Upper flow regime bedforms on levees and continental slopes: Turbidity current flow dynamics in response to fine-grained sediment waves

Abstract

Our knowledge of submarine upper flow regime bedforms is very limited. Numerical experiments presented herein were designed to broaden our understanding of the origin and dynamics of fine-grained upper flow regime bedforms in turbidite systems, particularly on levees and continental slopes. The experiments combine field information in order to (1) examine the hydrodynamic response of a bed consisting of fine-grained sediment waves to a wide range of turbidity current conditions, and (2) demonstrate that fine-grained sediment waves most likely form and evolve as upper flow regime bedforms, i.e., cyclic steps, transitional bedforms, or antidunes. The results of the study provide valuable information for the reconstruction of turbidity current flow dynamics on levees, continental slopes, and in other submarine settings that display a slope break.