scholarly journals Theoretical Interpretation of the Exceptional Sediment Transport of Fine-grained Dispersal Systems Associated with Bedform Categories

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Zhao ◽  
Qian Yu ◽  
Yunwei Wang ◽  
Shu Gao

Abstract. Being a widespread source-to-sink sedimentary environment, the fine-grained dispersal system (FGDS) features remarkably high sediment flux, interacting closely with local morphology and ecosystem. Such exceptional transport is believed to be associated with changes in bedform geometry, which further demands theoretical interpretation. Using van Rijn (2007a) bed roughness predictor, we set up a simple numerical model to calculate sediment transport, classify sediment transport behaviors into dune and (mega-)ripple dominant regimes, and discuss the causes of the sediment transport regime shift linked with bedform categories. Both regimes show internally consistent transport behaviors, and the latter, associated with FGDSs, exhibits considerably higher sediment transport rate than the previous. Between lies the coexistence zone, the sediment transport regime shift accompanied by degeneration of dune roughness, which can considerably reinforce sediment transport and is further highlighted under greater water depth. This study can be applied to modeling of sediment transport and morphodynamics.

Author(s):  
Torbjörn E. Törnqvist ◽  
Santina R. Wortman ◽  
Zenon Richard P. Mateo ◽  
Glenn A. Milne ◽  
John B. Swenson

Geology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel S. Scheingross ◽  
Michael P. Lamb

Waterfall plunge pools experience cycles of sediment aggradation and scour that modulate bedrock erosion, habitat availability, and hazard potential. We calculate sediment flux divergence to evaluate the conditions under which pools deposit and scour sediment by comparing the sediment transport capacities of waterfall plunge pools (Qsc_pool) and their adjacent river reaches (Qsc_river). Results show that pools fill with sediment at low river discharge because the waterfall jet is not strong enough to transport the supplied sediment load out of the pool. As discharge increases, the waterfall jet strengthens, allowing pools to transport sediment at greater rates than in adjacent river reaches. This causes sediment scour from pools and bar building at the downstream pool boundary. While pools may be partially emptied of sediment at modest discharge, floods with recurrence intervals >10 yr are typically required for pools to scour to bedrock. These results allow new constraints on paleodischarge estimates made from sediment deposited in plunge pool bars and suggest that bedrock erosion at waterfalls with plunge pools occurs during larger floods than in river reaches lacking waterfalls.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 989-1010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenge An ◽  
Andrew J. Moodie ◽  
Hongbo Ma ◽  
Xudong Fu ◽  
Yuanfeng Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract. Sediment mass conservation is a key factor that constrains river morphodynamic processes. In most models of river morphodynamics, sediment mass conservation is described by the Exner equation, which may take various forms depending on the problem in question. One of the most widely used forms of the Exner equation is the flux-based formulation, in which the conservation of bed material is related to the stream-wise gradient of the sediment transport rate. An alternative form of the Exner equation, however, is the entrainment-based formulation, in which the conservation of bed material is related to the difference between the entrainment rate of bed sediment into suspension and the deposition rate of suspended sediment onto the bed. Here we represent the flux form in terms of the local capacity sediment transport rate and the entrainment form in terms of the local capacity entrainment rate. In the flux form, sediment transport is a function of local hydraulic conditions. However, the entrainment form does not require this constraint: only the rate of entrainment into suspension is in local equilibrium with hydraulic conditions, and the sediment transport rate itself may lag in space and time behind the changing flow conditions. In modeling the fine-grained lower Yellow River, it is usual to treat sediment conservation in terms of an entrainment (nonequilibrium) form rather than a flux (equilibrium) form, in consideration of the condition that fine-grained sediment may be entrained at one place but deposited only at some distant location downstream. However, the differences in prediction between the two formulations have not been comprehensively studied to date. Here we study this problem by comparing the results predicted by both the flux form and the entrainment form of the Exner equation under conditions simplified from the lower Yellow River (i.e., a significant reduction of sediment supply after the closure of the Xiaolangdi Dam). We use a one-dimensional morphodynamic model and sediment transport equations specifically adapted for the lower Yellow River. We find that in a treatment of a 200 km reach using a single characteristic bed sediment size, there is little difference between the two forms since the corresponding adaptation length is relatively small. However, a consideration of sediment mixtures shows that the two forms give very different patterns of grain sorting: clear kinematic waves occur in the flux form but are diffused out in the entrainment form. Both numerical simulation and mathematical analysis show that the morphodynamic processes predicted by the entrainment form are sensitive to sediment fall velocity. We suggest that the entrainment form of the Exner equation might be required when the sorting process of fine-grained sediment is studied, especially when considering relatively short timescales.


1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 395-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Gorsline ◽  
R. L. Kolpack ◽  
H. A. Karl ◽  
D. E. Drake ◽  
S. E. Thornton ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-350
Author(s):  
Stefanie Keupp ◽  
Farhan Abedin ◽  
Lena Jeanson ◽  
Carolin Kade ◽  
Josefine Kalbitz ◽  
...  

Social comparisons are a fundamental feature of human thinking and affect self-evaluations and task performance. Little is known about the evolutionary origins of social comparison processes, however. Previous studies that investigated performance-based social comparisons in nonhuman primates yielded mixed results. We report three experiments that aimed (a) to explore how the task type may contribute to performance in monkeys, and (b) how a competitive set-up affects monkeys compared to humans. In a co-action touchscreen task, monkeys were neither influenced by nor interested in the performance of the partner. This may indicate that the experimental set-up was not sufficiently relevant to trigger social comparisons. In a novel co-action foraging task, monkeys increased their feeding speed in competitive and co-active conditions, but not in relation to the degree of competition. In an analogue of the foraging task, human participants were affected by partner performance and experimental context, indicating that the task is suitable to elicit social comparisons in humans. Our studies indicate that specifics of task and experimental setting are relevant to draw the monkeys’ attention to a co-actor and that, in line with previous research, a competitive element was crucial. We highlight the need to explore what constitutes “relevant” social comparison situations for monkeys as well as nonhuman animals in general, and point out factors that we think are crucial in this respect (e.g., task type, physical closeness, and the species’ ecology). We discuss that early forms of social comparisons evolved in purely competitive environments with increasing social tolerance and cooperative motivations allowing for more fine-grained processing of social information. Competition driven effects on task performance might constitute the foundation for the more elaborate social comparison processes found in humans, which may involve context-dependent information processing and metacognitive monitoring.


1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ichiro Deguchi ◽  
Toru Sawaragi

Time and spatial variations of sediment concentration of both bed load and suspended load in the process of two-dimensional beach deformation were investigated experimentally. At the same time, the relation between the velocities of water-particle and sediment migration was analyzed theoretically. By using those results,a net rate of on-offshore sediment_ transport in the process of two-dimensional model beach deformation qf was calculated on the basis of sediment flux. It is found that Qf coincides fairly well with .the net rate of on-offshore sediment transport calculated from the change of water depth.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lazaro Laut ◽  
Maria Virgina Alves Martins ◽  
Pierre Belart ◽  
Maria Lucia Lorini ◽  
Iara Clemente ◽  
...  

Bottom sediment is a natural trap for organic matter and different kinds of pollutants. The accumulation of large amount of organic matter gives rise to the eutrophication of the aquatic ecosystems. The analyses of the quantity and quality of the organic matter (biopolymers) help to determine the trophic status of coastal ecosystems. The Maricá-Guarapina Lagoon System (MGLS) is located in Rio de Janeiro and is composed by four connected lagoons: Maricá, Barra, Padre and Guarapina. It has been suffering impacts due to the intense and uncontrolled property speculation. Based on this problem, this study aimed to characterize the organic matter (OM) amount and quality in sediments and the relation with the impacted areas in this lagoon system. The collected sediment samples were analyzed for geochemical data combined with grain size and physical-chemical environmental parameters of the bottom water. Statistical results evidenced that the sedimentary environment of the MGLS is heterogenous. The organic matter supplied to the MGLS is provided from different sources but the autochthonous contribution (phytoplanktonic productivity and vegetal detritus from the mangrove fringe) prevails. The anthropogenic contribution was more evident in Padre Lagoon, where the sediments had relatively low TOC contents (0.1-0.8%). The MGLS is accumulating mainly aged organic matter. The most impacted zones were found in Guarapina, Barra and Maricá lagoons, in bottoms of fine-grained sediments, with relatively high TOC and labile biopolymeric compounds (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) contents, which should evolve into an ever-increasing stage of eutrophication. COMPOSTOS ORGÂNICOS USADOS COMO INDICADORES DA QUALIDADE AMBIENTAL SEDIMENTAR DO SISTEMA LAGUNAR MARICÁ-GUARAPINA (SE DO BRASIL)ResumoO sedimento de fundo constitui uma armadilha natural para a matéria orgânica e diferentes tipos de poluentes. O acúmulo de grande quantidade de matéria orgânica dá origem à eutrofização dos ecossistemas aquáticos. Estimativas de quantidade e qualidade da matéria orgânica (biopolímeros) podem ajudar a determinar o estado trófico dos ecossistemas costeiros. O Sistema Lagunar de Maricá-Guarapina (MGLS), localizado no Estado do Rio de Janeiro (SE do Brasil), é composto por quatro lagunas interconectadas: Maricá, Barra, Padre e Guarapina. Este sistema tem sofrido impactos devido à intensa e descontrolada especulação imobiliária. Neste contexto, este estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar a quantidade e qualidade de matéria orgânica (MO) dos sedimentos do MGLS. Foram obtidos dados geoquímicos e confrontados com resultados granulométricos em amostras de sedimentos coletados em 22 estações de amostragem e analisados parâmetros físico-químicos da água. Os resultados estatísticos evidenciaram que o ambiente sedimentar do MGLS é heterogêneo. Este sistema recebe matéria orgânica de diferentes fontes, sendo, porém, prevalecente a contribuição autóctone (produtividade fitoplanctônica e detritos vegetais dos manguezais existentes na região). A contribuição antropogênica de matéria orgânica foi mais evidente na Lagoa do Padre, onde os sedimentos apresentaram teores de COT relativamente baixos (0,1-0,8%). As zonas mais impactadas foram encontradas em fundos de sedimentos finos, com teores relativamente elevados de COT e de compostos biopoliméricos lábeis (proteínas, carboidratos e lipídios), nas lagunas de Guarapina, Barra e Maricá. Os resultados obtidos revelam também que o MGLS está acumulando principalmente matéria orgânica envelhecida e permitem prever que as referidas áreas podem evoluir para um estágio de cada vez maior grau de eutrofização.Palavras-chave: Lagunas Costeiras Tropicais. Biopolímeros. Eutrofização. Dinâmica Sedimentar.


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