The Effect of Stage on Flow and Components of the Local Force Balance

Flow fields and water and bed surface topography were measured at two different stages as flow shoals over a submerged mid-channel bar in a straight reach downstream of a bend in Solfatara Creek, Wyoming. The data allow calculation and comparison of the magnitude of the component terms in the downstream and cross-stream force balance at the different stages. At the lower stage, corresponding to a discharge that is 30 per cent of the bankfull discharge, the convective acceleration terms in the equations describing the force balance are important, particularly the terms associated with the cross-stream transport of momentum. These terms are large because of the large accelerations and cross-stream flow forced by the shallow flow over the bar. At the higher stage, corresponding to a discharge that is 45 per cent of the bankfull discharge, flow is more directly downstream and cross-stream velocity is generally less in most of the channel. Downstream flow velocities at the higher stage are larger, but the acceleration is more gradual. Consequently, the convective accelerations at the higher stage tend to be less important than at the lower stage. Results from the two different stages suggest that some of the difference in conclusions reached by various workers on the significance of the various terms in the governing equations may be associated with the relative depth of flow. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Graphical methods of river profile analysis to unravel drainage area change,uplift and erodibility contrasts in the Central Range of Taiwan

To reveal river channel steepness patterns and variance in settings with significant variation in rock uplift rate, rock erodibility and moving water divides, we present a series of graphical methods to interpret channel profiles. To complement Cartesian χ plots, longitudinal profiles and mapping methods, we introduce a new method based on a radial coordinate system. We map each basin onto polar coordinates in which the radial dimension is χ and the azimuthal coordinate, ?, is calculated with an increment (Δ?) scaled to the distance to neighboring channel heads. The elevation is contoured on this mapping. Average channel steepness is estimated by fitting a conical surface to the elevation. The graph simplifies the comparison of χ and elevation between channels that share a divide, and helps identify spatial changes in drainage area and patterns of erodibility. We apply this approach to derive the uplift pattern in the eastern and southern Central Range of Taiwan, where the high tectonic convergence and uplift rates combined with sub‐tropical climate and frequent typhoons results in high exhumation rate, and well‐developed, detachment‐limited river networks. Additionally, the tectonic activity leads to drainage basin reorganization. We identify examples of divide migration, discrete river capture as well as anomalous steepness that we attribute to local variability in rock erodibility. Estimated basin‐average steepness values show the highest and a near constant value from Hsinwulu basin to Liwu basin in the center of the Island. To the north and south of this region, the values gradually decrease. These estimates show good correlation with the topography of the Central Range and erosion rates derived from in situ ¹⁰Be concentrations in river‐borne quartz. We conclude that the basin steepness reflects systematic differences in rock uplift rate and erosion rate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of long‐term human impact on avulsion and fan development

This study aims to understand (mainly qualitatively) the long‐term role of human impact on avulsion processes and the development of fluvial (mega‐) fans in semi‐arid environments. In this paper we refer to human impact as the direct influences of actions on the river's hydraulics (i.e. flow regulation, flow diversion and channel engineering). In five case‐studies drawn from the Khuzestan plains in southwest Iran we have analysed the setup and triggering conditions of specific avulsions that occurred in the past (timescale of millennia) and identified the role of human interference in their causation. Our analysis is based on the integration of historical, archaeological, geomorphological and geological data. Through this study we demonstrate that avulsions in the Khuzestan plains are the result of long‐term and complex interplay between multiple human‐induced and natural causes. In similar ways human‐induced actions may play important roles during different phases of avulsion development. The ‘success‘ of an avulsion in the post‐triggering phase may be defined by human‐induced setup causes as well as morphodynamic processes. We suggest that present‐day flood events may be partly inherited from long‐term human alterations of the natural processes. These finding could have implications for any fluvial system (e.g. distributive fluvial systems, deltas) where avulsion plays a major role in their development and research tends to emphasize on natural mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using LM‐OSL of quartz to distinguish sediments derived from surface‐soil and channel erosion

This study describes the use of linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM‐OSL) to distinguish surface‐soil derived sediments from those derived from channel bank erosion. LM‐OSL signals from quartz extracted from 15 surface‐soil and five channel bank samples were analysed and compared to signals from samples collected from two downstream river sites. Discriminant analysis showed that the detrapping probabilities of fast, first slow and second slow components of the LM‐OSL signal can be used to differentiate between the samples collected from the channel bank and surface‐soil sources. We show that for each of these source end members these components are all normally distributed. These distributions are then used to estimate the relative contribution of surface‐soil derived and channel bank derived sediment to the river bed sediments. The results indicate that channel bank derived sediments dominate the sediment sources at both sites, with 90.1 ± 3% and 91.9 ± 1.9% contributions. These results are in agreement with a previous study which used measurements of ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex fallout radionuclides to estimate the relative contribution from these two sources. This result shows that LM‐OSL may be a useful method, at least in the studied catchment, to estimate the relative contribution of surface soil and channel erosion to river sediments. However, further research in different settings is required to test the difference of OSL signals in distinguishing these sediment sources. And if generally acceptable, this technique may provide an alternative to the use of fallout radionuclides for source tracing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convection in rotating annular channels heated from below. Part 2. Transitions from steady flow to turbulence

We report the results of fully three-dimensional numerical simulations of nonlinear convection in a Boussinesq fluid in an annular channel rotating about a vertical axis with lateral no-slip or stress-free sidewalls, stress-free top and bottom, uniformly heated from below, a problem first studied by Davies-Jones and Gilman (1971 Davies-Jones, RP and Gilman, PA. 1971. Convection in a rotating annulus uniformly heated from below.. J. Fluid Mech., 46: 65–81.  [Google Scholar]) and Gilman (1973 Gilman, PA. 1973. Convection in a rotating annulus uniformly heated from below. Part 2. Nonlinear results. J. Fluid Mech., 57: 381–400.  [Google Scholar]). A substantial range of the Rayleigh number R (R_c≤R≤O(100 R_c)), where R_c denotes the critical value at the onset of convection) is considered. It is found that the wall-localized convection mode, unaffected by the velocity boundary condition imposed on the sidewalls, is nonlinearly robust. Both directions of travelling waves, one propagating against the sense of rotation near the outer sidewall and the other propagating in the same sense as the rotation in the vicinity of the inner sidewall, are always present in the nonlinear solutions. In contrast to nonlinear convection in a rotating Bénard layer, neither convection rolls nor the Küpper–Lortz instability can exist in a rotating annular channel because of the effect of the sidewalls. It is the nonlinear interaction between the wall-localized modes and the internal mode that plays an essential role in determining the nonlinear properties of convection in a rotating annular channel. Our studies reveal systematically the various nonlinear phenomena, from steady travelling waves trapped in the vicinities of the sidewalls to convective turbulence exhibiting columnar structure.     

多通道大功率电法勘探仪集成试验

采用自主研发的多通道大功率电法勘探仪进行了深部矿勘探测试.首先在河北省张家口市张北县进行了仪器整体的调试和波形测试等试验,试验结果表明,在大偏移距情况下,尽管存在50 Hz电磁干扰,也能获得与发射波形相关的波形曲线,验证了仪器系统的正确性和稳定性.然后在内蒙古曹四夭钼矿区采集了4.8 km的剖面数据,并进行了相应的数据处理工作.对所采集的数据进行了大地脉冲响应计算、峰值时刻提取和视电阻率计算,以及电阻率二维反演工作,反演的的电阻率断面结构与已知地质资料相吻合,验证了数据流程和处理方法的正确性.此次多通道大功率电法勘探仪的成功集成,为进一步大规模比对试验和装备整装勘探打下了基础.     

A channel head stability criterion for first‐order catchments

The present analysis derives a stability criterion for long‐term equilibrium channel heads. The concept of finite perturbation analysis is presented, during which the surface is subjected to perturbations of a finite amplitude and resulting changes in flow path structure and slope are computed. Based on these quantities the analysis predicts whether the perturbed location is going to erode, be filled in or remain steady. The channel head is defined geometrically as the focus point of converging flow lines at the bottom of hollows. It is demonstrated that stability at the channel head grows out of the competition between the rate of flow path convergence and the degree of profile concavity. Analytical functions are derived to compute channel head‐contributing area and ‐slope, flow path convergence and profile concavity as a function of perturbation depth, distance from the crest and the initial slope. In a numerical model these quantities point to the long‐term equilibrium channel head position, which is shown to depend also on the width to length ratio of hollows. It is also demonstrated that the equilibrium channel head position is sensitive to the base‐level lowering/non‐dimensional slope length ratio and to the slope of the initial topography. Morphometrical measurements both in the field and on simulated topographies were used to test the theoretical predictions.     

Geometric characteristics and evolution of a tidal channel network in experimental setting

This paper reports on a laboratory study that aims to reproduce a tidal channel network, in order to enhance the understanding of the morphodynamic evolution of the channel characteristics as the network expands and finally reaches equilibrium. A high‐resolution laser system scanned the bed topography at different time steps creating multiple digital elevation models of the channel network. Two hundred and seventy individual channel segments are analyzed and cross‐correlated in terms of their width, depth and length. The laboratory results show positive linear correlations between depth and width as well as between length and width of channel segments of the network configuration at final equilibrium. In a downstream direction, channels appear to widen more than they deepen, indirectly a sign that discharge has a stronger control on channel width than on depth. In contrast to fluvial drainage networks that commonly display fractal and scale‐invariant behavior, the geometric properties of the experimental tidal creek network shows scale dependence. Channel attributes exhibit consistent patterns of exponentially decreasing abundance, with increasing creek length, depth and width. The nature of the observed exponential distributions within creek attributes (width, depth, length) allows for statistical predictability of relative creek attribute dimensions downstream and through time. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

地震槽波的数学-物理模拟初探

针对地震槽波在低速层的传播特性,开展了煤层内地震槽波勘探的数值模拟和物理模拟研究的初探工作.在数值模拟研究方面,采用交错网格有限差分法对煤层中的地震槽波进行三分量全波场模拟.基于波场快照和人工合成地震记录研究了不同模型中的波场特征和各种波型的传播规律.在物理模拟方面,通过选用不同配比的环氧树脂和硅橡胶类材料构建地震槽波物理模型,利用透射法和反射法观测系统获得了清晰的地震槽波记录以研究槽波的地震学特征.研究表明,在煤层内槽波的地震波场中,Love型槽波的能量小于Rayleigh型槽波的SV分量,大于Rayleigh型槽波的SH分量.相对于Love型槽波和Rayleigh型槽波的SH分量,Rayleigh型槽波的SV分量在围岩中的泄露能量较强.在煤层界面附近的围岩中,地震波仍以槽波形式传播,随着距离的增加能量逐渐衰减.随着煤层变薄,煤层槽波主频向高频方向移动,频散现象增强,传播速度增大.