Despite the ratio of incoming discharges being recognized as a key parameter in open-channel confluence hydrodynamics, little is known about the flow patterns when the tributary provides more than 90% of the total discharge. This paper offers a systematic study of flow features when the tributary becomes increasingly dominant in a 90° confluence with a fixed concordant bed. Large-eddy simulations are used to investigate the three-dimensional complex flow patterns for three different discharge ratios. It is found that the tributary flow impinges on the opposing bank when the tributary flow becomes sufficiently dominant, causing a recirculating eddy in the upstream channel of the confluence, which induces significant changes in the incoming velocity distribution. Moreover, it results in stronger helicoidal cells in the downstream channel, along with zones of upwelling flow. In turn, the changed flow patterns also influence the mixing layer and the flow recovery. Finally, intermittent events of stronger upwelling flow are discerned. Improved understanding of flow patterns at confluences where the tributary is dominant is applicable to both engineering and earth sciences.

This paper compiles the technical characteristics and operating principles of the Nortek Vectrino Profiler and reviews previously reported user experiences. A series of experiments are then presented that investigate instrument behaviour and performance, with a particular focus on variations within the profile. First, controlled tests investigate the sensitivity of acoustic amplitude (and Signal-to-Noise Ratio, SNR) and pulse-to-pulse correlation coefficient, R2, to seeding concentration and cell geometry. Second, a novel methodology that systematically shifts profiling cells through a single absolute vertical position investigates the sensitivity of mean velocities, SNR and noise to: (a) emitted sound intensity and the presence (or absence) of acoustic seeding; and (b) varying flow rates under ideal acoustic seeding conditions. A new solution is derived to quantify the noise affecting the two perpendicular tristatic systems of the Vectrino Profiler and its contribution to components of the Reynolds stress tensor. Results suggest that for the Vectrino Profiler:  1. optimum acoustic seeding concentrations are ~3000 to 6000 mg L−1;  2. mean velocity magnitudes are biased by variable amounts in proximal cells but are consistently underestimated in distal cells;  3. noise varies parabolically with a minimum around the ‘sweet spot’, 50 mm below the transceiver;  4. the receiver beams only intersect at the sweet spot and diverge nearer to and further from the transceiver. This divergence significantly reduces the size of the sampled area away from the sweet spot, reducing data quality;  5. the most reliable velocity data will normally be collected in the region between approximately 43 and 61 mm below the transceiver.

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Patches are of central interest to many areas of environmental science because they provide a lower limit of structural detail in synoptic studies, and an upper limit of contextual structure for point measurement-based studies. Identification and delineation of macrophyte patches however, is often arbitrary and case-specific. In this paper we propose a widely-applicable set of guidelines for delineating a "patch" and "patch matrix"the latter implying a collection of interacting patches which could standardize future research. To support this proposal, we examine examples from eco-hydrological studies, focusing on interactions between plants, water flow, sediment, and invertebrates. We discuss three aspects that are key to the delineation of a patch: (1) constitution (variable(s) whose values define the patch), (2) spatial properties (patch boundaries), and (3) distinction (of isolated single patches from multiple separate-but-interacting patches). The discussion of these aspects results in guidelines for identifying and delineating a patch which is

The present work presents an experimental study in which resonant surface oscillations inside a lateral cavity are reconstructed, often denoted as se- iching, which are excited by a shallow main stream flowing past the horizontal basin. Firstly, the flow configurations that trigger transverse and/or longitu- dinal seiching are studied using pressure measurements in the corners of the cavity, which shows that a transitional Froude number exists, approximately 0.63, at which the dominant seiching mode changes from transverse to longi- tudinal seiching. For both types of resonant conditions, the surface shape is analyzed in detail using a three-dimensional particle tracking velocimetry (3D- PTV) setup. Based upon floating seeding particles, the 3D surface is recon- structed with a superior spatial resolution compared to traditional measurement techniques, which confirms the multimodal aspect of the surface oscillations.