Behavior Of Sediment Transport Research Articles

On the sediment deposition on Barugbug Situdam Weir

In this paper, we investigate the behavior of total sediment transport in the Barudbug weir, Situdam, Karawang, West Java, Indonesia, which is a crucial aspect of water management in the Citarum river basin. We utilize SESAME instrument observation data, encompassing rainfall, TSS, and depth parameters, gathered over a period of approximately three years. Additionally, we employ a two-dimensional Advection-Diffusion analytic model that takes into account settling velocity. The observation results reveal a positive correlation between TSS and depth, with TSS levels increasing following heavy rainfall. Furthermore, there exists a time delay between rainfall events and the subsequent rise in TSS concentration, suggesting an upstream source of sediment. The model outcomes demonstrate an inverse relationship between TSS concentration and the velocity of river flow, as the river flow acts as a leaching mechanism.

Morphodynamic Response of Open and Embayed Beaches to Winter Conditions: Two Case Studies from the North Atlantic Iberian Coast

The morphological responses of two mesotidal beaches located in different coastal settings (embayed and open sandy beaches) on the northwestern Iberian coast were monitored during the winter of 2018/19. The offshore wave time series analysis is related to high-resolution topo-bathymetric measurements to explore spatial-temporal morphological variability at monthly to seasonal scales. Both locations are subjected to the North Atlantic wave climate which exhibits a pronounced seasonality. Throughout the last decade (2010–2020), significant wave heights reached values of up to Hs~9 m during winters and up to Hs~6 m during summers. On average, approximately 12 storms occurred annually in this region. The results clearly reveal divergent morphological responses and sediment transport behaviors at the upper beach and the intertidal zone during the winter for each location. In the embayed beach (Patos), sediment transport in the nearshore is governed by cross-shore processes between the beach berm and a submerged sandbar. In contrast, the open beach (Mira) showed dynamic sediment exchanges and three-dimensional morphologies alternating between accumulation and erosion zones. Overall, both beaches exhibited an erosional trend after the winter, particularly concerning berm erosion and the subaerial beach volume/shoreline retreat. This study highlights the contrasting morphodynamic response on open and embayed beaches to winter conditions, integrating both the subaerial and submerged zones. Local geological and environmental factors, as well as the coastal management strategies applied, will influence how the beach responds to winter wave events. Monitoring and understanding these responses are essential for effective coastal management and adaptation to changing climate.

Bedload transport fluctuations, flow conditions, and disequilibrium ratio at the Swiss Erlenbach stream: results from 27 years of high-resolution temporal measurements

Abstract. Based on measurements with the Swiss plate geophone system with a 1 min temporal resolution, bedload transport fluctuations were analysed as a function of the flow and transport conditions in the Swiss Erlenbach stream. The study confirms a finding from an earlier event-based analysis of the same bedload transport data, which showed that the disequilibrium ratio of measured to calculated transport rate (disequilibrium condition) influences the sediment transport behaviour. To analyse the transport conditions, the following elements were examined to characterise bedload transport fluctuations: (i) the autocorrelation coefficient of bedload transport rates as a function of lag time (memory effect), (ii) the critical discharge at the start and end of a transport event, (iii) the variability in the bedload transport rates, and (iv) a hysteresis index as a measure of the strength of bedload transport during the rising and falling limb of the hydrograph. This study underlines that above-average disequilibrium conditions, which are associated with a larger sediment availability on the streambed, generally have a stronger effect on subsequent transport conditions than below-average disequilibrium conditions, which are associated with comparatively less sediment availability on the streambed. The findings highlight the important roles of the sediment availability on the streambed, the disequilibrium ratio, and the hydraulic forcing in view of a better understanding of the bedload transport fluctuations in a steep mountain stream.

The Signature of Climate in Fluvial Suspended Sediment Records

AbstractArid regions are often characterized by exceptionally high rates of fluvial sediment transport, but the processes responsible for this apparent connection between climate and sediment transport remain unclear. We examined decades of continuous flow records and suspended sediment concentrations from 71 rivers across the United States by comparing the suspended sediment rating curve behavior, quantified using power law coefficients and exponents, to an aridity index. Results indicate that higher aridity correlates with both greater overall suspended sediment concentration and lower sensitivity of concentration to changes in discharge, demonstrating that rivers in arid locations on average have greater suspended sediment transport efficiency across most discharges, and achieve high transport rates at a relatively lower discharge than rivers in temperate climates. Furthermore, based on additional analyses of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, specific suspended sediment yield, and a hydrograph flashiness index, we attribute the relationships between sediment transport and climate primarily to differences in vegetation density, precipitation, and runoff, variables that all influence both sediment supply and riverbed grain sorting. Finally, we note that the observed contrasts in sediment transport behavior likely represent climate‐driven differences in the magnitude and frequency of sediment supply rather than annual suspended sediment load, which does not depend significantly on climate. This study highlights a critical connection between multiple interrelated climatic factors and sediment transport, an important finding for future hazard mitigation in a changing climate with rapidly shifting vegetation patterns and hydrology.

Fractional derivative modeling for sediment suspension in ice-covered channels.

Characterizing the anomalous diffusion behavior of sediment transport is a key factor in calculating sediment concentration. This study attempts to seek an equation that captures the nonlocal movement feature of the transport of an ensemble of sediment particles on ice-covered channels with a steady uniform flow field. Given that the fractional advection-dispersion equation with a noninteger order on the space term is nonlocal and able to describe the long-distance transport, a mathematical model with the Caputo fractional derivative is proposed to estimate the vertical diffusion of suspended sediment particles in the ice-covered channel. Results show that the fractional derivative model has a good predictive ability to the suspended sediment concentration as compared to the measurements. Especially in regions close to the undersurface of the ice cover, the proposed model matches better with experiments than the existing analytical model. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the strength of the turbulent diffusion effect dominates the uniformity of the sediment concentration profile. Besides, the sediment concentration is more sensitive to the variation of the boundary roughness than to the change of the sediment settling velocity. It should be noted that the sediment concentration reduces with the decrease of the order of the fractional derivative, which differs from the findings in previous studies.

Mangrove colonization on tidal flats causes straightened tidal channels and consequent changes in the hydrodynamic gradient and siltation potential

A healthy mangrove ecosystem includes diverse landscape structures, such as tidal flats, tidal channels, and areas with circulating waters, in addition to mangrove stands. The complex structure of mangrove forests affects the hydrodynamics and sediment transport behaviour of tidal channels. Understanding the influence of the mangrove invasion of tidal flats on the pattern and stability of tidal channels is essential. In this study, two types of remote sensing images, Google Earth images and aerial photographs, were collected to analyze the relationship between mangrove colonization and changes in tidal channel patterns. After applying binary image processing, these two kinds of images show similar abilities to discriminate the locations, extents, and boundaries of mangroves and tidal channels. We found that the mangrove area was inversely proportional to the tidal channel sinuosity and width. The tidal channels exhibited a meandering pattern with a wider width before the mangroves invaded the tidal flats. After the expansion of the mangroves, the tidal channels gradually transformed into a straight shape with a narrower width. After the mangroves developed into forests, the tidal channels maintained a straight and stable pattern. Since mangroves promote siltation and increase the elevation of the surrounding mudflats, the habitat suitability for mangroves in the neighbouring tidal flat areas may vary. These processes may help expand mangrove habitats, thereby compressing the area of flats and changing the shape of tidal channels. Due to tidal current effects, the unit stream power of a straight tidal channel is approximately twice that of a meandering channel, indicating that straight tidal channels have a stronger anti-siltation capability. Our research also found that the tidal channels may return to a meandering pattern when mangroves are degraded or die and their area decreases. This study provides key evidence that mangroves affect tidal channel types and hydrodynamic characteristics, thus providing a useful reference for restoring and managing estuarine mangrove ecosystems.

The estimation of bedload in poorly-gauged mountain rivers

Bedload transport is one major driver of gravel-bed river morphodynamics, and its quantification is capital for many environmental issues and river engineering applications, as well as for landscape evolution studies. To this point, bedload transport rates and volumes have been classically computed by means of sediment transport formulae. The most used bedload transport equations compute the bulk bedload mass based on section-averaged hydraulic parameters. However, due to the non-linear behavior of sediment transport, bedload formulae are sensitive to the input parameters. Then, some doubts arise when applying bedload equations on poorly gauged river reaches, i.e. rivers where there are no hydrological records and rating curves. In this paper, we assess the application of bedload equations in the case of poorly gauged river reaches, and we test a workflow to follow in such situations. This workflow consists of three steps: (i) Reconstructing the flow duration curve, based on gauging records from neighboring river basins; (ii) Solving the hydraulic geometry relations of the study-case river-reach, based on a flow friction equation; and finally, (iii) Computing bedload with a sediment transport equation. We tested this approach against the bedload information available in the literature for Idaho streams and we found that it could potentially approximate annual bedload volumes in ungauged reaches under certain conditions. To illustrate the potential of this workflow, we also computed bedload volumes for two ungauged river reaches from the Cantabrian mountains (NW Spain).

Land cover change induced sediment transport behaviour in a large tropical Mexican catchment

ABSTRACT The cause–effect relationship and rates of change of suspended sediment dynamics at catchment scales in the tropics remain poorly understood. This study used a chrono-sequence of remotely sensed land use and historical hydrometric data from 1985 to 2001 in three tropical streams of Mexico to analyse the temporal dynamics of land-use change and measured suspended sediment behaviour. The variations in measured suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) were related to land cover change using trend and hysteresis analysis. No statistically significant trends (p > 0.1) at a monthly scale were associated with the historical trajectories of stream sediment fluxes. However, intra-annual hysteresis allowed us to identify the climatic seasonality as a main driver for the discharge-sediment loops and to infer sediment source variations, related to land cover changes over time. The land cover change analysis, combined with statistical tests and hysteresis, was useful to identify temporal and spatial variations in sediment source dynamics.

Analysis of the Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Dredging from Satellite Images: A Case Study in the Principality of Asturias (Spain)

One of the fundamental tasks in the maintenance of port operations is periodic dredging. These dredging operations facilitate the elimination of sediments that the coastal dynamics introduce. Dredging operations are increasingly restrictive and costly due to environmental requirements. Understanding the condition of the seabed before and after dredging is essential. In addition, determining how the seabed has behaved in recent years is important to consider when planning future dredging operations. In order to analyze the behavior of sediment transport and the changes to the seabed due to sedimentation, studies of littoral dynamics are conducted to model the deposition of sediments. Another methodology that could be used to analyze the real behavior of sediments would be to study and compare port bathymetries collected periodically. The problem with this methodology is that it requires numerous bathymetric surveys to produce a sufficiently significant analysis. This study provides an effective solution for obtaining a dense time series of bathymetry mapping using satellite data, and enables the past behavior of the seabed to be examined. The methodology proposed in this work uses Sentinel-2A (10 m resolution) satellite images to obtain historical bathymetric series by the development of a random forest algorithm. From these historical bathymetric series, it is possible to determine how the seabed has behaved and how the entry of sediments into the study area occurs. This methodology is applied in the Port of Luarca (Principality of Asturias), obtaining satellite images and extracting successive bathymetry mapping utilizing the random forest algorithm. This work reveals how once the dock was dredged, the sediments were redeposited and the seabed recovered its level prior to dredging in less than 2 months.

Analysing hydrological and sediment transport regime in two Mediterranean intermittent rivers

Flow and the sediment regime affect water quality and nutrient delivery in all river systems and are fundamental in sustaining the river ecosystem. This study aims to identify the most relevant factors affecting the flow regime and the suspended sediment transport in two Mediterranean intermittent rivers: the Búger (Spain) and the Carapelle (Italy). A set of hydrological indicators were used to characterize and classify the flow regime. High-resolution data, streamflow and suspended sediment concentration were used to quantify runoff and sediment yields at different temporal scales (annual, monthly, event). Rainfall, streamflow and sediment variables were used at the event scale to assess the rainfall-runoff-suspended sediment relationship through the Pearson correlation matrix. Hysteresis analysis provided information on sediment source dynamics. In the Búger River, the high degree of flow intermittence was mainly due to the presence of carbonate lithology and forest land use at headwaters promoting low values of runoff coefficient (2–10%) and specific suspended sediment yield (SSY; 0.5–46 t km−2 y−1). In the Carapelle River, the high values of annual runoff coefficient (14–35%), together with low flow intermittence and SSY (89–745 t km−2 y−1) were related to clay and flyschoid lithology. Most of the annual sediment yield (SY, t) was transported during floods. In Búger, SSY and maximum suspended sediment concentration (SSCmax, g l−1) were checked against runoff, peak discharge and antecedent rainfall. In Carapelle, SSY and SSCmax were checked against the amount and intensity of rainfall. The catchment size and the spatial distribution of rainfall, land uses and lithology played important roles in the flow regime, suspended sediment transport and hysteretic behaviour. Characterization of the flow regime linked to its main physical drivers improved understanding of the hydrological response and sediment transport variability of intermittent rivers. This study provided valuable insights into water resource management, improving the prediction of spatial patterns and of the intensity of sediment transport in river basins.

Erosion, transport and deposition of a sediment replenishment under flood conditions

AbstractRiver reaches downstream of dams with constant residual discharge often lack sediment supply and periodic high flows due to dam sediment retention and flow regulation, respectively. To test a novel multi‐deposit methodology for defining environmental flows for activating the dynamics of the river morphology downstream of dams, a flood was released from Rossens Dam in Switzerland. This event was combined for the first time with a multi‐deposit configuration of sediment replenishment consisting of four artificial deposits allocated as alternate bars along the riverbanks as a restoration measure. To validate the sediment transport behaviour observed in laboratory tests, stones were equipped with radiofrequency identification (RFID) passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, a fixed antenna was installed at the river bed and a mobile antenna was used to enable the investigation of the erosion, transport and deposition of replenished sediments. The duration of the erosion period was determined for the tracked stones, and average transport velocities were found to be on the order of 10–3 m/s. To estimate the erosion efficiency of the flood, defined as the eroded tagged stones compared with the released water volume, the hydrograph was divided into different periods: rising limb, constant peak discharge, decreasing limb. During the rising limb of the flood, which lasted for 20% of the total flood duration, more than 40% of the PIT tags were transported. The defined erosion efficiency is a measure to support the hydrographic design of artificial flood releases from dams. The deposition of tagged stones resulted in a repeating cluster formation, as expected from previous laboratory experiments, creating an increase in hydraulic habitat diversity. Comparison of the results obtained in the field and from laboratory experiments confirmed the robustness of the multi‐deposit sediment replenishment method. Combined with the knowledge gained on the erosion efficiency, these results could motivate further applications and research into multi‐deposit sediment replenishment techniques as a habitat‐oriented river restoration measure. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spatiotemporal sediment transport and deposition processes in experimental dilute pyroclastic density currents

Dilute pyroclastic density currents (dilute PDCs) are frequent and highly dangerous flows of hot gas and particles occurring at explosive volcanoes. The study and interpretation of the sedimentary characteristics of their associated deposits is one of the most important approaches to better understand these violent phenomena and to characterise their dynamics, frequency and magnitude in the geological record of volcanoes. Current strategies are based on sediment transport principles developed for fluvial and aeolian systems. How well these analogies capture the sediment transport behaviour of dilute PDCs remains poorly understood, as the hot and hostile conditions of these fast-moving volcanic flows hamper direct measurements.Here we report the results of large-scale experiments that aim to synthesise the behaviour of dilute PDCs in order to investigate the transport and sedimentation processes inside the hot flows. These flows reproduce the spatiotemporal deposit facies variations seen in natural deposits of dilute PDCs. Through measurements of the evolving flow structure (velocity, particle concentration and flow grain size distribution), we show that the lower region of the density stratified current can be subdivided from the aggrading deposit upwards into a dynamic bedload region with particle concentrations of c. 0.5 to several vol%, a transient region with particle concentrations of c. 0.1–1.5 vol%, a dilute, fully turbulent region with formation of mesoscale clusters, and an upper dilute turbulent region absent of mesoscale clusters. We show that the particle feeding mechanisms of the transient region is related to the occurrence of mesoscale clusters. This process has a key role in modifying the sediment transport modes inside the bedload region. These modifications cause a variation of the dynamics of the lower flow boundary, including erosion/deposition events, and variations of the deposition rate over at least three orders of magnitude. We present images and video footage of these processes that include the formation of shifting sandwaves, rolling and saltation of particles inside the experimental dilute PDC, and analyse how these relate to the development of massive, stratified and laminated deposit structures. Through mapping the isochrones of deposition across the flow length and measuring the propagating flow above, we capture a spatiotemporal view of the aggrading deposit, which can guide the interpretation of natural deposits.

Numerical investigation of particles\u2019 transport, deposition and resuspension under unsteady conditions in constructed stormwater ponds

BackgroundTotal suspended solids (TSS) loads carried by stormwater runoff is a major pollutant source on receiving water bodies. Stormwater ponds are widely used for controlling TSS discharge. However, the trap efficiency is not satisfactory because it is affected by many complex factors, which are not fully understood. Therefore, there is a necessity to gain insight into the sediment process in stormwater ponds for optimization design of stormwater ponds. To address this issue, we propose a novel modeling framework based on discrete phase model (DPM), aiming to fully represent the sediment transport, settling, and resuspension at grain scale under time-dependent conditions.ResultsIn the newly proposed method, heterogeneous characteristics of sediments’ loads, varying flows and sediment loads, settling and resuspension effect at grain scale, time-dependent conditions, and turbulent effect are all well considered. The proposed models have been coded with C language and hooked in computational fluid dynamics software Fluent, and the methods were tested with a case of laboratory experimental setup. Different bed boundary conditions are tested and compared with the observation data for optimization parameters’ identification. The simulation results demonstrated that the physically based DPM with the newly developed method can well reproduce the evolution of sediment transport, settling and resuspension behaviors compared with the scale experiment.ConclusionsThe newly proposed method can accurately predict the trap efficiency and temporal–spatial sediment distribution. The decomposition of bed load motion at grain scale is a necessary and valid way to represent the sedimentation process in shallow ponds. The developed model could be a tool to help us gain insight into the sediment transport phenomena at grain scale in shallow tanks since it can provide detailed information which the experiment cannot.

Coastal Sediment Transport Study along Shoreline by using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics

Sediment transport typically due to combination of gravity acting on the sediment, and/or the movement of the fluid in which the sediment is entrained. This paper gives an exposure simulation of three-dimensional (3D) sediment transports by using Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) at coastal area. The SPH formulation from Monaghan constructed in the code is modified according to the desired model to be solved. The code is then computed by using single Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with 14 cores multiprocessors. The behavior of sediment transport is investigated in this research based on Herschel-Bulkley-Papanastasiou (HBP) model. A constant sinewave of 0.5sin(0.5πt) is applied to the fluid domain to create sea wave effect that will cause sediment transport. The results show that the goal to get sediment transport is achieved and for the further study, the rate of erosion and accretion can be determined to give more meaningful and valuable to the result.

Seasonal geochemical heterogeneity of sediments from a subtropical mountainous river in SE China

The Zhe-Min mountainous rivers in SE China are characterized by stable tectonics, small–mesoscale drainage basins, relatively homogenous bedrocks, dense vegetation cover and high rainfall conditions. These rivers deliver loads of sediments and nutrients to the oceans and always indicate considerably high variability of sediment flux on short-term timescales. However, short-term sediment compositional variations and transport mechanism by these mountainous rivers remain poorly understood. Here we target the Minjiang River, use mineralogical and trace element geochemical data of suspended particulate matters (SPMs) within a one-year hydrological cycle (from October 2016 to October 2017), riverbed sediments (<0.063 mm fractions) and SPMs from the mainstream and major tributaries, to investigate their provenance and transport process. The results indicate that the SPMs in different seasons have strong seasonal geochemical heterogeneity, with highly positive correlations between several trace element ratios (e.g. La(CN)/Yb(CN) and Th/Sc) and runoff of the river. Riverbed sediments and SPMs collected in pairs have distinct geochemical compositions. The riverbed sediments have relatively low La(CN)/Yb(CN) (ca. 10–15) and Th/Sc (ca. 2–5) ratios, whereas the SPMs have La(CN)/Yb(CN) and Th/Sc ratio ranges of ca. 14–17 and ca. 4–7, respectively. These findings suggest a predominant hydrologic control on the Minjiang River sediment transport and geochemical compositions on a seasonal timescale. We conclude that exposed riverbed sediments are probably selectively recycled in dry-season sediment transport, whereas the flood-season SPMs are less mixed with riverbed sediments and are likely dominated by particulates directly from those tributaries and the upper mainstream. We favor that the Zhe-Min mountainous rivers are featured by rapid sediment delivery in response to hydroclimatic changes and have similar sediment transport behaviors with those small mountainous rivers in tectonically active regions of the subtropical East Asia (e.g. Taiwan). This case study also highlights the importance of multi-spatio-temporal scale, heterogeneous river input of chemical elements to the oceans.

Effect of Sediment Load Boundary Conditions in Predicting Sediment Delta of Tarbela Reservoir in Pakistan

Setting precise sediment load boundary conditions plays a central role in robust modeling of sedimentation in reservoirs. In the presented study, we modeled sediment transport in Tarbela Reservoir using sediment rating curves (SRC) and wavelet artificial neural networks (WA-ANNs) for setting sediment load boundary conditions in the HEC-RAS 1D numerical model. The reconstruction performance of SRC for finding the missing sediment sampling data was at R2 = 0.655 and NSE = 0.635. The same performance using WA-ANNs was at R2 = 0.771 and NSE = 0.771. As the WA-ANNs have better ability to model non-linear sediment transport behavior in the Upper Indus River, the reconstructed missing suspended sediment load data were more accurate. Therefore, using more accurately-reconstructed sediment load boundary conditions in HEC-RAS, the model was better morphodynamically calibrated with R2 = 0.980 and NSE = 0.979. Using SRC-based sediment load boundary conditions, the HEC-RAS model was calibrated with R2 = 0.959 and NSE = 0.943. Both models validated the delta movement in the Tarbela Reservoir with R2 = 0.968, NSE = 0.959 and R2 = 0.950, NSE = 0.893 using WA-ANN and SRC estimates, respectively. Unlike SRC, WA-ANN-based boundary conditions provided stable simulations in HEC-RAS. In addition, WA-ANN-predicted sediment load also suggested a decrease in supply of sediment significantly to the Tarbela Reservoir in the future due to intra-annual shifting of flows from summer to pre- and post-winter. Therefore, our future predictions also suggested the stability of the sediment delta. As the WA-ANN-based sediment load boundary conditions precisely represented the physics of sediment transport, the modeling concept could very likely be used to study bed level changes in reservoirs/rivers elsewhere in the world.

Effects of type, level and time of sand and gravel mining on particle size distributions of suspended sediment

Monitoring the sediment transport behavior induced by different interventions, particularly sand mining from rivers, is needed to adaptively manage the watersheds. The particle size distribution of the suspended sediment in up and downstream of rivers is one of the main indicators to know about fate of sediments, which may be varied in different conditions. We investigated the effect of some types of sand and gravel (i.e., manual and low, semi-heavy, and heavy machinery) mining on particle size distribution of suspended sediment in the Vaz-e-Owlya, Vaz-e-Sofla and Alesh-Roud riverine mines located in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. The study was conducted on a monthly basis from February, 2012 to January, 2013. Laser granulometry was used to analyze the particle size distribution of suspended sediment samples taken from up and downstream sections of the study mines. The results revealed that the level and intensity of mining activity affected particle size distribution of suspended sediments. Further statistical assessments in up and downstream sections of the mines proved that sorting, D50, mean, D90, kurtosis, skewness and D10 of the suspended sediment were not significantly influenced by mining activities at levels of 0.09, 0.11, 0.12, 0.15 to 0.69, 0.15–0.69, 0.77, 0.87, 0.97, respectively. While it was not statistically significant, we found that the type of mine and the level of the exploitation changed the particle size distribution of the suspended sediment.

Effect of stone content on water flow velocity over Loess slope: Frozen soil

Soils in high-altitude or -latitude regions are commonly rich in stone fragments, which are frequently frozen. The hydrodynamics of water flow over frozen, stony slopes must be investigated to understand soil erosion and sediment transportation. The objective of this laboratory experiments was to measure water flow velocity over frozen slopes with different stone contents by using electrolyte trace method. The experiments were performed under slope gradients of 5°, 10°, 15°, and 20°; flow discharge rates of 1, 2, 4, and 8L/min; and stone contents of 0%, 10%, 20%, and 50% on mass basis. Nine equidistant sensors were used to measure flow velocity along flume from the top of the slope. Results indicated that stone content significantly affected flow velocity under increasing slope gradient. The increase in stone content rapidly reduced the flow velocity. The flow velocities over frozen slopes were 1.21 to 1.30 times of those over non-frozen slopes under different slope gradients and flow rates. When the stone content increased from 0% to 20%, proportions gradually decreased from 52% to 25% and 13%. Additionally, flow velocities over frozen and non-frozen soil slopes became gradually similar with increasing stone content. This study will help elucidate the hydrodynamics, soil erosion, and sediment transport behaviors of frozen or partially unfrozen hillslopes with different stone contents.

Sediment transport in a shallow coastal region following severe flood events

Severe floods usually result in harmful sediment and pollutant dispersion in shallow coastal regions. This study therefore presents a three-dimensional hydrodynamic and transport model investigation into the sediment transport behaviour following severe flooding which occurred in the Brisbane River catchment. It was found that the flood-driven sediment plume formed in the adjacent Moreton Bay and then spread into the northern part of the bay. Based on analysis of the variations in horizontal sediment flux, four distinct characteristics of sediment transport were identified, corresponding to the combined effects of flooding runoff and tidal currents. Firstly, within the estuary, sediment was driven by the flood discharge and primarily transported in the seaward direction. Secondly, at the river mouth, the transport pattern of the sediment was similar that of the first region, however, the horizontal flux was significantly smaller by 50%. Thirdly, a short distance from the river mouth, variations occurred not only in magnitude but also in transport pattern. Lastly, within the coastal bay, the sediment transport was mainly driven by tides, resulting in the changing direction of sediment movement. It was estimated that approximately 1.01 × 106 tonnes was discharged from the Brisbane River estuary into the bay during the flood event in January 2011. This study exhibited the characteristics of sediment transport within a tidal dominant estuary following a severe flood event. The results would be used to assist the implementation of coastal management strategies.

Effect of stone content on water flow velocity over Loess slope: non-frozen soil

Stony soils are commonly found worldwide and are considerably studied for their hydrological characteristics and effect on soil erosion. Water flow velocity is an important parameter in understanding the effect of stone content on hydrodynamics and soil erosion. In this study, laboratory experiments were used to measure rill flow velocity by using electrolyte tracer method under different hydraulic conditions: flow rates of 1, 2, 4, and 8L/min, slope gradients of 5°, 10°, 15°, and 20°, and stone mass contents amounting to 0%, 10%, 20% and 50%. Nine sensors, which were 1m apart along the 8m long rill, were used to measure flow velocity by tracing solute transport. Measured flow velocity increased with slope gradient and flow rate. The highest increase in flow velocity was measured from 15° to 20° which were also affected by flow rate. Effects of discharge rate on flow velocity presented the largest difference when flow rate increased from 2L/min to 8L/min at slope gradients higher than 5°. The effects of different factors were quantified by a regression model with high accuracy of 0.99. Maximum flow velocity of water was predicted at 15.23% of stone content. Flow velocity increased with 0–15.23% of stone content but decreased at higher values. This study aims at further understanding the hydrodynamics of soil erosion and sediment transport behaviors in hillslopes with different stone contents to obtain information for quantifying soil erosion on stony slopes.