In-situ geotechnical testing of surficial sediment layers in areas of active sediment dynamics can provide essential information about physical and geotechnical variations of sediment properties with regards to active sediment remobilization processes. For example, portable free fall penetrometers (PFFPs) can assist with the detection of mobile sediment layers. They are easy to deploy, and can provide a large spatial coverage in a time- and cost-effective manner. However, they often struggle to provide more detailed information about the properties of mobile sediment layers due to a lack of calibration and validation in existing data sets. Currently, existing sediment samplers often disturb, or ignore the uppermost sediment layers. Simultaneous sediment sampling and geotechnical profiling is needed to fill this gap, and to drive data interpretation forward. A field investigation of surficial sediments was conducted in the wetland waterways of coastal Louisiana in 2014. In-situ tests were conducted using PFFP, and disturbed sediment samples were collected in selected locations. The results allowed us to map changes in sediment strength and stratification, and correlate the geotechnical results to local site characteristics. However, the need for high quality sediment samples for calibration and validation was emphasized by the results. Three different sediment sampler add-on units targeting mobile layers were designed and manufactured based on lessons-learned from the literature. The designs were tested in the laboratory and in the field (Yakutat, Alaska and York River, Virginia) in 2017. The samples were analyzed to understand the influence of different sampler characteristics on collected sample quality, and, to define mobile layer sampler characteristics that enable simultaneous geotechnical testing and the collection of high quality samples. Following field survey campaigns in the York River, Virginia in 2016 allowed to assess surficial sediment layer characteristics and behavior based on a coupled analysis of geotechnical data from in-situ PFFP tests and the sedimentological data collected using box cores and the novel sediment sampler. In summary, novel strategies and instrumentation to carry out simultaneous sediment sampling and geotechnical profiling of seabed surface layers were tested, and new pathways for geotechnical data analysis for the investigation of mobile seabed layers were presented. / PHD

This dissertation aims to better understand how floc aggregate characteristics and behaviors are modified under different local conditions and how such alterations impact the floc settling velocity, which is one of the most crucial parameters influencing sediment transport modeling. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the impact of suspended sediment concentration, mixes of clay and silt, and resuspension process to equilibrium floc size and floc settling velocity. In order to observe floc size evolution, a new floc imaging acquisition was first developed. This new method allows flocs in suspended sediment concentration up to C = 400 mg/L can be imaged non intrusively. This new method was applied in all three individual studies, which are composed of this dissertation. The first chapter investigates the behaviors of flocs under constant and decay suspended sediment concentrations within a steady turbulent suspension. In the constant-concentration set of experiments, floc size time series were measured for 12 h for each of the concentration C = 15, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg/L. In the decay-concentration experiments, clear water was introduced to the mixing tank, simultaneously the suspension was drained out of the mixing tank at the same rate to make the suspended sediment concentration reduce while the turbulent shear was remained unchanged. The data shows that the equilibrium floc size is a weak, positive function of concentration. For example, in order to increase 20% of floc size (approximate 22 um) the concentration needs to be increased by 700% (going from 50 to 400 mg/L). The data also illustrates that during the decrease of concentration from C = 400 to 50 mg/L, the floc size responses to the changes of concentration in the order of 10 min or less. The second chapter examines how silt particles and clay aggregates interact in a turbulent suspension. Floc sizes and settling velocity of three different suspensions, i.e., pure clay, pure silt, and a mixture of clay and silt, were monitored. The floc size data show that the presence of silt particles does not have significant impacts on clay aggregate sizes. Silt particles, however, get bound up within floc aggregates, which in turn increase the settling velocity of the floc by at least 50%. The third chapter examines whether any changes in floc properties during the deposition and resuspension processes. The floc sizes and shapes in a set of experiments with different consolidation times, concentrations, and shear patterns were measured. The conditions at which the flocs deposited or resuspended were maintained the same. The data reveal that floc size and shape of freshly deposited and after resuspended are unchanged. The erosion rate and concentration is a function of consolidation time and the applied shear stress during the deposition phase. Hence, there is a small reduction in resuspended concentration resulting in a slight decrease in resuspension floc size since floc size is also a function of concentration. / Ph. D.

A one-dimensional, numerical model of sediment compaction has been developed using porosity, velocity of sediment particles, and depth of the evolving basin as master variables. The governing set of nonlinear, partial differential equations are solved by a finite difference scheme devised to be stable for calculations involving tens of millions years and depths up to 4 km. Input parameters include a sedimentation function and a permeability-porosity function representative of the modeled sediment. Additional terms can be incorporated to mimic the effect of fluid volume generated by dehydration from clay mineral transformations and by temperature and pressure variations. Evolution of pressure, porosity, permeability, and fluid and sediment particle velocities are documented in a vertical sediment column as well as properties of a sedimentary package being successively buried. Although this model has many potential applications, it is used here to demonstrate that the major cause of overpressuring in sediments accumulating along passive margins is nonequilibrium compaction. In general, smectite dehydration and aquathermal pressuring play minor roles in the development and sustenance of overpressuring. Comparison of model cases and Gulf Coast overpressured cases shows that sedimentation rates and strata permeability are the most important geologic factors in the formation of overpressured zones. / Master of Science

This thesis describes the creation of RECOVERY-RD, a numerical model capable of representing the biotransformation processes associated with Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) compounds in contaminated sediments for a variety of aquatic environments, including rivers and marine systems. RECOVERY-RD is intended as a screening tool for evaluating the impact of engineered sediment caps on contaminant remediation. The two key components that provided the framework for RECOVERY-RD are RECOVERY, a model for contaminant transport in stratified sediment, and SEAM3D, a numerical transport model for contaminated groundwater systems. The predictions made by RECOVERY-RD are verified using a series of test cases organized to test each phase of the modification process individually. The results show that the processes simulated by RECOVERY-RD are reasonably represented when compared to alternative calculation methods that have been previously verified. A hypothetical application of the initial version of the model provides evidence of the usefulness as a screening-level tool for the assessment of remedial efficacy. / Master of Science

The concept of the unit sediment graph is important and useful in the study of non-point source pollutant transport, in the estimation of sediment yield and in the design of sediment basins. At the present time, a physically sound method of deriving unit sediment graphs for ungauged small watersheds is not available. Based on synthetic principles as well as linear and time-invariant principles, applied to the systems approach of hydrology, a synthetic model has been developed to derive the unit sediment graph and to generate the sediment graph for an ungauged watershed. The model is limited to the generation of single peak sediment graphs where the sediment particle sizes of interest range from 0.002 mm to 1.0 mm. Seven small watersheds located in the lower Potomac River Basin were selected for this study. For each watershed about 12 storm events were included in the study. Available hourly rainfall and streamflow data were collected and used for model calibration. Results of both"spatial" and"temporal" verification show that agreement between the synthetic and actual sediment graphs is fairly good. A new rigorous definition regarding the unit sediment graph has been established. The study is based on a one-hour unit sediment graph which is defined as the direct sediment graph resulting from 1 unit of effective sediment yield of a storm of 1-hour duration generated uniformly over the basin at a uniform rate. Thus, the one-hour sediment graph of a storm for a specified watershed can be generated by convolving the one-hour unit sediment graph with the effective sediment erosion of one hour duration provided that the rainfall record and characteristics of that watershed are known. / Ph. D.

No / In evaluating the resistance of sediment particles to entrainment by the action of the flow in a river, the grain geometry is usually characterized using representative sizes. This approach has been dictated, initially by lack of physical insight, but more recently by the lack of analytical tools able to describe the 3-D nature of surface grain organization on water-worked sediment beds. Laboratory experiments are presented where mixed grain size beds were mobilized under a range of hydraulic and sediment input conditions. Detailed bed topography was measured at various stages. Statistical tools have been adopted which describe the degree of surface organization on water-worked sediment bed surfaces. The degree of particle organization and the bed stability can be evaluated in relative terms using the properties of the probability density distribution of the bed surface elevations and in absolute terms using a properly defined 2-D structure function. The methods described can be applied directly to natural water-worked surfaces given the availability of appropriate bed surface elevation data sets.

Yes / Ice cover formed on an alluvial channel can significantly alter the flow characteristics, such as the vertical distributions of streamwise velocity and shear stress, and hence the water and sediment transport process. The vertical profile of the suspended sediment concentration in the ice-covered alluvial channels with steady uniform flows is investigated in this study. To calculate the suspended sediment concentration, we are based on the Schmidt O’Brien equation and deduce an analytical model that employs an existing eddy viscosity model and a modified formula of the sediment fall velocity considering the common effects of the upper and lower boundaries. The proposed analytical model is then validated by using available experimental data reported in the literature. The predicted accuracy of the proposed model is evaluated through error statistics by comparing to previous modeled results. The relative concentration profiles of the suspended sediment are subsequently simulated by applying the validated analytical model with different characteristic parameters. Results show that the relative concentration decreases with the increase of both the ice cover roughness and the sediment fall velocity. The uniformity of the relative concentration distribution is closely related to the value of the proportionality parameter σ, revealing the physical mechanism that the more prominent the turbulent diffusion effect is, the more uniform the relative concentration profile is. / This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant 604 numbers 52020105006 and 11872285) and the Open Funding of State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science (WRHES), Wuhan University (Project number 2018HLG01).

No description available.

Fine-grained sediment accumulation in the interstices of gravel beds is a key factor in degrading riverine habitats. However, interstitial deposits are highly dynamic and are not sufficiently understood. This work enhances the understanding of interstitial fine sediment deposition by investigating interstitial storage and ingress, flow, suspended sediment and gravel bed character. Furthermore, this work introduces a numerical suspended sediment deposition model with the power to predict patterns of interstitial ingress. The investigation of interstitial deposition were carried out on two levels. Both data orginating from flume experiments and from three locations of the River Culm, Devon, UK was collected. The experimental data showed the significant influence of small scale variations in flow and bed character and their influence on interstitial ingress. The field investigation showed clear differences in interstitial fine-grained sediment for the different river reaches and an overall higher interstitial ingress compared to recent published data. The numerical model development was realised in a two-step approach. First, the model was coded and calibrated for the flume scale processes and, second, an upscaled reach scale model was devolped for the field data. This reach scale suspended sediment deposition model included flow information, for which depthaveraged two dimensional hydrodynamic models were developed with the software Delft3D. The overall explanatory power of the model at this state is not satisfactory with regards to local deposition distribution. A separate chapter discusses the possible causes and implications of this short coming for further research from a data aquisition and modelling perspective.

Eskilstuna har sedan länge varit en industristad vilket har inneburit utsläpp av främst metallföroreningar men även organiska ämnen till Eskilstunaån. Provtagningar har vid upprepade tillfällen gjorts och det har visats att sedimentet i ån innehåller höga halter av förorenande ämnen. Sediment förorenat av miljögifter utgör en risk för både miljön och människors hälsa. Beroende på vilka förhållanden som råder i vattendraget skiljer sig sedimentationshastigheten åt, dels mellan olika vattendrag men den kan också variera inom recipienten vilket gör att det kan finnas särskilda områden där sediment och föroreningar ackumuleras. Det kan vara av vikt att identifiera dessa platser för att minska risken för återsuspension av sedimentet, som sedan kan transporteras vidare nedströms, samt för eventuella framtida åtgärder.  I examensarbetet undersöktes föroreningsspridningen i Eskilstunaån och var ackumulationsbottnar kan förväntas ligga. En sedimenttransportmodell byggdes upp i programmet HEC-RAS med åns batymetri som utgångspunkt. Resultaten från modelleringar analyserades och tolkades med det geografiska informationssystemet ArcGIS och jämfördes med bottens hårdhet samt tidigare utförda sedimentprovtagningar. Sedimenttransportmodelleringen tyder på att området med mest ackumulation finns i Eskilstunaån där den passerar centrum och där åns botten är relativt mjuk. De högsta halterna för majoriteten av de undersökta metallföroreningarna påträffades trots detta längre nedströms där botten, sett till hela ån, inte var utmärkande mjuk men i jämförelse med närliggande platser var den däremot mjuk och relativt djup. En slutsats som kan dras ur detta är att vid lokalisering av ackumulationsbottnar bör vattendragets batymetri analyseras i kombination med bottens hårdhet och det bör göras på kortare sträckor. / Eskilstuna has been an industrial town for a long time which has caused emissions of mostly metal contaminants but also organic substances in to the Eskilstuna river. Samples from the sediment shows high content of some pollutants. Contaminated sediments can cause environmental and health hazards. Therefore, it is of importance to locate accumulation areas in the riverbed to avoid resuspension of the sediment, for preventing further transport downstream, and it may be of use if remediation measures becomes necessary.  In this thesis the distribution of metal contaminants in the Eskilstuna river were investigated and accumulation areas located. A sediment transport model, based on the bathymetry, was implemented in the river analysis system HEC-RAS. The results from the model were later analyzed in the geographical information system ArcGIS and compared to the riverbeds hardness and the sediment samples. The sediment transport model showed an accumulation area in the river where it flows through the city center and the riverbed is relatively soft. The highest concentrations of most pollutants were found further downstream where the riverbed has a higher relative hardness. However, if only the neighbouring areas are compared to this locations the accumulation area is soft with a relative large depth. As a conclusion, one may have to take both bathymetry and the riverbeds hardness into account when locating accumulation areas.