Fine sediment erosion rate in immobile gravel bed

Abstract:

The dynamics of fine sediment transport in immobile gravel bed is a complex process and is a common phenomenon downstream of dams during dam removal and flushing operations. Despite many developments in the field, the direct measurement of fine sediment erosion (entrainment) rates in immobile coarse beds remains challenging. We developed a new approach for measurement of fine sediment erosion rate in coarse immobile bed in laboratory experiment. The method uses single laser line, a video camera and a reflective mirror. It allows a non-intrusive, fast and accurate measurement of fine sediment erosion rate in running water and non-equilibrium transport conditions. The measurement method was conducted for flow depth that ranges from 3.0 cm to 8.0 cm. We present procedures developed to extract laser lines from series of images captured at high temporal resolution and to estimate rapid evolution of fine sediment erosion depth within the roughness layer of the immobile gravel bed. With the use of a reflective mirror the depth of erosion can be measured with sub-millimeter (350µm) resolution. The results of the measurements are used to describe vertical profile of fine sediment erosion rate in the gravel roughness layer and its spatial heterogeneity. The spatial pattern of erosion rates shows good agreement with gravel bed turbulent flow structures.