Incisional cyclic steps of permanent form in mixed bedrock‐alluvial rivers
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Abstract Most bedrock river channels have a relatively thin, discontinuous cover of alluvium and are thus termed mixed bedrock‐alluvial channels. Such channels often show a series of steps formed at relatively regular intervals. This bed form is the bedrock equivalent of cyclic steps formed on beds composed of cohesive soil in gullies. In this paper, we perform a full nonlinear analysis for the case of cyclic steps in mixed bedrock‐alluvial channels to explain the formation of these steps. We employ the shallow water equations in conjunction with equations describing the process of bedrock incision. As a model of bedrock incision, we employ the recently introduced Macro‐Roughness Saltation Abrasion Alluviation model, which allows direct interaction between alluvial and bedrock morphodynamics. The analysis is greatly simplified by making the quasi‐steady assumption that alluvial processes occur much faster than bedrock erosional processes. From our analysis, we obtain the conditions for the formation of cyclic steps in bedrock, as well as the longitudinal profiles of bed elevation, water surface elevation, and areal fraction of alluvial cover. It is found from the analysis that when the sediment supply is small relative to the transport capacity, cyclic steps form only on slopes with very high gradients. The analysis indicates that the shape of a step formed on bedrock is characterized by a relatively short upstream portion with an adverse slope and a long, almost planar downstream portion with a constant slope.Keywords:
Bedrock
Abstract Most bedrock river channels have a relatively thin, discontinuous cover of alluvium and are thus termed mixed bedrock‐alluvial channels. Such channels often show a series of steps formed at relatively regular intervals. This bed form is the bedrock equivalent of cyclic steps formed on beds composed of cohesive soil in gullies. In this paper, we perform a full nonlinear analysis for the case of cyclic steps in mixed bedrock‐alluvial channels to explain the formation of these steps. We employ the shallow water equations in conjunction with equations describing the process of bedrock incision. As a model of bedrock incision, we employ the recently introduced Macro‐Roughness Saltation Abrasion Alluviation model, which allows direct interaction between alluvial and bedrock morphodynamics. The analysis is greatly simplified by making the quasi‐steady assumption that alluvial processes occur much faster than bedrock erosional processes. From our analysis, we obtain the conditions for the formation of cyclic steps in bedrock, as well as the longitudinal profiles of bed elevation, water surface elevation, and areal fraction of alluvial cover. It is found from the analysis that when the sediment supply is small relative to the transport capacity, cyclic steps form only on slopes with very high gradients. The analysis indicates that the shape of a step formed on bedrock is characterized by a relatively short upstream portion with an adverse slope and a long, almost planar downstream portion with a constant slope.
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On the basis of the observation data of strip mining under structure and combining with numerical simulation,the surface subsidence rule of different mining and reservation width in strip mining under thick alluvium and thin bedrock were analyzed.The study shows that the calculated subsidence coefficient according to common strip mining is smaller than the actual value;the subsidence increases along with bedrock thinning with same mining width,and it is small when mining width is small with same bedrock;the subsidence increases more obviously with mining width increasing with thinner bedrock.In order to ensure the significance to control subsidence,while designing the mining and reservation width,not only design principle but also bedrock thickness should be considered,which can make the supporting terrane exist in bedrock.
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Abstract Recent studies reveal that low‐slope bedrock reaches (bedrock surface slope milder than ~5 m/km) are more common than previously thought and can be found in engineered rivers and densely populated deltas. Here we present a novel formulation of alluvial morphodynamics of low‐slope bedrock rivers transporting nonuniform bed material that accounts for the nonuniformity of the sediment size and the presence of small scale bedforms such as dunes and can thus be of aid to solve management/restoration problems in low‐slope bedrock rivers. The formulation is implemented in a one‐dimensional morphodynamic model. Numerical results are compared with laboratory experiments on equilibrium bedrock reaches downstream of stable alluvial‐bedrock transitions. The differences between experimental and numerical results are comparable with those obtained in the alluvial case. Model applications simulate (1) bedrock reaches with a stable bedrock‐alluvial transitions, (2) an alluvial‐bedrock transition subject to sea level rise, and (3) steep bedrock reaches. Upstream of a stable bedrock‐alluvial transition the flow decelerates in the streamwise direction with the formation of a stable pattern of downstream coarsening of bed surface sediment. In response to sea level rise, alluvial‐bedrock transitions migrate downstream and bedrock‐alluvial transitions migrate upstream. Opposite migration directions are expected in the case of sea level fall. When applied to steep channels, the model predicts gradual alluviation, but it fails to reproduce runaway alluviation.
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Beach morphodynamics
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The thickness of the alluvial and tuffaceous deposits that overlie bedrock in Yucca Valley has been inferred from gravity and seismic measurements. Preliminary interpretations indicate that these deposits are thickest in a narrow north-trending trough in the eastern part of the valley. The gravity data delineate a buried north-trending ridge of bedrock that extends from Mine Mountain almost to Quartzite Ridge. Seismic refraction measurements confirm the existence of the bedrock ridge and indicate that the bedrock is as close as 100 feet to the surface. The buried bedrock high is important because it may alter concepts of the movement of groundwater within the valley. A single seismic-refraction profile was located near the area of thickest alluvium and tuff to determine the feasibility of using refraction techniques for determining the depth to bedrock where it is covered with several thousand feet of alluvium and tuff. The results are encouraging but not enough data were acquired to give a reliable depth estimate. Seismic-refraction measurements were used successfully to determine the thickness of alluvium in narrow valleys partly filled with alluvium. This work was in the northwestern part of Yucca Valley and was done to choose drilling sites for studies of ground-water movement.
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Seismic refraction
Trough (economics)
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The bedrock in Iowa (Hershey, 1969) is generally overlain by deposits of glacial drift and alluvium, which range in thickness from less than 1 ft to more than 400 ft, and from less than 1 ft to about 60 ft respectively. The configuration of the bedrock surface is the result of a complex system of ancient drainage courses which were developed during a long period of preglacial erosion and during shorter, but mroe intense, periods of interglacial erosion.
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The bedrock in Iowa (Hershey, 1969) is generally overlain by deposits of glacial drift and alluvium, which range in thickness from less than 1 foot (0.3 m) to more than 400 ft (18 m), respectively. The configuration of the bedrock surface is the result of a complex system of ancient drainage courses when were developed during a long period of preglacial erosion and during shorter, but more intense, periods of interglacial erosion.
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Shallow seismic‐reflection techniques were used to image the bedrock‐alluvial interface, near a chemical evaporation pond in the Texas Panhandle, allowing optimum placement of water‐quality monitor wells. The seismic data showed bedrock valleys as shallow as 4 m and accurate to within 1 m horizontally and vertically. The normal‐moveout velocity within the near‐surface alluvium varies from 225 m/s to 400 m/s. All monitor‐well borings near the evaporation pond penetrated unsaturated alluvial material. On most of the data, the wavelet reflected from the bedrock‐alluvium interface has a dominant frequency of around 170 Hz. Low‐cut filtering at 24 dB/octave below 220 Hz prior to analog‐to‐digital conversion enhanced the amplitude of the desired bedrock reflection relative to the amplitude of the unwanted ground roll. The final bedrock contour map derived from drilling and seismic‐reflection data possesses improved resolution and shows a bedrock valley not interpretable from drill data alone.
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Abstract To better understand how stream geomorphology may affect water temperature, we recorded water temperatures along two channels, one with deep alluvium and the other composed of bedrock and shallow alluvium. Study channels were located in managed forestlands on the Olympic Peninsula. Water temperatures were recorded hourly at 75-m intervals along 1.6 and 1.4 km of the alluvial and bedrock channels, respectively, during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Seasonal maximum and minimum daily water temperatures (i.e., season-long means for individual temperature dataloggers) in the alluvial channel tended to vary less over the course of the summer than temperatures in the bedrock channel. In addition, the means of all the individual dataloggers' daily maximums for each stream (reach mean maximum) and, similarly, the daily minimums (reach mean minimum) varied less for the alluvial channel. Changes in temperature from the upstream to downstream were greater for the bedrock channel, but only at low flow.
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Peninsula
Alluvial fan
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Modeling of the annual heat flow within a thin alluvium veneer on a granitic bedrock substrate in desert environments, such as found in the southwestern United States, predicts that at certain times of the year the depth to bedrock has a measurable effect on the surface temperature if the alluvium cover is less than 2 m thick. Changes in the thickness of the alluvial cover caused by bedrock topography will produce contrasts in the surface temperature. If temperature contrasts as small as 0.1 C can be resolved, a linear topographic feature having several metres of relief buried by 1.5 m of alluvium may be visible in thermal imagery acquired during January or August in the southwestern U.S. under optimal conditions. Thermal remote sensing may provide a means for delineating some buried faults, fluvial channels, and other features of interest on buried, granitic pediment surfaces.
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Alluvion
Alluvial fan
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Bedrock, resistant alluvium and gravel armor constrain channel behavior and morphology (Figure 1.2). Rivers that are confined between bedrock canyon walls are obviously dominated by bedrock. However, many rivers are only partly affected by bedrock, and they vary greatly in their morphology and ability to adjust in a downstream direction. For example, the Snake River in Idaho (Osterkamp et al., 2001), the Middle Fork of the John Day River in Oregon (McDowell, 2001), and the Sabie River in South Africa (Heritage et al., 2001) are of this type. Mapping of 25 km of the Sabie River reveals that 5 km is bedrock anastomosing, 6.5 km is pool-rapid, 8 km is mixed bedrock and alluvial anastomosing, 1 km is single thread, and 4.5 km is braided, a very mixed bag.
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