scholarly journals Dynamics and mechanics of tracer particles

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 429-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Phillips ◽  
D. J. Jerolmack

Abstract. Understanding the mechanics of bed load at the flood scale is necessary to link hydrology to landscape evolution. Here we report on observations of the transport of coarse sediment tracer particles in a cobble-bedded alluvial river and a step-pool tributary, at the individual flood and multi-annual timescales. Tracer particle data for each survey are composed of measured displacement lengths for individual particles, and the number of tagged particles mobilized. For single floods we find that: measured tracer particle displacement lengths are exponentially distributed; the number of mobile particles increases linearly with peak flood Shields stress, indicating partial bed load transport for all observed floods; and modal displacement lengths scale linearly with excess shear velocity. These findings provide quantitative field support for a recently proposed modelling framework based on momentum conservation at the grain scale. Tracer displacement shows a weak correlation with particle size at the individual flood scale, however cumulative travel distance begins to show an inverse relation to grain size when measured over many transport events. The observed spatial sorting of tracers approaches that of the river bed, and is consistent with size-selective deposition models and laboratory experiments. Tracer displacement data for the step-pool and alluvial channels collapse onto a single curve – despite more than an order of magnitude difference in channel slope – when variations of critical Shields stress and flow resistance between the two are accounted for. Results show how bed load dynamics may be predicted from a record of river stage, providing a direct link between climate and sediment transport.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. B. Phillips ◽  
D. J. Jerolmack

Abstract. Understanding the mechanics of bed load at the flood scale is necessary to link hydrology to landscape evolution. Here we report on observations of the transport of coarse sediment tracer particles in a cobble-bedded alluvial river and a step-pool bedrock tributary, at the individual flood and multi-annual timescales. Tracer particle data for each survey are composed of measured displacement lengths for individual particles, and the number of tagged particles mobilized. For single floods we find that measured tracer particle displacement lengths are exponentially distributed; the number of mobile particles increases linearly with peak flood Shields stress, indicating partial bed load transport for all observed floods; and modal displacement distances scale linearly with excess shear velocity. These findings provide quantitative field support for a recently proposed modeling framework based on momentum conservation at the grain scale. Tracer displacement is weakly negatively correlated with particle size at the individual flood scale; however cumulative travel distance begins to show a stronger inverse relation to grain size when measured over many transport events. The observed spatial sorting of tracers approaches that of the river bed, and is consistent with size-selective deposition models and laboratory experiments. Tracer displacement data for the bedrock and alluvial channels collapse onto a single curve – despite more than an order of magnitude difference in channel slope – when variations of critical Shields stress and flow resistance between the two are accounted for. Results show how bed load dynamics may be predicted from a record of river stage, providing a direct link between climate and sediment transport.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1399
Author(s):  
Jure Oder ◽  
Cédric Flageul ◽  
Iztok Tiselj

In this paper, we present uncertainties of statistical quantities of direct numerical simulations (DNS) with small numerical errors. The uncertainties are analysed for channel flow and a flow separation case in a confined backward facing step (BFS) geometry. The infinite channel flow case has two homogeneous directions and this is usually exploited to speed-up the convergence of the results. As we show, such a procedure reduces statistical uncertainties of the results by up to an order of magnitude. This effect is strongest in the near wall regions. In the case of flow over a confined BFS, there are no such directions and thus very long integration times are required. The individual statistical quantities converge with the square root of time integration so, in order to improve the uncertainty by a factor of two, the simulation has to be prolonged by a factor of four. We provide an estimator that can be used to evaluate a priori the DNS relative statistical uncertainties from results obtained with a Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes simulation. In the DNS, the estimator can be used to predict the averaging time and with it the simulation time required to achieve a certain relative statistical uncertainty of results. For accurate evaluation of averages and their uncertainties, it is not required to use every time step of the DNS. We observe that statistical uncertainty of the results is uninfluenced by reducing the number of samples to the point where the period between two consecutive samples measured in Courant–Friedrichss–Levy (CFL) condition units is below one. Nevertheless, crossing this limit, the estimates of uncertainties start to exhibit significant growth.


Fractals ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 01 (04) ◽  
pp. 1075-1079
Author(s):  
MARIELA ARAUJO

We study the transit time distributions of tracer particles in a porous medium through which a constant flow rate is established. Our model assumes that non-Gaussian dispersion is due to the presence of low velocity zones or channels in parallel with a faster flow path. Each channel is represented as a trap and simulates the existence of variable permeability blocks inside the porous medium. The time the tracer particle spends inside each channel is related to the heterogeneity of the sample, and is assumed here to have a power-law distribution. We compare the transit time distribution of these particles for the case in which the traps are Poisson distributed with the one in which the trap distribution is a power-law function.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrik Jansson ◽  
Elliot Aguilar ◽  
Alberto Acerbi ◽  
Magnus Enquist

A specific goal of the field of cultural evolution is to understand how processes of transmission and selection at the individual level lead to population-wide patterns of cultural diversity and change. Models of cultural evolution have typically assumed that traits are independent of one another and essentially exchangeable. But culture has a structure: traits bear relationships to one another that affect the transmission and selection process itself. Here we introduce a modelling framework to explore the effect of cultural structure on the process of learning. Through simulations, we find that introducing this simple structure changes the cultural dynamics. Based on a basic filtering mechanism for parsing these relationships, more elaborate cultural filters emerge. In a mostly incompatible cultural domain of traits, these filters organise culture into mostly (but not fully) consistent and stable systems. Incompatible domains produce small homogeneous cultures, while more compatibility increases size, diversity, and group divergence. When individuals copy based on a trait's features (here, its compatibility relationships) they produce more homogeneous cultures than when they copy based on the agent carrying the cultural trait. We discuss the implications of considering cultural systems and filters in the dynamics of cultural change.


Author(s):  
Nico Wunderling ◽  
Jonathan Krönke ◽  
Valentin Wohlfarth ◽  
Jan Kohler ◽  
Jobst Heitzig ◽  
...  

AbstractTipping elements occur in various systems such as in socio-economics, ecology and the climate system. In many cases, the individual tipping elements are not independent of each other, but they interact across scales in time and space. To model systems of interacting tipping elements, we here introduce the PyCascades open source software package for studying interacting tipping elements (10.5281/zenodo.4153102). PyCascades is an object-oriented and easily extendable package written in the programming language Python. It allows for investigating under which conditions potentially dangerous cascades can emerge between interacting dynamical systems, with a focus on tipping elements. With PyCascades it is possible to use different types of tipping elements such as double-fold and Hopf types and interactions between them. PyCascades can be applied to arbitrary complex network structures and has recently been extended to stochastic dynamical systems. This paper provides an overview of the functionality of PyCascades by introducing the basic concepts and the methodology behind it. In the end, three examples are discussed, showing three different applications of the software package. First, the moisture recycling network of the Amazon rainforest is investigated. Second, a model of interacting Earth system tipping elements is discussed. And third, the PyCascades modelling framework is applied to a global trade network.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Schaich ◽  
Jehangir Cama ◽  
Kareem Al Nahas ◽  
Diana Sobota ◽  
Kevin Jahnke ◽  
...  

The low membrane permeability of candidate drug molecules is a major challenge in drug development and insufficient permeability is one reason for the failure of antibiotic treatment against bacteria. Quantifying drug transport across specific pathways in living systems is challenging since one typically lacks knowledge of the exact lipidome and proteome of the individual cells under investigation. Here, we quantify drug permeability across biomimetic liposome membranes, with comprehensive control over membrane composition. We integrate the microfluidic octanol-assisted liposome assembly platform with an optofluidic transport assay to create a complete microfluidic total analysis system for quantifying drug permeability. Our system enables us to form liposomes with charged lipids mimicking the negative charge of bacterial membranes at physiological salt and pH levels, which proved difficult with previous liposome formation techniques. Furthermore, the microfluidic technique yields an order of magnitude more liposomes per experiment than previous assays. We demonstrate the feasibility of the assay by determining the permeability coefficient of norfloxacin across biomimetic liposomes.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Barratt

A mechanism is proposed for synchronizing the chaotic vibrations of an externally forced array of oscillators with nearest-neighbor viscoelastic coupling. The proposed mechanism involves the application of small time-dependent perturbations to the individual oscillators. The perturbations required to preserve the coherence are of the order of magnitude of any noise present. The mechanism works with any form of external forcing. A modification of the mechanism is used to control the forced chaotic vibrations of a single Duffing oscillator allowed to vibrate out of the vertical plane.


2018 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 1151-1155
Author(s):  
Hyoseob Kim ◽  
Byoungwook Min ◽  
Seungho Lee ◽  
Duhoon Park ◽  
Jeseon Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Bed Load ◽  

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A. Marenssi ◽  
Carlos O. Limarino ◽  
Laura J. Schencman ◽  
Patricia L. Ciccioli

ABSTRACT Two episodes of lacustrine sedimentation, separated by an erosional surface and fluvial sedimentation, took place in the southern part of the broken foreland Vinchina basin (NW Argentina) between 11 and 5 Ma. The lacustrine deposits, 768 and 740 meters thick, are recorded in the upper part of the Vinchina Formation (“Vinchina lake”) and the lower part of the Toro Formation (“Toro Negro lake”) respectively. According to sedimentological features, four sedimentary facies associations (FAs) are recognized in the lacustrine deposits: 1) thinly laminated mudstones facies association (FA 1), 2) coarsening- and thickening-upward muddy to sandy cycles (FA 2), 3) medium- to coarse-grained sandstones (FA 3), and 4) mudstones, sandstones, and oolitic limestones (FA 4). Altogether, these facies correspond to ephemeral, shallow, lacustrine systems including saline mudflats. The total thickness of each lacustrine interval, the thickness of the individual cycles and their lithology, and the overall aggradational facies arrangement suggest that both lakes developed during underfilled stages of the basin. The coarsening-upward cycles can be regarded as lacustrine parasequences representing cyclic episodes of expansion and contraction of the lake, but unlike marine parasequences these cycles do not correlate to water depth. The development of lacustrine conditions and continuous base-level rise, together with the coeval southward-directed paleoflow indicators, suggest axial drainages and that the basin was externally closed (endorheic) at that time. The large thicknesses of each lacustrine interval also points to high accommodation in the southern part of the Vinchina basin during these times. Lake filling cycles are one order of magnitude thicker than lake depth, so we postulate that subsidence (tectonic) and rise of the spill point (geomorphology) increased accommodation but not water depth. Thus, unlike marine parasequences, the analyzed coarsening-upward cycles do not correlate to water depth, but rather they are controlled by more complex basinal accommodation processes. We hypothesize that the coeval uplift of the Umango and Espinal basement block to the south, coupled with the initial doming of the Sierra de Los Colorados to the east, may have generated the damming of the southward-directed drainage and a zone of maximum accommodation, then controlling the location of the two lakes and the preservation of their thick sedimentary records. Therefore, localized accommodation was enhanced by a combination of tectonic subsidence and topographic growth. The two lacustrine intervals and the intervening fluvial deposits record changing contributions from axial to transverse drainages and different cycles of closed and open conditions in the basin. A low-frequency, closed to open and back to closed (axial to transverse and return to axial drainage) basin evolution, is envisaged by the development of the two lakes (closed stages) and the erosional surface followed by the interval of fluvial sedimentation that separates them (open stage). In addition, several high-frequency lake fluctuations (expansion–contraction) are represented by the coarsening-upward cycles within each lacustrine interval. The thick lacustrine intervals and their intermediate incision surfaces record cyclic filling and re-excavation stages and localized episodes of increased subsidence in the Vinchina basin, which seem to be a common feature of tectonically active broken foreland basins.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document