Bedload transport of fine gravel observed by motion-picture photography

Abstract

Motion pictures taken at Duck Creek, a clear stream 6.5 m wide and 35 cm deep near Pinedale, Wyoming, provide detailed, quantitative information on both the modes of motion of individual bedload particles and the collective motions of large numbers of them. Bed shear stress was approximately 6 Pa (60 dynes cm−2), which was about twice the threshold for movement of the 4 mm median diameter fine gravel bed material; and transport was almost entirely as bedload. The displacements of individual particles occurred mainly by rolling of the majority of the particles and saltation of the smallest ones, and rarely by brief sliding of large, angular ones. Entrainment was principally by rollover of the larger particles and liftoff of the smaller ones, and infrequently by ejection caused by impacts, whereas distrainment was primarily by diminution of fluid forces in the case of rolling particles and by collisions with larger bed particles in the case of saltating ones. The displacement times averaged about 0.2−0.4 s and generally were much shorter than the intervening repose times. The collective motions of the particles were characterized by frequent, brief, localized, random sweep-transport events of very high rates of entrainment and transport, which in the aggregate transported approximately 70% of the total load moved. These events occurred 9% of the time at any particular point of the bed, lasted 1–2 s, affected areas typically 20–50 cm long by 10–20 cm wide, and involved bedload concentrations approximately 10 times greater than background. The distances travelled during displacements averaged about 15 times the particle diameter. Despite the differences in their dominant modes of movement, the 8–16 mm particles typically travelled only about 30% slower during displacement than the 2–4 mm ones, whose speeds averaged 21 cm s−1. Particles starting from the same point not only moved intermittently downstream but also dispersed both longitudinally and transversely, with diffusivities of 4.6 and 0.26 cm2 s−1, respectively. The bedload transport rates measured from the films were consistent with those determined conventionally with a bedload sampler. The 2–4 mm particles were entrained 6 times faster on finer areas of the bed, where 8–16 mm particles covered 6% of the surface area, than on coarser ones, where they covered 12%, even though 2–4 and 4–8 mm particles covered practically the same percentage areas in both cases. The 4–8 and 8–16 mm particles, in contrast, were entrained at the same rates in both cases. To within the statistical uncertainty, the rates of distrainment balanced the rates of entrainment for all three sizes, and were approximately proportional to the corresponding concentrations of bedload.

The morphology and evolution of channels on the Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, USA

“…Bed load sediment remains close to the bed and has long intervals of repose between transport events [Drake et al, 1988]. It is therefore surveyed as stable alluvium.…”

Bedload transport in two creeks at the ice-free area of the Baranowski Glacier, King George Island, West Antarctica

“…The suspended load is the sediment that almost never has connection with the bed, whereas the bedload particles move in still connection with the channel bed. Moreover, the bedload particles may be transported in the form of sliding, rolling and saltation (Fernandez-Luque and van Beek 1976;Bridge and Dominic 1984;Drake et al 1988;Parker 1990;Bialik and Czernuszenko 2013). During their movement these particles can form different morphological forms, such as sand or gravel waves.…”

Statistical Description on the Role of Turbulence and Grain Interference on Particle Entrainment from Gravel Beds

“…The turbulent nature of the local flow field, 27 although organized in repeating and coherent flow patterns (Kline et al 1967), and the evidence that 28 the forces that resist motion are not a simple function of the submerged grain weight (Kirchner et al 29 1990) are two key elements that render the entrainment of sediments in rivers an intermittent and 30 almost random process as documented by Drake et al (1988). The pioneering studies by Einstein 31 (1950), Sutherland (1967) and Grass (1970) have contributed to the development of modeling 32 approaches that described particle entrainment using probabilistic concepts (e.g., Cheng Recently, two additional aspects were experimentally investigated that characterize physical 36 interactions at the sediment-flow interface.…”