Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2003. / Title from title page screen (viewed Apr. 13, 2004). Thesis advisor: Carol P. Harden. Document formatted into pages (x, 168 p. : ill. (some col.)). Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-142).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-153).

A key goal of tsunami research is to quantitatively reconstruct flow parameters from paleotsunami deposits in order to better understand the geohazards of coastal areas. These reconstructions rely on grain-size and thickness measurements of tsunami deposits, combined with simple models that allow an inversion from deposit characteristics to wave characteristics. I conducted flume experiments to produce a data set that can be used to evaluate inversion models for tsunami deposition under controlled boundary conditions. Key variables in the flume experiments are sediment grain-size distribution, flow velocity and depth, and depth of water ponded in the flume before the tsunami bore was released. Physical experiments were run in a 32 m-long outdoor flume at The University of Texas at Austin. The flume has a head box with a specialized mechanical lift gate that allows instantaneous release of water to create a bore. Various sediment mixtures (silt to very coarse sand) are introduced to the upstream end of the channel as a low dune positioned just below the lift gate. The bore entrained the sediment mixture, producing an unambiguous suspension-dominated deposit in the downstream half of the channel. Deposits were sampled for grain-size and thickness trends. The experimental results capture characteristics of many recent and paleotsunami deposits, including consistent fining in the transport direction. In addition to overall fining, trends in deposit sorting and coarse (D95) and fine (D10) fractions reveal the importance of sediment-source grain-size distribution on tsunami deposit attributes. / text

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Much research effort is focused on the development of reliable empirical and numerical models for the prediction of sand transport. Confidence in these models depends on good agreement between predicted and measured transport rates for controlled conditions and, in the case of process-driven numerical models, good agreement between measured and predicted "sub-processes", such as time-dependent concentration and velocity profiles. The purpose of this project was to conduct experiments that measure these transport "sub-processes" in full-scale sinusoidal and asymmetric oscillatory sheet-flow conditions for well-sorted and graded sands. Detailed measurements have been obtained of concentrations, velocities, total and fractional transport rates and particles sizes in bed samples and in suspended and transported sands. The range and level of detail in the new concentration measurements makes it possible to interrogate concentration behaviour much more rigorously than previously possible. A new equation is presented which characterises time-dependent concentration profiles in the sheet-flow layer. The equation is based on time-dependent erosion depth and reference concentration. Analysis of the dependence of these parameters on flow and bed conditions is presented. The new velocity measurements extend "deeper" into the oscillatory boundary layer than previously possible and the results show classic features of oscillatory boundary layer flow. The product of the measured velocity and concentration data gives time-dependent sediment flux profiles. Analysis of the flux profiles reveals the detailed transport processes. The effects of unsteady behaviour and the effects of interactions between different size fractions in graded beds are evident in the sediment transport results. Unsteady effects act to reduce net transport and result in a strong offshore-directed transport in the case of fine sand. There is strong interaction between size fractions in graded beds. The mobility of the finer fractions is suppressed by the presence of coarser sands whilst the mobility of the coarser fractions is increased by the presence of finer sands.