Rivers & Streams: Sedimentation and Erosion: Benoit Cushman-Roisin

Rivers & Streams:
Sedimentation and Erosion
New dam and reservoir as What happened later

designed and planned contrary to plan
Benoit Cushman-Roisin
The largest river on the planet, the Amazon, forms from the confluence of the Solimões (the upper Amazon River)
and the Negro at the Brazilian city of Manaus in central Amazonas. At the river conjunction, the muddy, tan-colored
waters of the Solimões meet the "black" water of the Negro River. The unique mixing zone where the waters meet
extends downstream through the rainforest for hundreds of miles, and attracts tourists from all over the world, which
has contributed to substantial growth in the city of Manaus.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
It is the vast quantity of sediment eroded from the Andes Mountains that gives the Solimões its tan color. By
comparison, water in the Negro derives from the low jungles where reduced physical erosion of rock precludes mud
entering the river. In place of sediment, organic matter from the forest floor stains the river the color of black tea.
1
Weight of particles Almost all sediment particles regardless of size have
a density equal to s = 2,650 kg/m3.
From this, one defines the specific gravity, which is

the ratio to the water density:
 s 2,650
s   2.65
 1,000
Assuming spherical particles of diameter ds, we have:


Volume: Vs  d s3
6

Weight: Fs  ms g   s gd s3
6
Apparent weight
Apparent weight (net weight) = actual weight minus buoyancy force
 
F  Fs  Fb  (  s   ) gd s3  ( s  1)  gd s3
6 6
in which  is the density of water.
2
Settling speed
The settling speed, also called terminal fall velocity, is the speed acquired by a falling
sediment particle when its downward apparent weight is balanced by the upward drag
force due to the movement with respect to the water.
1 1  d s2
Drag force is: Fd  CD  As ws  CD 
2
ws2
2 2 4
The balance of forces yields: F  F  1 C   d s w2   ( s  1)  gd 3

2
d D s s
2 4 6
4 gd s
 ws  ( s  1) Problem is that CD varies
3CD with speed and size!
Erosion
A particle on top of the bed will be entrained into the flow if

- its center of gravity is vertically above the points of contact,
- lift and drag forces combine into a force capable of pivoting the particle
upward at the downstream point of contact.
Note: If the sediment is cohesive, a cohesion force must also be overcome.
3
The force onto a particle situated at the top of the bed is intimately related to the bottom
stress b exerted by the water flow onto the bed.
Comparing the force caused by this stress (force = stress x area), we have:
 
b d s2  ( s  1) gd s3
4 6
frictional force 3 b
ratio  
particle weight 2 ( s  1) gd s
Then ignoring the 3/2 factor and recalling that the bottom stress b can be
expressed in terms of the friction velocity u*, we define the dimensionless ratio:
 u*2 u*2
Sh  
( s  1)  gd s ( s  1) gd s
This is called the Shields stability parameter.
The thinking then becomes a matter of comparing the actual Shields stability parameter
value to a critical value for which entrainment begins.
0.047
The original Shields Diagram.

Bed load begins when the Shields parameter Sh exceeds the threshold
value (gray zone) depending on the particle’s Reynolds number.
4
Shc
The Mississippi River Delta

Where the water speed slows down, suspended particles settle as sediment.
5
Bed
Definitions:
- Bed = sediment particles not in motion, wet but not moving

- Bed load = set of particles crawling along the bed,
dislodged by lift and drag forces but unable to stay aloft
because of their weight many collisions
- Suspended load = set of particles moving with the stream collisionless
- Dissolved load = concentration of chemically dissolved elements
from sediment, weightless and therefore at any level.
silt sand gravel
Particles switch from crawling on the bed (bed load) to being fully suspended
when the friction velocity u* exceeds their settling speed ws.
6
Bedload transport
The amount of material being transported in the bedload is, per unit width of stream:
m s   s qs   s cs s u s
crawling speed
mass transported
(per unit time and unit width)
thickness of bedload layer
volumetric flow rate

volumetric particle concentration
(per unit width)
(volume/volume of water)
A common choice is: cs  0.65

 s  2.5( Sh  Shc )d s
u s  4.8 u*
in which case the bedload transport is found to be:
 u*2 
m s  7.80  0.047   s d s u*
 ( s  1) gd s 
Many other formulas have been proposed over the years
Here:
m s
q* 
 s ( s  1) gd s3
 *  Sh
 *c  Shc
7
Sedimentation pattern in a
stream meander
(Scorer, 1997)
The state line between the

states of Louisiana and
Mississippi was defined as
the middle of the Mississippi
River at the time of the
decision.
Since then, the Mississippi

River has modified its
course, and the border no
longer coincides with the
middle of the river at a
number of locations, leaving
pockets of Mississippi State
to the West of the River,
and pockets of Louisiana
State to the East of the
River.
8
Flow near the entrance of a
side channel (such as an
irrigation channel) will lead to
unwanted sediment at the
entrance of the channel
eventually blocking the
entrance of the side channel.
Possible remedies
1. Have the entrance

channel on the outside of a
bend of the main channel.
2. Configure the geometry

such that the flow is first
partitioned and then forced
to make the turn.

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Rivers & Streams:

Sedimentation and Erosion

New dam and reservoir as What happened later

From this, one defines the specific gravity, which is

Assuming spherical particles of diameter ds, we have:

Apparent weight (net weight) = actual weight minus buoyancy force

in which  is the density of water.

The balance of forces yields: F  F  1 C   d s w2   ( s  1)  gd 3

A particle on top of the bed will be entrained into the flow if

Note: If the sediment is cohesive, a cohesion force must also be overcome.

This is called the Shields stability parameter.

The original Shields Diagram.

The Mississippi River Delta

- Bed = sediment particles not in motion, wet but not moving

silt sand gravel

volumetric flow rate

A common choice is: cs  0.65

in which case the bedload transport is found to be:

Many other formulas have been proposed over the years

The state line between the

Since then, the Mississippi

1. Have the entrance

2. Configure the geometry

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