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USGS2010

A new methodology for the quantitative visualization of coherent flow structures in alluvial channels using multibeam echo-sounding (MBES)

In order to investigate the interactions between turbulence and suspended sediment transport in natural aqueous environments, we ideally require a technique that allows simultaneous measurement of fluid velocity and sediment concentration for the whole flow field. Here, we report on development of a methodology using the water column acoustic backscatter signal from a multibeam echo sounder to simultaneously quantify flow velocities and sediment concentrations. The application of this new technique is illustrated with reference to flow over the leeside of an alluvial sand dune, which allows, for the first time in a field study, quantitative visualization of large-scale, whole flow field, turbulent coherent flow structures associated with the dune leeside that are responsible for suspending bed sediment. This methodology holds great potential for use in a wide range of aqueous geophysical flows.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS2009

The effect of channel shape, bed morphology, and shipwrecks on flow velocities in the Upper St. Clair River

In the Great Lakes of North America, the St. Clair River is the major outlet of Lake Huron and conveys water to Lake St. Clair which then flows to Lake Erie. One major topic of interest is morphological change in the St. Clair River and its impact on water levels in the Upper Great Lakes and connecting channel flows. A combined multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetric survey and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) flow survey of the outlet of Lake Huron and the Upper St. Clair River was conducted July 21-25, 2008. This paper presents how channel morphology and shipwrecks affect the flow in the Upper St. Clair River. The river is most constricted at the Blue Water Bridge near Port Huron, Michigan, with water velocities over 2 ms-1 for a flow of 5,200 m 3 s-1. Downstream of this constriction, the river flows around a bend and expands creating a large recirculation zone along the left bank due to flow separation. This recirculation zone reduces the effective channel width, and thus increases flow velocities to over 2 ms-1 in this region. The surveys reveal several shipwrecks on the bed of the St. Clair River, which possess distinct wakes in their flow velocity downstream of the wrecks. The constriction and expansion of the channel, combined with forcing of the flow by bed topography, initiates channel-scale secondary flow, creating streamwise vortices that maintain coherence downstream over a distance of several channel widths.

Upper St. Clair River↗