Increase In Sediment Concentration Research Articles

Case study: Effects of sediment concentration on the wear of fluvial water pump impellers on Brazil's Acre River

The most important factor causing surface wear in hydraulic systems is the impact produced by abrasive particles suspended in the water flow. The impact conditions, such as mean particle velocity; particle mass; abrasive particle concentration in the liquid flow (number of particles per unit of liquid volume, size distribution of the particles); angle of attack at which the particles collide with the surface; and duration of the effect produced by the particles on the surface contribute to the development of the abrasion process. The wear resistance of the centrifugal pump impellers depends on the characteristics of the materials used in their manufacture and the abrasiveness of the suspended sediments in the pumped water. Despite special care in choosing the material used in its manufacture, abrasive wear is practically impossible to totally avoid. This work analyses the wear of ductile cast iron impeller blades of a centrifugal pump, used at the Fluvial Water Elevation Station (FWES) of the Acre River sedimentary basin in Brazil, due to the sediment concentration variation and the river water level. To determine the wear pattern and the relationship between the material and specific wear coefficient (k) due to increased sediment concentration, a ball-cratering microscale abrasive wear test was performed on samples of ductile cast iron, withdrawn from a used impeller, and abrasive suspensions at concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 g L−1 of river sediment in distilled water. The wear volume to the impeller blades due to the relative velocity of the mixture (water + sediment) and the wear accumulated in an annual hydrological cycle were estimated mathematically. The results showed that: i) the k remains constant regardless of the normal force (FD) applied in the tests in the abrasometer; ii) the wear tests showed the abrasive capacity of the sediments at different concentrations; and iii) the rotational control of the pump speed based on the sediment concentration and the river water level can contribute to a reduction in wear of up to 30% considering the hydrological cycle.

Heteroaggregation of an enveloped bacteriophage with colloidal sediments and effect on virus viability

Four sediments in the colloidal size range: goethite, montmorillonite, illite, and kaolinite, were suspended with the bacteriophage φ6, a model enveloped virus, to determine relative rates of heteroaggregation and the effect of aggregation on virus viability. Turbidity was measured on combinations of virus and each sediment type at low concentration to determine aggregation rates. Aggregation of sediment with virus occurred regardless of mineral type, and larger fraction of virus is expected to aggregate with increasing sediment concentration leading to higher deposition rates. The negatively charged sediments, aggregated with φ6 (also negatively charged at neutral pH) at a faster rate than the positively charged sediments, yielding turbidity slopes of 4.94 × 10−3 s−1 and 7.50 × 10−4 s−1 for φ6-montmorillonite and φ6-illite aggregates, respectively, and 2.98 × 10−5 s−1 and 2.84 × 10−5 s−1, for φ6-goethite and φ6-kaolinite, respectively. This indicates that the interaction between sediments and virus is hydrophobic, rather than electrostatic. Large numbers of virions remained viable post-aggregation, despite the fragility of the viral envelope, indicating that small-sized aggregates, which may travel more readily through porous media, may pose an infection risk. The fraction of φ6 that remained viable varied with sediment type, with montmorillonite-φ6 aggregates experiencing the greatest reduction in infectivity at 35%. TEM analyses reveal that in all sediment-φ6 combinations, infectivity loss was likely due to disassembly of the viral envelope as a result of aggregation.

STUDY ON REMOTE SENSING IMAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOLOGICAL LAND: CASE STUDY OF ORIGINAL ECOLOGICAL LAND IN THE YELLOW RIVER DELTA

Abstract. Takes the Yellow River Delta as an example, this paper studies the characteristics of remote sensing imagery with dominant ecological functional land use types, compares the advantages and disadvantages of different image in interpreting ecological land use, and uses research results to analyse the changing trend of ecological land in the study area in the past 30 years. The main methods include multi-period, different sensor images and different seasonal spectral curves, vegetation index, GIS and data analysis methods. The results show that the main ecological land in the Yellow River Delta included coastal beaches, saline-alkaline lands, and water bodies. These lands have relatively distinct spectral and texture features. The spectral features along the beach show characteristics of absorption in the green band and reflection in the red band. This feature is less affected by the acquisition year, season, and sensor type. Saline-alkali land due to the influence of some saline-alkaline-tolerant plants such as alkali tent, Tamarix and other vegetation, the spectral characteristics have a certain seasonal changes, winter and spring NDVI index is less than the summer and autumn vegetation index. The spectral characteristics of a water body generally decrease rapidly with increasing wavelength, and the reflectance in the red band increases with increasing sediment concentration. In conclusion, according to the spectral characteristics and image texture features of the ecological land in the Yellow River Delta, the accuracy of image interpretation of such ecological land can be improved.

Long-term impact of rainfed agricultural land abandonment on soil erosion in the Western Mediterranean basin

Land abandonment is widespread in the Mediterranean mountains. The impact of agricultural abandonment results in a shift in ecosystem evolution due to changes in soil erosion, but little is known about long-term soil and water losses. This paper uses 11 years of measurements in two paired plots (abandoned vs control) with four subplots to determine how soil and water losses evolved after abandonment within an agricultural parcel. For two years (2004–2005) both plots were under tillage, and after 2006 one plot was abandoned. The monitored plots measured runoff and sediment concentration after each rainfall event. The results show that during the two years after abandonment there was an increase in sediment yield followed by a decrease. Once the field was abandoned, a sudden increase in runoff (× 2.1 times) and sediment concentration (× 1.2 times) was found due to the lack of vegetation and tillage. After one year, the sediment concentration and, after two years, the runoff rates were lower in the abandoned than in the tilled plots. This short transition period ended in contrasting responses between the control and abandoned plot as the impact of abandonment resulted in 21 times less sediment yield after nine years of abandonment. This occurred despite the fact that the year after the abandonment the abandoned plot had 2.9 times more erosion due to low vegetation recovery and the development of a soil crust. Agriculture land abandonment resulted in lower erosion rates over the long term, but showed an increase in soil and water losses over the short term (two years). Therefore, in the first two years after abandonment there is a particular need to apply nature-based soil and water conservation strategies to prevent soil erosion.

Spatio-temporal Analysis of suspended sediment Concentration in the Yongjiang Estuary Based on GOCI

The concentration and spatio-temporal variation of suspended sediment concentration in the estuary area are of great significance to the nearshore engineering, port construction and coastal evolution. Based on multi-period GOCI images and corresponding measured suspended sediment concentration (SSC) data, three inversion models (the linear regression model, the power exponent model and the neural network model) were established after rapid atmospheric correction. The results show that the absolute error of the three models is 0.20, 0.16 and 0.10kg/m3 respectively, and the relative errors are 38%, 23% and 18% respectively. The accuracy of the neural network (8-17-17-1) is the best. The SSC distribution diagrams in an ebb and flow cycle are obtained using this ANN model. The results show that with Yongjiang estuary for segmentation, the high concentration area is located in the north and the lower is in the south around Jintang Island deeper water area. When the tide rises, the water flow disturbs a large amount of sediment, and then the sediment concentration increases and high area high concentrations water body moves along the SE-NW. When the tide falls, flow rate decreases and the sediment concentration decreases. However, with the falling tide, the concentration of suspended sediment in the northern sea areas gradually increases, and is higher than 1kg/m3, and gradually moves along the NW-SE until to the estuary.

Effect of hydrodynamics factors on sediment flocculation processes in estuaries

PurposeCohesive sediment is able to flocculate and create flocs, which are larger than individual particles and less dense. The phenomenon of flocculation has an important role in sediment transport processes such as settling, deposition and erosion. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the effect of key hydrodynamic parameters such as suspended sediment concentration and salinity on floc size and settling velocity. Results were compared with previous laboratory and field studies at different estuaries.Materials and methodsExperimental tests were conducted in a 1-L glass beaker of 11-cm diameter using suspended sediment samples from the Severn Estuary. A particle image velocimetry system and image processing routine were used to measure the floc size distribution and settling velocity.Results and discussionThe settling velocity was found to range from 0.2 to 1.2 mm s−1. Settling velocity changed in the case of increasing suspended sediment concentration and was controlled by the salinity. The faster settling velocity occurred when sediment concentration is higher or the salinity is lower than 2.5. On the other hand, at salinities higher than 20, in addition to increasing SSC, it was found that the situation was reversed, i.e. the lower the sediment concentration, the faster the settling velocity.ConclusionsSediment flocculation is enhanced with increasing sediment concentration but not with increasing salinity.

Oil sands tailings pond sediment toxicity to early life stages of northern pike (Esox lucius)

The Athabasca River in Alberta flows through natural sources of eroding oil sands bitumen and oil sands mining operations that may result in low level contamination of surface waters. Northern pike (Esox lucius) are apex predators and important food and game fish species native to the Athabasca River system. This species has the potential to be exposed to both natural and anthropogenic sources of contamination from oil sands related materials throughout its life cycle. Pike are difficult to rear in the laboratory and little information exists on the toxicity of oil sands related materials to this key indigenous fish species. In this study, the potential effects of two sediment samples collected from different areas of one tailings pond in the Athabasca oil sands area are assessed in a daily renewal bioassay on early life stages of northern pike. Gametes were collected from spawning wild pike captured from a reference site outside of the oil sands area. Fertilized eggs were exposed to control water or increasing concentrations of tailings pond sediments for 21days, coinciding with initiation of exogenous feeding and completion of yolk absorption. Developing fish were examined for survival and changes in body weight, length, and development. Embryos exhibited increased developmental abnormalities and decreased growth and survival with increasing sediment concentration. Both sediment samples had similar levels of naphthenic acids and similar types of PAHs, with alkylated PAHs dominating. However, concentrations of total and alkylated PAHs differed between sediment samples and were related to increasing developmental abnormalities and decreased growth and survival. This is consistent with developmental changes observed with exposure to PAHs in other fish species. These results provide information on the effects of tailings pond sediments comprising mixtures of PAHs and alkylated PAHs on the development and survival of a key species in the northern aquatic ecosystem.

Impacts of Human Modifications and Natural Variations on Short-Term Morphological Changes in Estuarine Tidal Flats

This study evaluated the impact of human modifications and natural variations (e.g., seasonal riverine fluxes, plant growth, and estuarine environments) on the short-term morphological changes in estuarine tidal flats. Central to the study was an embankment, constructed in 2014, which changed the path of a tidal flat evolution in the Yangtze Estuary and resulted in a remarkable shift of the erosion-deposition pattern in the study area. To examine the embankment’s impact, we used a terrestrial laser scanner to collect seven topographic data sets for the tidal flat, during different seasons from 2012 to 2016. The rates of elevation change varied from − 19.3 cm year−1 before embankment construction to 17.2 cm year−1 after embankment construction. The field measurements also showed that the new embankment led to an increase of suspended sediment concentration from 1.4 to 2.7 kg m−3 on average in the mudflat and from 1.0 to 2.6 kg m−3 in the salt marsh. These results indicated that the increase in sediment availability caused by human modifications played an important role in tidal flat evolution and were able to promote the accretion of the tidal flats. Furthermore, there were significant spatiotemporal variations in the morphological changes in different regions of the tidal flat. Depositional changes were more likely to occur during the wet seasons and salt marshes were more stable than mudflats and tidal creeks.

Recent increase of river–floodplain suspended sediment exchange in a reach of the lower Amazon River

AbstractWe analyzed variation of channel–floodplain suspended sediment exchange along a 140 km reach of the lower Amazon River for two decades (1995–2014). Daily sediment fluxes were determined by combining measured and estimated surface sediment concentrations with river–floodplain water exchanges computed with a two‐dimensional hydraulic model. The average annual inflow to the floodplain was 4088 ± 2017 Gg yr−1 and the outflow was 2251 ± 471 Gg yr−1, respectively. Prediction of average sediment accretion rate was twice the estimate from a previous study of this same reach and more than an order of magnitude lower than an estimate from an earlier regional scale study. The amount of water routed through the floodplain, which is sensitive to levee topography and increases exponentially with river discharge, was the main factor controlling the variation in total annual sediment inflow. Besides floodplain routing, the total annual sediment export depended on the increase in sediment concentration in lakes during floodplain drainage. The recent increasing amplitude of the Amazon River annual flood over two decades has caused a substantial shift in water and sediment river–floodplain exchanges. In the second decade (2005–2014), as the frequency of extreme floods increased, annual sediment inflow increased by 81% and net storage increased by 317% in relation to the previous decade (1995–2004). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The effect of source suspended sediment concentration on the sediment dynamics of a macrotidal creek and salt marsh

Seasonal variability in the sediment dynamics of a Bay of Fundy tidal creek and salt marsh system was analyzed to better understand the ecomorphodynamics of a high suspended sediment concentration intertidal habitat. Data were collected over 62 tides for velocity, suspended sediment concentration, deposition, and grain size at four stations from the creek thalweg to the marsh surface. Five topographic surveys were also conducted throughout the 14-month study. Deposition rates per tide varied spatially from 56.4gm-2 at the creek thalweg to 15.3gm-2 at the marsh surface. Seasonal variations in deposition in the creek and marsh surface were from 38.0gm-2 to 97.7gm-2 and from 12.2gm-2 to 19.6gm-2 respectively. Deposition and erosion were greatest in late fall and winter. This seasonal change, led by higher suspended sediment concentrations, was observed in the creek and at the marsh bank but notably absent from the marsh edge and marsh surface. Sediments were predominantly deposited in floc form (76–83%). Because of high floc content, higher suspended sediment concentrations led to more rapid loss of sediment from suspension. With increasing sediment concentration, deposition increased in the tidal creek and at the marsh bank but not at the marsh edge or marsh surface. This suggests that in highly flocculated environments the water column clears fast enough that very little sediment remains in suspension when the water reaches the marsh and that the sediment concentration during marsh inundation is independent of the initial concentration in the creek.

Water Quality Signals from Rural Land Use and Exurbanization in a Mountain Landscape: What's Clear and What's Confounded?

AbstractIn mountainous landscapes with high climatic and geomorphic variability, how do rural land uses and exurbanization alter hydrology and water quality? We evaluated effects of rural land use and exurbanization on streamflows, suspended sediment concentrations and loads, specific conductance, and summer water temperatures in 12 streams and rivers within the Upper Little Tennessee River basin in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Eleven streams featured low levels of development (>61% forest cover) but differed in land use patterning, basin size, annual precipitation, and watershed morphology. One urban stream, located within the largest town in the basin, provided the high development comparative endpoint. Even low levels of rural development and exurbanization were associated with substantial increases in suspended sediment concentrations, sediment loads, and summer stream temperature daily maxima and diurnal variation. Observed summer temperature increases were much larger than would be expected due to global climate change over the next century. Specific conductance was idiosyncratic among the smaller streams. These water quality changes were not accompanied by streamflow changes that were discernible amid the high natural variation in precipitation and geomorphology. The water quality findings suggest the need for applying the best management practices, including riparian buffers, to even low levels of rural development.

Satellite observation of coastline change around Hay Point, Australia before and after tropical cyclone “Debbie”

On March 28, 2017, tropical cyclone “Debbie” made landfall on the coast of the state of Queensland in Australia. This was the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit Australia in the past 6 years. Debbie has resulted in at least five deaths and caused rail damage, power outages and flooding according to relevant reports. This cyclone halted railway transportation and several mines in Queensland had to be closed, including the coal exports terminals of Abbot Point, Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point. In a short period, Debbie resulted in a strong hydro-dynamical response. Subsequently, Debbie caused considerable coastline movement and significantly modified the coastal topography. The position of a coastline is controlled by tide level and coastal topography. Hence, we should take tide level variation into consideration to avoid its impact on the determination of coastline position. To locate the position of coastline and assess its temporal change around Hay Point, we collected tide level data from Rosslyn Bay station near the study area. Based on the tide level data, two Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images showing similar tide levels before and after Debbie were obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Explorer website. Landsat scenes used in this paper from Landsat Surface Reflectance Climate Data Records (CDR) had been pre-processed to L1TP level (Precision and Terrain Correction). The widely used Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used to enhance water information. This water index is able to enlarge the discrimination between surface water and other types of land cover. The optimal threshold was manually determined using the frequency histogram of the NDWI image. We applied the optimal threshold to produce a land-water map. Then, inland water was filled to remove its effect on the land-ocean map. Finally, manual checking and editing were implemented in ArcGIS10.2 to ensure the quality of land-ocean maps before and after Debbie. We used the produced land-ocean map to represent the position of the coastline. Two land-ocean maps were overlaid and subtracted to generate the coastline change map. The net change of land area per 1 km×1 km cell along the coastline was calculated to characterize the spatial pattern of coastline change after cyclone Debbie. Our results suggest that the coastline significantly expanded to the ocean after the landfall of Debbie with a net land gain of 54.5 km2 along the coast around Hay Point, Australia. In our study area, 98.2% of the coastline exhibited expansion to the ocean and only 1.8% of the coastline retreated to the land. Note that we may slightly underestimate the net land gain because some regions in the study area were covered by cloud/shadow during observations. We also observed a significant increase of suspended sediment concentration around some coasts using visual judgement, which is likely to be associated with the coastline expansion around the coastal area near Hay Point. Timely and accurate information on coastline position and its change is essential to the management of sudden siltation of ports and waterways, and the subsequent resumption of the operation of wharves. Such datasets can also be helpful to develop and validate storm surge-wave-sediment numerical models. This paper used a simple application to demonstrate the great potential of satellite technology for natural disaster monitoring and assessment. In the future, more attention should be paid to the use of multi-source remotely sensed data to conduct continuous monitoring of coastline dynamics with higher spatial resolution and temporal frequency.

Assessing the impacts of climate and land use change on streamflow, water quality and suspended sediment in the Kor River Basin, Southwest of Iran

This research addressed the separate and combined impacts of climate and land use change on streamflow, suspended sediment and water quality in the Kor River Basin, Southwest of Iran, using (BASINS–WinHSPF) model. The model was calibrated and validated for hydrology, sediment and water quality for the period 2003–2012. The model was run under two climate changes, two land use changes and four combined change scenarios for near-future period (2020–2049). The results revealed that projected climate change impacts include an increase in streamflow (maximum increases of 52% under RCP 2.6 in December and 170% under RCP 8.5). Projected sediment concentrations under climate change scenarios showed a monthly average decrease of 10%. For land use change scenarios, agricultural development scenario indicated an opposite direction of changes in orthophosphate (increases in all months with an average increase of 6% under agricultural development scenario), leading to the conclusion that land use change is the dominant factor in nutrient concentration changes. Combined impacts results indicated that streamflows in late fall and winter months increased while in summer and early fall decreased. Suspended sediment and orthophosphate concentrations were decreased in all months except for increases in suspended sediment concentrations in September and October and orthophosphate concentrations in late winter and early spring due to the impact of land use change scenarios.

The effect of oil sands tailings pond sediments on embryo-larval walleye (Sander vitreus)

Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a commercially important North American fish species that inhabit the Athabasca River. This river flows through the Athabasca oil sands where natural sources of bitumen erode from the McMurray formation. Little information is available on responses of walleye embryos to oil sands tailings pond sediments in a laboratory setting. The current study describes the design and implementation of a daily-renewal bioassay to assess the potential effects of tailings pond sediments from the Athabasca oil sands area on walleye development. Developing walleye embryos were exposed to increasing concentrations of two tailings pond sediments (collected in the Athabasca oil sands area) until the completion of yolk absorption in control fish. Sediments from the tailings pond represent a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylated PAHs. During the 31 day exposure, the walleye were examined for mortalities, weight, length and developmental abnormalities to provide an initial evaluation of the effects of the oil sands tailings pond sediments. Walleye embryo survival differed between the tailings pond sediments, and survival decreased with increasing sediment concentration. Alkylated PAH content differed between the two tailings pond sediments and lower embryo survival corresponded to higher total and alkylated PAH content. Tailings pond sediment-exposed walleye exhibited a delay in development, as well as increased percentages of larvae with heart and yolk sac edema, and cranial and spinal malformations. These abnormalities in development are often associated with PAH and alkylated PAH exposure. This study provides an exposure design that can be used to assess sediment toxicity to early developmental stages of a fish species not commonly tested in the lab, and lays the groundwork for future studies with this and other difficult-to-culture species. These results offer information on the potential effects of tailings pond sediments containing PAH/alkylated PAH mixtures on walleye development and survival.

Palaeoecological implications of the preservation potential of soft-bodied organisms in sediment-density flows: testing turbulent waters.

Interpreting how far organisms within fossil assemblages may have been transported and if they all originated from the same location is fundamental to understanding whether they represent true palaeocommunities. In a three-factorial experimental design, we used an annular flume to generate actualistic sandy sediment-density flows that were fast (2 ms−1) and fully turbulent in order to test the effects of flow duration, sediment concentration, and grain angularity on the states of bodily damage experienced by the freshly euthanized polychaete Alitta virens. Results identified statistically significant effects of flow duration and grain angularity. Increasing sediment concentration had a statistically significant effect with angular sediment but not with rounded sediment. Our experiments demonstrate that if soft-bodied organisms such as polychaetes were alive and then killed by a flow then they would have been capable of enduring prolonged transport in fast and turbulent flows with little damage. Dependent upon sediment concentration and grain angularity, specimens were capable of remaining intact over flow durations of between 5 and 180 min, equating to transport distances up to 21.6 km. This result has significant palaeoecological implications for fossil lagerstätten preserved in deposits of sediment-density flows because the organisms present may have been transported over substantial distances and therefore may not represent true palaeocommunities.

An overview of hydro-sedimentological characteristics of intermittent rivers in Kabul region of Kabul river basin

ABSTRACTIntermittent rivers are defined as rivers with a high seasonality in water, sediment transport and habitat. In this study, an attempt is made to outline the major hydro-sedimentological characteristics of intermittent rivers systems using the examples from the Maidan and Shakar-Dara rivers in Kabul region of the Kabul river basin. As dominant hydrological characteristics of intermittent rivers, the interaction between surface water and groundwater is studied by correlating the precipitation, evapotranspiration, river discharges and groundwater level fluctuations in wells located in the vicinity of the rivers. Suspended sediment transport and river bed sediments are in a further step studied to understand the sedimentological behaviour of these river systems. The characteristics of the catchment area such as geology, land cover, land use and dry periods are studied to show their influence on the suspended sediment transport. Field observations and satellite images are used to investigate the morphology of the selected rivers. Results show that precipitation, in particular during the winter and early spring months exceed the evapotranspiration and are providing the main water source for irrigation and groundwater recharge. The analysis reveals that the seepage loss through the river bed contributes significantly more to the groundwater recharge than precipitation. An increase in suspended sediment concentrations in Maidan river are observed by comparing historic (1965–1968) and recent (2012–2015) data. In addition, higher suspended sediment concentrations are observed in Maidan river compared to Shakar-Dara river. The higher concentrations can be linked to the lower percentage of vegetated area in its catchment compared to the Shakar-Dara catchment as well as to its finer sediment grain sizes of its bed and banks. Morphological investigations indicate single and multi-thread (braided) channels are the most common planform types for Shakar-Dara river, however, at Maidan river with gentle slopes, a meandering tendency with various sinuosities can be observed.

Dam Discharge Events Alter Water Flow in an Estuary in Spain

Three-year observations suggest that increased sediment concentrations inhibit vertical transfer of momentum between water layers for more than 2 months after a high-discharge event.

Detrital magnetization of laboratory-redeposited sediments

Abstract We conducted several redeposition experiments in laboratory using natural and artificial sediments in order to investigate the role of grain size and lithology on sedimentary remanence acquisition. The role of grain size was investigated by using sorted sediment from natural turbidites. Taking advantage of the magnetic grain size distribution within turbidites, we compared redeposition experiments performed with coarse magnetic grains taken from the bottom layers of a turbidite with fine grains from the upper layers of the same turbidite. In order to document the magnetization acquired for increasing sediment concentrations that is analogous to increasing depth in the sediment column, the samples were frozen at temperatures between −5 and −10 °C. Magnetization acquisition behaved similarly in both situations, so that little smearing of the palaeomagnetic signal should be linked to grain size variability within this context. Other series of experiments were aimed at investigating the influence of lithology. We used clay or carbonated sediments that were combined with magnetic separates from basaltic rocks or with single-domain biogenic magnetite. The experiments revealed that the magnetization responded differently with clay and carbonates. Clay rapidly inhibited alignment of magnetic grains at low concentrations and, therefore, significant magnetization lock-in occurred despite large water contents, perhaps even within the bioturbated layer. Extension of the process over a deeper interval contributes to smear the geomagnetic signal and therefore to alter the palaeomagnetic record. In carbonates, the magnetization was acquired within a narrow window of 45–50 per cent sediment concentration, therefore, little smearing of the geomagnetic signal can be expected. Finally, experiments on carbonate sediments and biogenic magnetite with increasing field intensities indicate that magnetization acquisition is linear with respect to field intensity. Altogether, the results suggest that sediments with dominant carbonate content should be favoured for records of geomagnetic field changes provided that the minor clay fraction does not vary excessively. They confirm the advantage of using cultures of magnetotactic bacteria for redeposition experiments.

The role of buoyancy reversal in turbidite deposition and submarine fan geometry

Abstract Although recent work has shown that changing interstitial fluid density within turbidity currents is a frequently overlooked factor affecting the texture and internal architecture of turbidites, little is known about its influence on submarine fan morphology. Here we present the results of three-dimensional flume experiments of turbidity currents that clearly demonstrate the role of low-density interstitial fluid, in combination with sediment concentration and basin gradient, on submarine fan geometry. The experiments show that turbidity currents with reversing buoyancy, and their resulting deposits, are narrower than those that remain ground hugging. Furthermore, wider deposits result from increases in sediment concentration and/or basin-floor gradient. We also propose that Taylor-Görtler vortices associated with currents traveling over a break in slope may lead to the deposition of wider lobes compared with those traveling over a constant gradient.

Climate change in the Blue Nile Basin Ethiopia: implications for water resources and sediment transport

As much as 66% of the Nile River flow that reaches Egypt originates in the Highlands of the Ethiopian Blue Nile Basin (BNB). This imbalance in water availability poses a threat to water security in the region and could be impacted by climate change. This study coupled a watershed model analysis with bias corrected and downscaled Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 (CMIP5) climate data to assess the potential impact of climate change on water resources and sediment dynamics in two critical headwater basins of the BNB. Climate scenarios analyzed include RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5 from six climate models, which were used to force watershed models calibrated against historic streamflow for six gauged sub-watersheds in the Tana basin and four gauged sub-watersheds in the Beles basin. We developed distributed watershed model parameter estimates from the gauged sub-watersheds, which were applied to un-gauged portions of the basins using topographically informed parameter transfer functions. We analyzed the impact of climate change for two future time periods (2041–2065 and 2075–2099) by running each of the six downscaled and bias corrected CMIP5 model predicted climate forcings through the watershed models to assess the impact of ensemble model mean and variance in climate change prediction on water availability and sediment transport. Results indicate that the Tana and Beles basins will experience increases both in mean annual flow (22-27%) and sediment concentrations (16-19%). Interestingly, and of significance for water availability and hydropower development, the monsoon in the Tana and Beles basins will lengthen by approximately four (Tana) to six (Beles) weeks. These results highlight both the considerable variance in climate change impacts as well as the potential for beneficial outcomes in the region.