LABORATORY OBSERVATIONS OF SEDIMENT ENTRAINMENT BY FREEZING SUPERCOOLED WATER

Debris in basal ice produced by glaciohydraulic supercooling is typically characterized by high proportions of silt. A prominent hypothesis for this silt‐dominance is that frazil ice growing in supercooled water preferentially traps silt from sediment‐laden water percolating through it. It has therefore been suggested that silt‐dominance may be diagnostic of glaciohydraulic supercooling. The aim of our work is to test this hypothesis that freezing sediment‐laden supercooled water necessarily produces ice dominated by silt. We do this by simulating two freezing processes under laboratory conditions: (1) percolation of sediment‐laden water through frazil ice; (2) turbulent supercooling and subsequent freezing of sediment‐laden water. In experiments repeated using different particle sizes (sand, silt and clay in individual experiments) both processes entrained sand most effectively and silt least effectively. In experiments using a sediment mixture dominated by medium to coarse silt, both processes produced ice facies dominated by particle sizes between fine sand and coarse silt. These results suggest that silt‐dominance should therefore not be expected for supercooled freeze‐on, and is not a reliable diagnostic signature for supercooling. The silt‐dominated character of basal ice types associated with supercooling may result from other controls such as a silt‐dominated sediment supply or subglacial water flow rates, rather than the freezing process.     

FLOW MECHANISMS AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN COMPOUND CHANNELS

IINTRODUCTIONCompoundortWo-stagechannelshavereceivedconsiderableattentioninrecentyearsduetotheirrelevancetofloodstudiesinnaturalrivers,theirsignificanceinunderstandingrivermol'phology,andtheiruseinsomefloodalleviationschemeswherethefloodplainshavebeenartificiallyloweredtoproduceengineeredchannels.ThispaperreviewsworkwhichhasbeenundertakenintheUKFloodChannelFacility(FCF)overthepastdecade.TheACewasbuiltatHRWallingfordin1986,asalargescalenationalfacilityforhydraulicengineeringstUdies.T…     

STABILITY OF NIANCHU RIVER AFTER REGULATION BY STRAIGHTENING: A CASE STUDY FROM TIBET, CHINA

IINTRODUCTIONTheNianchuRiverCatchmentisoneofthemaingrainproducingareasofTibet.TheengineeringregulationoftheriverisanimportantcomponentofstatekeyprojectofChina,"OneRiverandTwoTributariesProject"."OneRiver"herestandsfortheYarlungZhangboRiverandthe"TwoTributaries"aretheNianchuRiverandtheLasaRiverinCentral-SouthernTibet.InordertoimprovethewaterresourcesandtopreventfloodinginTibet,aseriesofhydropowerstations,irrigationdiversionprojects,floodcontrollevees,andreforestationprogramshaveb…     

A THEORETICAL TREATMENT OF THE EFFECT OF MICROSCOPIC FLUID DISTRIBUTION ON THE DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF PARTIALLY SATURATED ROCKS1

Microscopic fluid distribution can have a significant effect on the dielectric properties of partially saturated rocks. Evidence of this effect is found in the laboratory data presented by Knight and Nur in which different methods for controlling saturation produced very different results for the dependence of the dielectric response on water saturation. In this study, previously derived models for the dielectric response of a heterogeneous medium are generalized and the case of a pore space occupied by multiple pore fluids is considered. By using various geometrical distributions of water and gas, it is observed that both the pore geometry in which saturation conditions are changing and the gas–water geometry within a given pore space are critical factors in determining the effective dielectric response of a partially saturated rock. As an example, data for a tight gas sandstone undergoing a cycle of imbibition and drying are analysed. Previous research has demonstrated that significantly different microscopic fluid distributions result from the application of these two techniques to control the level of water saturation. By approximating these microscopic fluid distributions using simple geometrical models, good agreement is found between experimental data and calculated dielectric properties.     

Subglacial erosion forms in northwest Ireland

Subglacial erosional forms are commonly found on bedrock substrates inside the Late Weichselian ice margin in County Donegal, northwest Ireland, and can be used to provide detailed information on subglacial processes and environments. The erosional forms occur on spatial scales from whalebacks (tens of metres in scale), to asymmetric and channelized bedrock-cut scours (tens of cm in scale) and striations (mm scale). Processes responsible for development of subglacial erosional forms occur along a continuum, from free meltwater existing as a laterally extensive sheet at the ice-bed interface, to abrasion by basal ice. Channelized bedrock-cut scours are particularly common in County Donegal, and show asymmetric and meandering thalwegs, U-shaped cross-profiles and steep lateral margins. Innermost parts of the scours are highly polished and have striations that follow thalweg direction. In places, bedrock surfaces are overlain by a delicate polish and thin calcite cement, and are buried beneath glacial till. Based on their morphology, the bedrock scours are interpreted as s-forms caused by high-pressure subglacial meltwater erosion. Striations within the scoured channels reflect periods of ice-bed coupling and subglacial abrasion. The range of features observed here was used to consider relationships between subglacial topography, hydraulic processes and ice-bed coupling. Precipitation of calcite cement took place in depressions on the bedrock surface by CO₂ degassing. Infilling of depressions by glacial till formed a new type of 'sticky spot' related to spatial variations in subglacial water pressure. The temporal evolution of sticky spots reflects interactions within the subglacial environment between subglacial relief, hydraulic regime and ice-bed coupling.     

Integration of outcrop and borehole image logs for high-resolution facies interpretation: example from a fluvial fan in the Ebro Basin, Spain

Electrical borehole image logs yield high-resolution information about variations in micro-resistivity along the borehole wall. To interpret these variations in terms of sedimentary structures and lithofacies types, calibration with real rock is needed. Normally, the only real rock available is core, and this only provides one-dimensional information. In this paper, the interpretation of fluvial facies types from borehole image logs was established by direct comparison with outcrops. Four fluvial facies associations were established in an outcrop study of a low net-to-gross fluvial succession: (i) meandering rivers, (ii) braided rivers, (iii) crevasse deltas, and (iv) crevasse splays. The lithofacies characteristics and palaeocurrent distributions of each fluvial facies association were established. Two 200 m deep wells were drilled behind the cliff face outcrops. One well was cored to a depth of 150 m and borehole image logs were recorded in both wells. The wells were correlated with the outcrop. The borehole image logs were analysed by their vertical colour succession and the dipmeter pattern. Image log facies were established, and these were interpreted in terms of the fluvial facies associations encountered in the corresponding outcrops. The study of borehole image logs yields a set of diagnostic criteria for a detailed fluvial facies interpretation and the establishment of depositional trends, and thus provides a powerful tool for the direct interpretation of fluvial facies in a reservoir setting.     

Distributed hydrological modelling of a heavily glaciated Alpine river basin

Abstract

A glacier submodel was successfully integrated into the distributed hydrological model WaSiM-ETH to simulate the discharge of a heavily glaciated drainage basin. The glacier submodel comprises a distributed temperature index model including solar radiation to simulate the melt rate of glaciated areas. Meltwater and rainfall are transformed into glacier discharge by using a linear reservoir approach. The model was tested on a high-alpine sub-basin of the Rhone basin (central Switzerland) of which 48% is glaciated. Continuous discharge simulations were performed for the period 1990–1996 and compared with hourly discharge observations. The pronounced daily and annual fluctuations in discharge were simulated well. The obtained efficiency criterion, R², exceeds 0.89 for all years. The good performance of the glacier submodel is also demonstrated by integrating it into the hydrological model PREVAH.