The Impact of Intermittency on Bed Load Sediment Transport
Abstract
Sediment transport by wind or water near the threshold of grain motion is dominated by rare transport events. This intermittency makes it difficult to calibrate sediment transport laws, or to define an unambiguous threshold for grain entrainment, both of which are crucial for predicting sediment transport rates. We present a model that captures this intermittency and shows that the noisy statistics of sediment transport contain useful information about the sediment entrainment threshold and the variations in driving fluid stress. Using a combination of laboratory experiments and analytical results, we measure the threshold for grain entrainment in a novel way and introduce a new property, the “shear stress variability”, which predicts conditions under which transport will be intermittent. Our work suggests strategies for improving measurements and predictions of sediment flux and hints that the sediment transport law may change close to the threshold of motion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 25, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1029/2021gl096088
Entities
People
- Eric Deal
- J. Taylor Perron
- Jeremy Venditti
- Ken Kamrin
- Matthew Rushlow
- Qiong Zhang
- Santiago Jose Benavides
Organizations
- ETH Zurich
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- National Science Foundation
- Simon Fraser University
- United States Army Research Laboratory