Description: An overview of underwater sound generated by interparticle collisions and its application to the measurements of coarse sediment bedload transport Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 531-543, 2014 Author(s): P. D. Thorne Over the past 2 to 3 decades the concept of using sound generated by the interparticle collisions of mobile bed material has been investigated to assess if underwater sound can be utilised as a proxy for the estimation of bedload transport. In principle the acoustic approach is deemed to have the potential to provide non-intrusive, continuous, high-temporal-resolution measurements of bedload transport. It has been considered that the intensity of the sound radiated should be related to the amount of mobile material and the frequency spectrum to the size of the material. To be able to fully realise this use of acoustics requires an understanding of the parameters which control the generation of sound as particles impact. In the present work the aim is to provide scientists developing acoustics to measure bedload transport with a description of how sound is generated when particles undergo collision underwater. To investigate the properties of the sound generated, examples are provided under different conditions of impact. It is considered that providing an overview of the origins of the sound generation will provide a basis for the interpretation of acoustic data, collected in the marine environment for the study of bedload sediment transport processes.

Description: Dynamics and mechanics of bed-load tracer particles Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 513-530, 2014 Author(s): C. B. Phillips and D. J. Jerolmack Understanding the mechanics of bed load at the flood scale is necessary to link hydrology to landscape evolution. Here we report on observations of the transport of coarse sediment tracer particles in a cobble-bedded alluvial river and a step-pool bedrock tributary, at the individual flood and multi-annual timescales. Tracer particle data for each survey are composed of measured displacement lengths for individual particles, and the number of tagged particles mobilized. For single floods we find that measured tracer particle displacement lengths are exponentially distributed; the number of mobile particles increases linearly with peak flood Shields stress, indicating partial bed load transport for all observed floods; and modal displacement distances scale linearly with excess shear velocity. These findings provide quantitative field support for a recently proposed modeling framework based on momentum conservation at the grain scale. Tracer displacement is weakly negatively correlated with particle size at the individual flood scale; however cumulative travel distance begins to show a stronger inverse relation to grain size when measured over many transport events. The observed spatial sorting of tracers approaches that of the river bed, and is consistent with size-selective deposition models and laboratory experiments. Tracer displacement data for the bedrock and alluvial channels collapse onto a single curve – despite more than an order of magnitude difference in channel slope – when variations of critical Shields stress and flow resistance between the two are accounted for. Results show how bed load dynamics may be predicted from a record of river stage, providing a direct link between climate and sediment transport.

Description: Neotectonics, flooding patterns and landscape evolution in southern Amazonia Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 493-511, 2014 Author(s): U. Lombardo The paper examines the role of neotectonic activity in the evolution of the landscape in southern Amazonia during the Holocene. It uses both new and published data based on the analysis of remote sensing imagery and extensive field work in the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivian Amazon. The study of the region's modern and palaeorivers, ria lakes, palaeosols and topography provides a strong case in favour of the thesis that the northern part of the Llanos de Moxos constitutes the southern margin of the Fitzcarrald Arch and that it has experienced uplift during the Holocene. The paper assesses the extent and timing of the neotectonic activity in light of the new data and reconstructs the evolution of the landscape since the late Pleistocene. The evidence suggests that at least two uplift events took place: a first uplift in the late Pleistocene, which caused the formation of Lake Oceano, and a second uplift during the mid-Holocene, which formed Lake Rogaguado. These two uplifts appear to be linked to the knickpoints observed close to the towns of Guayaramerín and Puerto Siles respectively. The backwater effect due to these uplifts transformed the region's major rivers in seasonal ria lakes, causing the deposition of thick organic clay layers along the Beni, Mamoré and Madre de Dios river banks. I argue that neotectonic episodes could have dramatically changed the drainage of the Llanos de Moxos, determining its flooding regime, soil properties and forest–savannah ecotone. These results stress the need for geomorphologists, palaeo-ecologists and archaeologists to take into account neotectonics when reconstructing the region's past.

Description: Tracing the boundaries of Cenozoic volcanic edifices from Sardinia (Italy): a geomorphometric contribution Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 481-492, 2014 Author(s): M. T. Melis, F. Mundula, F. DessÌ, R. Cioni, and A. Funedda Unequivocal delimitation of landforms is an important issue for different purposes, from science-driven morphometric analysis to legal issues related to land conservation. This study is aimed at giving a new contribution to the morphometric approach for the delineation of the boundaries of volcanic edifices, applied to 13 monogenetic volcanoes (scoria cones) related to the Pliocene–Pleistocene volcanic cycle in Sardinia (Italy). External boundary delimitation of the edifices is discussed based on an integrated methodology using automatic elaboration of digital elevation models together with geomorphological and geological observations. Different elaborations of surface slope and profile curvature have been proposed and discussed; among them, two algorithms based on simple mathematical functions combining slope and profile curvature well fit the requirements of this study. One of theses algorithms is a modification of a function introduced by Grosse et al. (2011), which better performs for recognizing and tracing the boundary between the volcanic scoria cone and its basement. Although the geological constraints still drive the final decision, the proposed method improves the existing tools for a semi-automatic tracing of the boundaries.

Description: The impact of particle shape on the angle of internal friction and the implications for sediment dynamics at a steep, mixed sand–gravel beach Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 469-480, 2014 Author(s): N. Stark, A. E. Hay, R. Cheel, and C. B. Lake The impact of particle shape on the angle of internal friction, and the resulting impact on beach sediment dynamics, is still poorly understood. In areas characterized by sediments of specific shape, particularly non-rounded particles, this can lead to large departures from the expected sediment dynamics. The steep slope (1 : 10) of the mixed sand–gravel beach at Advocate Harbour is stable in large-scale morphology over decades, despite a high tidal range of 10 m or more, and intense shore-break action during storms. The Advocate sand ( d 〈 2 mm) was found to have an elliptic, plate-like shape (Corey Shape Index, CSI ≈ 0.2–0.6). High angles of internal friction of this material were determined using direct shear, ranging from φ ≈ 41 to 49°, while the round to angular gravel was characterized as φ = 33°. The addition of 25% of the elliptic plate-like sand-sized material to the gravel led to an immediate increase in friction angle to φ = 38°. Furthermore, re-organization of the particles occurred during shearing, characterized by a short phase of settling and compaction, followed by a pronounced strong dilatory behavior and an accompanying strong increase of resistance to shear and, thus, shear stress. Long-term shearing (24 h) using a ring shear apparatus led to destruction of the particles without re-compaction. Finally, submerged particle mobilization was simulated using a tilted tray submerged in a water-filled tank. Despite a smooth tray surface, particle motion was not initiated until reaching tray tilt angles of 31° and more, being ≥7° steeper than for motion initiation of the gravel mixtures. In conclusion, geotechnical laboratory experiments quantified the important impact of the elliptic, plate-like shape of Advocate Beach sand on the angles of internal friction of both pure sand and sand–gravel mixtures. The resulting effect on initiation of particle motion was confirmed in tilting tray experiments. This makes it a vivid example of how particle shape can contribute to the stabilization of the beach face.

Description: Sediment dynamics on a steep, megatidal, mixed sand–gravel–cobble beach Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 443-453, 2014 Author(s): A. E. Hay, L. Zedel, and N. Stark Results are presented from a pilot study of shore-face sediment dynamics on a steep, poorly sorted, coarse-grained, megatidal beach at the head of the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Canada. The experiment involved the first field deployment of a prototype wideband, pulse-coherent, bistatic acoustic Doppler profiling system. Measurements of the vertical structure of flow and turbulence above a sloping bed, as well as bed material velocity, demonstrate the capabilities of this instrument vis-à-vis studies of nearshore sediment dynamics at the field scale. The second focus of the paper is the unexpected observation that the surficial sediment median diameter, across the lower two-thirds of the intertidal zone, underwent a pronounced decrease when wave forcing was more energetic, compared to values observed during calmer conditions. The explanation for this result appears to involve the formation – in wave-dominated conditions – of metre-scale wavelength, 20 cm high ripples on the rising tide, which are then planed flat by the swash and/or the shore break on the subsequent ebb.

Description: The linkages among hillslope-vegetation changes, elevation, and the timing of late-Quaternary fluvial-system aggradation in the Mojave Desert revisited Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 455-468, 2014 Author(s): J. D. Pelletier Valley-floor-channel and alluvial-fan deposits and terraces in the southwestern US record multiple episodes of late-Quaternary fluvial-system aggradation and incision. Perhaps the most well-constrained of these episodes took place from the latest Pleistocene to the present in the Mojave Desert. One hypothesis for this episode – i.e., the paleovegetation-change hypothesis (PVCH) – posits that a reduction in hillslope vegetation cover associated with the transition from Pleistocene woodlands to Holocene desert scrub generated a pulse of sediment that triggered a primary phase of aggradation downstream, followed by channel incision, terrace abandonment, and initiation of a secondary phase of aggradation further downstream. A second hypothesis – i.e., the extreme-storm hypothesis – attributes episodes of aggradation and incision to changes in the frequency and/or intensity of extreme storms. In the past decade a growing number of studies has advocated the extreme-storm hypothesis and challenged the PVCH on the basis of inconsistencies in both timing and process. Here I show that in eight out of nine sites where the timing of fluvial-system aggradation in the Mojave Desert is reasonably well constrained, measured ages of primary aggradation are consistent with the predictions of the PVCH if the time-transgressive nature of paleovegetation changes with elevation is fully taken into account. I also present an alternative process model for PVCH that is more consistent with available data and produces sediment pulses primarily via an increase in drainage density (i.e., a transformation of hillslopes into low-order channels) rather than solely via an increase in sediment yield from hillslopes. This paper further documents the likely important role of changes in upland vegetation cover and drainage density in driving fluvial-system response during semiarid-to-arid climatic changes.

Description: Transitional relation exploration for typical loess geomorphologic types based on slope spectrum characteristics Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 433-441, 2014 Author(s): S. Zhao and W. Cheng Based on the Chinese Geomorphologic Database at 1 : 1 000 000 scales, the distribution of the typical loess geomorphologic types (such as the loess tableland, loess ridge and loess knoll) is acquired in the Loess Plateau of China. Then, based on the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) digital elevation model (DEM) data and topographic analysis methods, the slope spectrums are computed for the typical loess geomorphologic types and their subtypes. Through achieving the tendency line of the slope spectrum and analysing the slope spectrum characteristics of the loess typical geomorphologic types, the transitional relationships are explored: (1) the general rule is that loess tableland transitions to loess ridge, and then to loess knoll. (2) The specific relationships for the subtypes are as follows: in loess tableland, the transition is from loess terrace to complete tableland, then to residual tableland, and finally to beam tableland. In the loess ridge, the transition is from oblique ridge to knoll ridge, and the final stage is the loess knoll.

Description: Effect of self-stratification on sediment diffusivity in channel flows and boundary layers: a study using direct numerical simulations Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 419-431, 2014 Author(s): S. Dutta, M. I. Cantero, and M. H. Garcia Sediment transport in nature comprises of bedload and suspended load, and precise modelling of these processes is essential for accurate sediment flux estimation. Traditionally, non-cohesive suspended sediment has been modelled using the advection–diffusion equation (Garcia, 2008), where the success of the model is largely dependent on accurate approximation of the sediment diffusion coefficients. The current study explores the effect of self-stratification on sediment diffusivity using suspended sediment concentration data from direct numerical simulations (DNS) of flows subjected to different levels of stratification, where the level of stratification is dependent on the particle size (parameterized using particle fall velocity Ṽ and volume-averaged sediment concentration (parameterized using shear Richardson number Ri τ . Two distinct configurations were explored, first the channel flow configuration (similar to flow in a pipe or a duct) and second, a boundary-layer configuration (similar to open-channel flow). Self-stratification was found to modulate the turbulence intensity (Cantero et al., 2009b), which in turn was found to reduce vertical sediment diffusivity in portions of the domain exposed to turbulence damping. The effect of particle size on vertical sediment diffusivity has been studied in the past by several authors (Rouse, 1937; Coleman, 1970; Nielsen and Teakle, 2004); so in addition to the effect of particle size, the current study also explores the effect of sediment concentration on vertical sediment diffusivity. The results from the DNS simulations were compared with experiments (Ismail, 1952; Coleman, 1986) and field measurements (Coleman, 1970), and were found to agree qualitatively, especially for the case of channel flows. The aim of the study is to understand the effect of stratification due to suspended sediment on vertical sediment diffusivity for different flow configurations, in order to gain insight of the underlying physics, which will eventually help us to improve the existing models for sediment diffusivity.

Description: A geomorphology-based approach for digital elevation model fusion – case study in Danang city, Vietnam Earth Surface Dynamics, 2, 403-417, 2014 Author(s): T. A. Tran, V. Raghavan, S. Masumoto, P. Vinayaraj, and G. Yonezawa Global digital elevation models (DEM) are considered a source of vital spatial information and find wide use in several applications. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global DEM (GDEM) and Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) DEM offer almost global coverage and provide elevation data for geospatial analysis. However, GDEM and SRTM still contain some height errors that affect the quality of elevation data significantly. This study aims to examine methods to improve the resolution as well as accuracy of available free DEMs by data fusion techniques and evaluating the results with a high-quality reference DEM. The DEM fusion method is based on the accuracy assessment of each global DEM and geomorphological characteristics of the study area. Land cover units were also considered to correct the elevation of GDEM and SRTM with respect to the bare-earth surface. The weighted averaging method was used to fuse the input DEMs based on a landform classification map. According to the landform types, the different weights were used for GDEM and SRTM. Finally, a denoising algorithm (Sun et al., 2007) was applied to filter the output-fused DEM. This fused DEM shows excellent correlation to the reference DEM, having a correlation coefficient R 2 = 0.9986, and the accuracy was also improved from a root mean square error (RMSE) of 14.9 m in GDEM and 14.8 m in SRTM to 11.6 m in the fused DEM. The results of terrain-related parameters extracted from this fused DEM such as slope, curvature, terrain roughness index and normal vector of topographic surface are also very comparable to reference data.