks using the optimality theory (OT). The optimality theory is based on the premise that equilibrium river geometry is characterised by an optimum configuration, defined here as maximum sediment-transport efficiency. Theoretical dimensionless equations are derived for width, depth, slope, width/depth ratio, and meandering–braiding transition. Independent dimensionless variables comprise discharge, sediment concentration, and relative bank strength, μ′, which is defined as the ratio of the critical shear stresses for the bank and bed sediments. Discharge exponents and general form of the equations agree well with previously developed empirical relations. Relative bank strength, μ′, is used to parameterise the influence of riparian vegetation on bank strength and is evaluated by calibrating against observed width/depth ratio. Once calibrated, the hydraulic geometry of natural gravel rivers is well described by the theoretical equations, including discrimination between meandering and braiding channels. The results provide strong support for the assumption that equilibrium or regime river behavior is equivalent to an optimal state and underline the importance of bank strength and sediment load as controls on hydraulic geometry.     

Groundwater Defluoridation with Raw Bauxite,Gypsum, Magnesite,and Their Composites

Breakthrough characteristics, kinetics, and dose‐effect in defluoridation with bauxite, gypsum, magnesite, and their composites were determined. The aim was to identify optimum filter and configuration viable for groundwater defluoridation. Bed depth service time (BDST) design model and empty bed residence time (EBRT) optimization model were employed to characterize breakthrough. Higher doses obtained lower loading capacities but higher sorption percentages and breakthrough times. Breakthrough times obtained were 50 400, 32 400, 25 200, and 19 800 s for 150, 120, 75, and 45 g, respectively. The equation ? = 1.0 × 10^?4 δ² ?0.022 δ + 1.5053 defined the operating line with ?, adsorbent exhaustion rate, in g L^?1 and δ, EBRT, in seconds. A critical bed depth (Z_o) of 6.56 cm was obtained. Second order kinetic rate constants were 0.73, 1.17, and 1.81 g mg^?1 s^?1 for magnesite, gypsum, and bauxite, respectively. The composite, gypsum and bauxite decreased water pH but magnesite increased pH in water defluoridation. Experimental data did not fit the two‐parameter logistics model; model values were significantly different from experimental values. Optimum defluoridation characteristics were obtained in fixed bed. Despite high residual sulphates and apparent color, fixed‐bed defluoridation with raw composites of these materials, treated in this manner, is viable.     

Insights on the kinematics of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations along the 1915 Avezzano earthquake fault (Central Italy), from time-series DInSAR

Small meandering channels of about 1 m wide on an intertidal mudflat in the Westerschelde estuary the Netherlands) were studied with the aim to improve understanding of the effect of highly cohesive bed and bank sediment on channel inception and meander geometry and dynamics. The study is supported by experiments and modelling. The estuarine meandering channels are less dynamical than alluvial meandering rivers, and the dynamics are more localised. Moreover, the high thresholds for bed sediment erosion and for bank failure lead to two processes, uncommon in larger rivers, that cause most of the morphological change. First, the beds of the channels are eroded by backward migrating steps under hydraulic jumps, while the remainder of the bed surface along the channel is hardly eroded. Second, channel banks erode i) where eroding steps locally cause undercutting of otherwise stable channel banks and ii) in very sharp bends where the flow separates from the inner-bend channel boundary and impinges directly on the bank on the opposite side of the channel. Further morphological change is probably induced by rainfall splash erosion and by storm waves that weaken the mud, and by large mud fluxes from the estuary. The steps were successfully reproduced in laboratory flume experiments. An existing model for step migration predicted celerities consistent with field and laboratory observations and demonstrated a strong dependence on the threshold for erosion. Bank stability models confirm that banks and steps only fail when undercut and weakened by waves, rain or excess pore pressure in agreement with observations. The effects of a high threshold for bank erosion was implemented in an existing meander simulation model that reproduced the observed locations of bank erosion somewhat better than without the threshold, but flow separation and its effect on meander bends remains poorly understood.     

Summertime sea surface temperature fronts associated with upwelling around the Taiwan Bank

It is well known that upwelling of subsurface water is dominant around the Taiwan Bank (TB) and the Penghu (PH) Islands in the southern Taiwan Strait in summertime. Sea surface temperature (SST) frontal features and related phenomena around the TB upwelling and the PH upwelling were investigated using long-term AVHRR (1996–2005) and SeaWiFS (1998–2005) data received at the station of National Taiwan Ocean University. SST and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) images with a spatial resolution of 0.01° were generated and used for the monthly SST and Chl-a maps. SST fronts were extracted from each SST images and gradient magnitudes (GMs); the orientations were derived for the SST fronts. Monthly maps of cold fronts where the cooler SSTs were over a shallower bottom were produced from the orientation.     

The spatial structure of local surficial sediment characteristics on Georges Bank,USA

Georges Bank is one of the world’s most productive marine ecosystems, but the lack of accurate broad-scale sediment maps presently limits habitat assessments and spatial fisheries management. From 1999 to 2009 we surveyed 36,669 km² of Georges Bank using 2.8 and 0.6 m² quadrats viewed with live underwater video (video quadrats). The sediment types observed in 61,604 quadrats were used to map and evaluate spatial structure of local surficial sediment coarseness, dominance, heterogeneity, and maximum size characteristics at a 1 km² spatial resolution. Sand dominated sediment covered 62% of the study area, and there was a logarithmic decline in coverage by larger, coarser and more heterogeneous sediments. Gravel dominated sediments covered 38% of the study area and were more than twice as abundant as previously estimated. A 12,890 km² swath of gravel dominated seabed stretched from Cape Cod to northeastern Georges Bank consistent with estimates of prehistoric glacial extent. Within the swath there were 14 large gravel outcrops (15–2743 km²) . This work increases the spatial resolution of sediment information available for habitat assessments and spatial fisheries management on Georges Bank by two orders of magnitude. The four sediment characteristics we evaluated support further detailed investigations of the Bank’s benthos, including the influences of surficial sediment characteristics on species and community distributions, and more spatially accurate estimates of seabed roughness. Finally, this work demonstrates the use of video quadrats as an alternative to traditional grab sampling and modern acoustic sampling for continental shelf-scale mapping.     

Transport and transformation of surface water masses across the Mascarene Plateau during the Northeast Monsoon season

The Mascarene Plateau lies in the south-west Indian Ocean between the islands of Mauritius and the Seychelles Bank, and is characterised by a series of shallow banks separated by deep (>1 000 m), narrow channels. The plateau acts as an obstruction to the general ocean circulation in this region, separating the westward-flowing South Equatorial Current (SEC) into two branches downstream of the plateau. In this article, we present the results of a survey conducted along the entire Mascarene Plateau during the Northeast Monsoon, in October–November 2008. In addition, data from Argo floats were used to determine the origin of water masses entering this region. The plateau contains three gaps through which branches of the SEC are channelled. The northern, central and southern gaps receive 14.93 Sv, 14.41 Sv and 6.19 Sv, respectively. Although there are differences in water-mass properties to the west and east of the Mascarene Plateau due to mixing, the SEC acts as a sharp boundary between water masses of southern and northern Indian Ocean origin. Mixing occurs in the central gap between intermediate water masses (Red Sea Water [RSW] and Antarctic Intermediate Water [AAIW]) as well as in the upper waters (Subtropical Surface Water [STSW] and Indonesian Throughflow Water [ITW]). Through the northern gap, mixing occurs between Arabian Sea High-Salinity Water (ASHSW), ITW and Tropical Surface Water (TSW), while through the southern gap, mixing occurs between STSW and ITW. North Indian Deep Water (NIDW) is present in the region but the plateau appears to have no effect on it.     

The effects of variability in bank material properties on riverbank stability: Goodwin Creek, Mississippi

Bank retreat is an important area of research within fluvial geomorphology and is a land management problem of global significance. The Yazoo River Basin in Mississippi is one example of a system which is experiencing excessive erosion and bank instability. The properties of bank materials are important in controlling the stability of stream banks and past studies have found that these properties are often variable spatially. Through an investigation of bank material properties on a stretch of Goodwin Creek in the Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, this study focuses on: i) how and why effective bank material properties vary through different scales; ii) how this variation impacts on the outputs from a bank stability model; and iii) how best to appropriately represent this variability within a bank stability model.The study demonstrates the importance that the variability of effective bank material properties has on bank stability: at both the micro-scale within a site, and at the meso-scale between sites in a reach. This variability was shown to have important implications for the usage of the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM), a deterministic bank stability model that currently uses a single value to describe each bank material property. As a result, a probabilistic representation of effective bank material strength parameters is recommended as a potential solution for any bank stability model that wishes to account for the important influence of the inherent variability of soil properties.