Particle Fluxes into Permeable Sediments: Comparison of Mechanisms Mediating Deposition
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 4
Abstract
Fine particle deposition in coarser sediment beds plays an important role in biogeochemical cycling in sediments by (1) supplying organic matter, attached microorganisms, and nutrients and (2) mediating interfacial fluxes through changes in permeability. In some cases, particles could be associated with contaminants or particles could clog pores in the sediment resulting in ecological impacts through changes in porewater chemistry (e.g., dissolved oxygen profiles). We compare two mechanisms for fine particle deposition to permeable sediments. First, for flat beds, particle delivery by sediment grain-scale flows coupled with particle retention within the sediment could result in deposition in excess of the gravitational settling. Second, pressure-driven flows across ripples may deliver additional particles directly into the sediment, although sediment transport can counteract deposition. Flume experiments were used to measure deposition rates over a range of particle and sediment sizes for both flat and rippled beds. Flat bed deposition rates were greater than the particle settling velocities and comparable to the deposition rates to rippled beds under similar flow conditions. An empirical expression based on parameters for flow, sediment, and particle conditions predicts where each mechanism dominates the deposition rate. This result illustrates the potential importance of grain-scale processes for the deposition of fine particles to permeable sediments regardless of bed roughness. Predictions of particle fate, penetration into the sediment, and degradation following the deposition still require a description of bed topography in addition to sediment properties.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
We thank Charlotte Fuller for providing assistance during experiments. Meredith Magenheim assisted with the sediment sampling and laboratory analyses as part of a Senior Experience internship program (Bergen Academy, N.J.). Three anonymous reviewers provided insightful comments. J.S.F. was supported by a RU-IMCS postdoctoral fellowship.
References
Burganos, V. N., Skouras, E. D., Paraskeva, C. A., and Payatakes, A. C. (2001). “Simulation of the dynamics of depth filtration of non-Brownian spheres.” AIChE J., 47(4), 880–894.
Carling, P. A. (1984). “Deposition of fine and coarse sand in an open-work gravel bed.” Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 41(2), 263–270.
Cushing, C. E., Minshall, G. W., and Newbold, J. D. (1993). “Transport dynamics of fine particulate matter in two Idaho streams.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 38(6), 1101–1115.
Davila, J., and Hunt, J. C. R. (2001). “Settling of small particles near vortices and in turbulence.” J. Fluid Mech., 440, 117–145.
Ehrenhauss, S., Witte, U., Janssen, F., and Huettel, M. (2004). “Decomposition of diatoms and nutrient dynamics in permeable North Sea sediments.” Cont. Shelf Res., 24(6), 721–737.
Einstein, H. A. (1968). “Deposition of suspended particles in a gravel bed.” J. Hydraul. Div., 94(5), 1197–1205.
Eylers, H., Brooks, N. H., and Morgan, J. J. (1995). “Transport of adsorbing metals from stream water to a stationary sand-bed in a laboratory flume.” Mar. Freshwater Res., 46(1), 209–214.
Fries, J. S. (2002). “Enhancement of fine particle deposition to permeable sediments.” Ph.D. thesis, MIT/WHOI, Cambridge, Mass.
Fries, J. S. (2004). “General threshold for sediment transport induced by mounds.” J. Sediment. Res., 74(1), 144–147.
Fries, J. S. (2007). “Predicting interfacial diffusion coefficients for fluxes across the sediment-water interface.” J. Hydr. Engrg., 133(3), 267–272.
Fries, J. S., and Trowbridge, J. H. (2003). “Flume observations of enhanced fine-particle deposition to permeable sediment beds.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 48(2), 802–812.
Ginn, T. R., Wood, B. D., Nelson, K. E., Scheibe, T. D., Murphy, E. M., and Clement, T. P. (2002). “Processes in microbial transport in the natural subsurface.” Adv. Water Resour., 25(8–12), 1017–1042.
Grass, A. J., Stuart, R. J., and Mansour-Tehrani, M. (1991). “Vortical structures and coherent motion in turbulent flow over smooth and rough boundaries.” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 336(1640), 35–65.
Harter, T., Wagner, S., and Atwill, E. R. (2000). “Colloid transport and filtration of Cryptosporidium parvum in sandy soils and aquifer sediments.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 34(1), 62–70.
Hondzo, M. (1998). “Dissolved oxygen transfer at the sediment-water interface in a turbulent flow.” Water Resour. Res., 34(12), 3525–3533.
Huang, X., and Garcia, M. H. (2000). “Pollution of gravel spawning grounds by deposition of suspended sediment.” J. Environ. Eng., 126(10), 963–967.
Huettel, M., and Rusch, A. (2000). “Transport and degradation of phytoplankton in permeable sediment.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 45(3), 534–549.
Huettel, M., Ziebis, W., and Forster, S. (1996). “Flow-induced uptake of particulate matter in permeable sediments.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 41(2), 309–322.
Jackson, P. S. (1981). “On the displacement height in the logarithmic velocity profile.” J. Fluid Mech., 111, 15–25.
Janssen, F., Huettel, M., and Witte, U. (2005). “Pore-water advection and solute fluxes in permeable marine sediments (II): Benthic respiration at three sandy sites with different permeabilities (German Bight, North Sea).” Limnol. Oceanogr., 50(3), 779–792.
Jonsson, K., Johansson, H., and Worman, A. (2004). “Sorption behavior and long-term retention of reactive solutes in the hyporheic zone of streams.” J. Environ. Eng., 130(5), 573–584.
Jonsson, P. R., et al. (2006). “Making water flow: A comparison of the hydrodynamic characteristics of 12 different benthic biological flumes.” Aquat. Ecol., 40(4), 409–438.
Lai, J. L., and Lo, K. S. L. (1992). “Modeling of solute transfer to surface runoff.” Water Sci. Technol., 26(7–8), 1851–1856.
Li, M. Z. (1994). “Direct skin friction measurements and stress partitioning over movable sand ripples.” J. Geophys. Res., 99(C1), 791–799.
McDowell-Boyer, L. M., Hunt, J. R., and Sitar, N. (1986). “Particle transport through porous media.” Water Resour. Res., 22(13), 1901–1921.
Miller, J., and Georgian, T. (1992). “Estimation of fine particulate transport in streams using pollen as a seston analog.” J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc., 11(2), 172–180.
Nagaoka, H., and Ohgaki, S. (1990). “Mass transfer mechanism in a porous riverbed.” Water Res., 24(4), 417–425.
Packman, A. I., Brooks, N. H., and Morgan, J. J. (2000). “A physicochemical model for colloid exchange between a stream and a sand streambed with bed forms.” Water Resour. Res., 36(8), 2351–2361.
Packman, A. I., Salehin, M., and Zaramella, M. (2004). “Hyporheic exchange with gravel beds: Basic hydrodynamic interactions and bedform-induced advective flows.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 130(7), 647–656.
Pilditch, C. A., and Miller, D. C. (2006). “Phytoplankton deposition to permeable sediments under oscillatory flow: Effects of ripple geometry and resuspension.” Cont. Shelf Res., 26(15), 1806–1825.
Reichardt, H. (1951). “Vollstandige darstellung der turbulenten geschwindigkeitsverteilung in glatten leitungen.” Z. Angew. Math. Mech., 31(7), 208–219.
Reimers, C. E., et al. (2004). “In situ measurements of advective solute transport in permeable shelf sands.” Cont. Shelf Res., 24(2), 183–201.
Ren, J., and Packman, A. I. (2002). “Effects of background and water composition on stream-subsurface exchange of submicron colloids.” J. Environ. Eng., 128(7), 624–634.
Reynolds, C. S., White, M. L., Clarke, R. T., and Marker, A. F. (1990). “Suspension and settlement of particles in flowing water: Comparison of the effects of varying water depth and velocity in circulating channels.” Freshw. Biol., 24(1), 23–34.
Richardson, C. P., and Parr, A. D. (1988). “Modified Fickian model for solute uptake by runoff.” J. Environ. Eng., 114(4), 792–809.
Ruff, J. F., and Gelhar, L. W. (1972). “Turbulent shear flow in porous boundary.” J. Engrg. Mech. Div., 98(EM4), 975–991.
Ruiz, J., Macias, D., and Peters, F. (2004). “Turbulence increases the average settling velocity of phytoplankton cells.” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 101(51), 17720–17724.
Schälchli, U. (1992). “The clogging of coarse gravel river beds by fine sediment.” Hydrobiologia, 235/236, 189–197.
Thibodeaux, L. J., and Boyle, J. D. (1987). “Bedform-generated convective transport in bottom sediment.” Nature, 325(6102), 341–343.
Thomas, S. A., Newbold, J. D., Monaghan, M. T., Minshall, G. W., Gerogian, T., and Cushing, C. E. (2001). “The influence of particle size on seston deposition in streams.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 46(6), 1415–1424.
Webster, J. R., Benfield, E. F., Golladay, S. W., Hill, B. H., Hornick, L. E., Kazmierczak, R. F., Jr., and Perry, W. B. (1987). “Experimental studies of physical factors affecting seston transport in streams.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 32(4), 848–863.
Worman, A., Forsman, J., and Johansson, H. (1998). “Modeling retention of sorbing solutes in streams based on tracer experiment using .” J. Environ. Eng., 124(2), 122–130.
Yalin, M. S. (1977). Mechanics of sediment transport, Pergamon, New York.
Zhou, D., and Mendoza, C. (1993). “Flow through porous bed of turbulent stream.” J. Eng. Mech., 119(2), 365–383.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 4 • April 2010
Pages: 214 - 221
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 21, 2007
Accepted: Aug 26, 2009
Published online: Mar 15, 2010
Published in print: Apr 2010
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.