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Notes: Abstract Models of flow at river-channel confluences that consist of two concordant confluent channels with avalanche faces dipping into a scour zone are limited because this morphology may be the exception rather than the rule in nature. In this paper the mean and turbulent flow structure in the streamwise and vertical directions at both concordant and discordant laboratory confluences were examined in order to determine the effect of bed discordance on the flow field, and to assess its influence on sediment transport. Instantaneous velocities were measured with a laser Doppler anemometer using a dense spatial sampling grid. The spatial distribution of normal stress varies with bed geometry as bed discordance generates a distortion of the mixing layer between the confluent streams. Turbulent shear stress is larger in the discordant bed case and its peak is associated with the position of the mixing layer whereas for concordant beds the zone of mixing is characterised by a decrease in the Reynolds shear stress. Quadrant analysis also revealed differential dominating quadrants between the two bed geometries which will influence sediment transport routing and, consequently, the resulting bed morphology. These results highlight the need for significant modifications to current models of confluence flow dynamics in order to account for the bed configuration.

Notes: Growth faulting is a common feature of many deltaic environments and is vital in determining local sediment dispersal and accumulation, and hence in controlling the resultant sedimentary facies distribution and architecture. Growth faults occur on a range of scales, from a few centimetres to hundreds of metres, with the largest growth faults frequently being under-represented in outcrops that are often smaller than the scale of feature under investigation. This paper presents data from the exceptionally large outcrops of the Cliffs of Moher, western Ireland, where a growth-fault complex affects strata up to 60 m in thickness and extends laterally for ≈ 3 km. Study of this Namurian (Upper Carboniferous) growth-fault system enables the relationship between growth faulting and sedimentation to be detailed and permits reconstruction of the kinematic history of faulting. Growth faulting was initiated with the onset of sandstone deposition on a succession of silty mudstones that overlie a thin, marine shale. The decollement horizon developed at the top of the marine shale contact for the first nine faults, by which time aggradation in the hangingwall exceeded 60 m in thickness. After this time, failure planes developed at higher stratigraphic levels and were associated with smaller scale faults. The fault complex shows a dominantly landward retrogressive movement, in which only one fault was largely active at any one time. There is no evidence of compressional features at the base of the growth faults, thus suggesting open-ended slides, and the faults display both disintegrative and non-disintegrative structure. Thin-bedded, distal mouth bar facies dominate the hangingwall stratigraphy and, in the final stages of growth-fault movement, erosion of the crests of rollover structures resulted in the highest strata being restricted to the proximity of the fault. These upper erosion surfaces on the fault scarp developed erosive chutes that were cut parallel to flow and are downlapped by the distal hangingwall strata of younger growth faults.

Notes: Detailed measurements of flow velocity and its turbulent fluctuation were obtained over fixed, two-dimensional dunes in a laboratory channel. Laser Doppler anemometry was used to measure the downstream and vertical components of velocity at more than 1800 points over one dune wavelength. The density of the sampling grid allowed construction of a unique set of contour maps for all mean flow and turbulence parameters, which are assessed using higher moment measures and quadrant analysis. These flow field maps illustrate that: (1) the time-averaged downstream and vertical velocities agree well with previous studies of quasi-equilibrium flow over fixed and mobile bedforms and show a remarkable symmetry from crest to crest; (2) the maximum root-mean-square (RMS) of the downstream velocity values occur at and just downstream of flow reattachment and within the flow separation cell; (3) the maximum vertical RMS values occur within and above the zone of flow separation along the shear layer and this zone advects and diffuses downstream, extending almost to the next crest; (4) positive downstream skewness values occur within the separation cell, whereas positive vertical skewness values are restricted to the shear layer; (5) the highest Reynolds stresses are located within the zone of flow separation and along the shear layer; (6) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-2 events (‘ejections’) are concentrated along the shear layer (Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities) and dominate the contribution to the local Reynolds stress; and (7) high-magnitude, high-frequency quadrant-4 events occur bounding the separation zone, near reattachment and close to the dune crest, and are significant contributors to the local Reynolds stress at each location. These data demonstrate that the turbulence structure associated with dunes is controlled intrinsically by the formation, magnitude and downstream extent of the flow separation zone and resultant shear layer. Furthermore, the origin of dune-related macroturbulence lies in the dynamics of the shear layer rather than classical turbulent boundary layer bursting. The fluid dynamic distinction between dunes and ripples is reasoned to be linked to the velocity differential across the shear layer and hence the magnitude of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, which are both greater for dunes than ripples. These instabilities control the local flow and turbulence structure and dictate the modes of sediment entrainment and their transport rates.

Notes: Experimental results are reported concerning the nature of reflected flows generated when density currents are incident upon ramp-type flow obstructions. The reflected flows are bores (moving hydraulic jumps that transport mass) with flow characteristics in common with either a group of solitary waves (weak Type A bores) or the original density current (strong Type C bores). Alternatively, the bore may have attributes in common with both of these end-member forms (intermediate Type B bores). Bore strength is positively correlated with the ratio of reverse flow thickness to that of the residual tail of the forward flow. The largest values of this ratio occur when ‘proximal’reflections arrive at the steeper ramps. Measured particle paths in the bores indicate that natural examples will have the potential to transport and deposit sediment. Strong bores have velocity characteristics very similar to the original current and thus in nature the generated sequence of sedimentary structures will resemble those of the original depositing current. The train of solitary waves that make up a weak bore sequence exhibits a pulsating velocity profile at a point. Such flows may thus generate repeated sequences of structures separated by fine ‘drapes’that are distinguishable from the deposits of the original turbidity current. These conclusions are applied to examples of reflected turbidites described from the Palaeozoic to Quaternary sedimentary record.

Notes: Turbulent saline flows which contain low concentrations of suspended clay (〈 10 g 1−1) have previously been reported to possess dramatically different boundary layer characteristics from clearwater flows and to exhibit the phenomenon of drag reduction. Drag reduction causes significantly lower friction factors and higher erosion thresholds in muddy saline flows than predicted by experimental data gained from fresh-water flows using the law of the wall to estimate bed shear stress. Confirmation is given by experimental results on drag reduction using non-intrusive laser Doppler measurements in seawater flows with 〈2·2 g 1−1 maximum concentration of suspended clay. Increasing the concentration of clay caused progressively lower velocities near the wall due to a gradual thickening of the buffer region of the turbulent boundary layer. Several aspects of sediment transport, deposition and bedform development in natural marine environments are thus considered to be significantly affected by the drag reduction process.