Spatio-temporal deposition profile of an experimentally produced turbidity current with a continuous suspension supply

Abstract

A turbidity current is a turbulent, particle-laden gravity current that is driven by density differences resulting from the presence of suspended sediment particles. The current travels downslope, bearing a large amount of sediment over a great distance, and forms fluvial and submarine bedforms. Knowledge of the spatio-temporal deposition profile of turbidity-deposited sediment is important for a better understanding of sediment transport by turbidity currents. In the current study, the depositional process of experimentally produced quasi-steady turbidity currents in an inclined flume was investigated using an electrical-resistance-based depositmeter. It was found that the amount of sediment deposited along the flume bottom increases linearly with time at a specific rate, and decreases exponentially in the downstream direction. Inspired by this observation, the mass conservation law was modified for the suspension layer and a simple theoretical model was proposed involving two parameters, the initial sedimentation rate and the decay constant. The proposed model reproduces the observed data from the flume experiment with high accuracy, and is consistent with the sediment transport distance of a natural example, the Bengal Fan. It was concluded that the two parameters that govern the sedimentation process are the key to estimating the deposition profile of fluvial systems.