[1] Data from laboratory flumes and natural streams show that the critical Shields stress for initial sediment motion increases with channel slope, which indicates that particles of the same size are more stable on steeper slopes. This observation is contrary to standard models that predict reduced stability with increasing slope due to the added downstream gravitational force. Processes that might explain this discrepancy are explored using a simple force-balance model, including increased drag from channel walls and bed morphology, variable friction angles, grain emergence, flow aeration, and changes to the local flow velocity and turbulent fluctuations. Surprisingly, increased drag due to changes in bed morphology does not appear to be the cause of the slope dependency because both the magnitude and trend of the critical Shields stress are similar for flume experiments and natural streams, and significant variations in bed morphology in flumes is unlikely. Instead, grain emergence and changes in local flow velocity and turbulent fluctuations seem to be responsible for the slope dependency due to the coincident increase in the ratio of bed-roughness scale to flow depth (i.e., relative roughness). A model for the local velocity within the grain-roughness layer is proposed based on a 1-D eddy viscosity with wake mixing. In addition, the magnitude of near-bed turbulent fluctuations is shown to depend on the depth-averaged flow velocity and the relative roughness. Extension of the model to mixed grain sizes indicates that the coarser fraction becomes increasingly difficult to transport on steeper slopes.
Bed form initiation in unidirectional flow is examined on a flat bed composed of a homogeneous 0.5 mm sand. Velocity profiles taken prior to bed form development indicate that the examined flows are typical of fully turbulent, uniform, open channel flows. Under these conditions, two separate modes of bed form initiation are observed: defect and instantaneous initiation. Defect initiation occurs at lower flow stages, where sediment transport is sporadic and patchy, and is characterized by defect propagation associated with flow separation. Instantaneous initiation occurs at larger flow strengths, where sediment transport is general and widespread. This form of bed form initiation begins with the imprinting of a cross‐hatch pattern on the flat sediment bed, which leads to chevron‐shaped forms that migrate independently of the initial pattern. The chevrons eventually align to form incipient crest lines. This mode of bed form initiation does not appear to be linked to turbulent structures, but integral scales derived from velocity measurements prior to bed form development are similar to the initial bed form length scales.
[1] The effectiveness of gravel augmentation as a river restoration strategy depends on the extent and duration of the topographic and bed texture changes created by the pulse of added sediment. Previous work has emphasized the strong tendency for natural sediment waves to propagate primarily by dispersion; however, pulse translation may occur for gravel additions to armored channels downstream of dams where added sediments are finer than the preexisting bed material. Here we report results of a laboratory investigation in which we created an immobile, armored bed and documented the spatial and temporal evolution of the bed topography and bed texture in response to gravel pulses of various volumes and grain sizes. The introduced sediment waves evolved by a combination of translation and dispersion, with a significant translational component. Pulse translation and dispersion can be readily discerned on a graph of the time evolution of the downstream cumulative distribution of elevation differences from the preexisting bed topography. Translation was most evident for smaller volumes of added sediment. Pulses of finer-grained gravel moved through the flume more rapidly, resulting in a larger magnitude but shorter duration of bed fining. More work is needed to understand the influence of bar-pool topography and flow magnitude and duration before the grain size and volume of gravel additions can be selected to achieve optimal patterns of pulse propagation.
[1] River beds are often arranged into patches of similar grain size and sorting. Patches can be distinguished into ''free patches,'' which are zones of sorted material that move freely, such as bed load sheets; ''forced patches,'' which are areas of sorting forced by topographic controls; and ''fixed patches'' of bed material rendered immobile through localized coarsening that remain fairly persistent through time. Two sets of flume experiments (one using bimodal, sand-rich sediment and the other using unimodal, sand-free sediment) are used to explore how fixed and free patches respond to stepwise reductions in sediment supply. At high sediment supply, migrating bed load sheets formed even in unimodal, sand-free sediment, yet grain interactions visibly played a central role in their formation. In both sets of experiments, reductions in supply led to the development of fixed coarse patches, which expanded at the expense of finer, more mobile patches, narrowing the zone of active bed load transport and leading to the eventual disappearance of migrating bed load sheets. Reductions in sediment supply decreased the migration rate of bed load sheets and increased the spacing between successive sheets. One-dimensional morphodynamic models of river channel beds generally are not designed to capture the observed variability, but should be capable of capturing the time-averaged character of the channel. When applied to our experiments, a 1-D morphodynamic model (RTe-bookAgDegNormGravMixPW.xls) predicted the bed load flux well, but overpredicted slope changes and was unable to predict the substantial variability in bed load flux (and load grain size) because of the migration of mobile patches. Our results suggest that (1) the distribution of free and fixed patches is primarily a function of sediment supply, (2) the dynamics of bed load sheets are primarily scaled by sediment supply, (3) channels with reduced sediment supply may inherently be unable to transport sediment uniformly across their width, and (4) cross-stream variability in shear stress and grain size can produce potentially large errors in width-averaged sediment flux calculations.
[1] The kinematics and morphodynamics of low-amplitude, small-scale sand waves developed over migrating dunes are examined using data drawn from laboratory experiments. We refer to the superimposed features as ''sand sheets,'' a general descriptive term for low-amplitude bed waves that are not easily classified as ripples, dunes, or bars. Within the experiments, the sheets formed downstream of the reattachment point at a distance that was invariant with dune size. Some sheets lacked slip faces composed of sand grains avalanching down a slope near the angle of repose. Over equilibrium dunes, three to four sand sheets were observed per 100 s. Sheet thickness was 10% of the height of the dune upon which they were superimposed; they migrated at 8 to 10 times the dune rate; they had nearly constant lengths over the full range of dune lengths and flow conditions; and they had aspect ratios of $0.025. Dunes and sand sheets represent distinct scales of sediment transport with different migration rates. However, sediment transport rates, calculated from the sand sheet and dune morphologies, are nearly identical. For transport equivalence to occur, sand sheets migrating at 10 times the dune rate must be 0.1 times the size, which is consistent with the morphological observations. Superimposed bed waves on dunes are often considered simply as additional roughness elements, but these results indicate that such bed waves are the agency by which the dune bed form itself moves downstream.
Sediment transport in sand‐bedded alluvial channels is strongly conditioned by bedforms, the planimetric morphology of which can be either two‐ or three‐dimensional. Experiments were undertaken to examine the processes that transform the bed configuration from two‐dimensional (2D) dunes to three‐dimensional (3D) dunes. A narrowly graded, 500 μm size sand was subjected to a 0·15 m deep, non‐varying mean flow ranging from 0·30 to 0·55 m sec−1 in a 1 m wide flume. Changes in the planimetric configuration of the bed were monitored using a high‐resolution video camera that produced a series of 10 sec time‐lapsed digital images. Image analysis was used to define a critical value of the non‐dimensional span (sinuosity) of the bedform crestlines that divides 2D forms from 3D forms. Significant variation in the non‐dimensional span is observed that cannot be linked to properties of the flow or bedforms and thus appears random. Images also reveal that, once 2D bedforms are established, minor, transient excesses or deficiencies of sand are passed from one bedform to another. The bedform field appears capable of absorbing a small number of such defects but, as the number grows with time, the resulting morphological perturbations produce a transition in bed state to 3D forms that continue to evolve, but are pattern‐stable. The 3D pattern is maintained by the constant rearrangement of crestlines through lobe extension and starving downstream bedforms of sediment, which leads to bifurcation. The experiments demonstrate that 2D bedforms are not stable in this calibre sand and call into question the reliability of bedform phase diagrams that use crestline shape as a discriminator.
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