Propagation, mixing, and turbulence characteristics of saline and turbidity currents over rough and permeable/impermeable beds

Abstract

A series of constant-flux saline and turbidity current experiments were carried out, focusing on the coupling impact of bed roughness and permeability on current propagation, mixing, and turbulence characteristics. The distinct current propagation phases on RI (rough and impermeable) and RP (rough and permeable) beds are identified, respectively. Experimental results revealed that the intermittently undulating bed surface breaks the strict no-slip boundary, thus, increasing local current velocity near the bed, while its roughness reduces the current peak profile velocity. Interbed pores induced vertical fluid exchange, which synchronously decreases the current peak profile velocity and local velocity near the bed, causes the density profile to no longer follow a monotonous variation trend along with water depth. The larger bed surface roughness or the interbed porosity leads to the smaller upper TKE (turbulent kinetic energy) peak. The lower TKE peak is inversely proportional to the bed surface roughness of the RI beds, while it is proportional to the porosity of the RP bed. A rough bed surface intensifies the asymmetry of the mean velocity distribution around peak velocity resulting in a transfer barrier of turbulent momentum triggered by the interbed pores. On the RP bed, the cross-correlation function based on two-point statistics captures the spikes associated with pore-scale eddies locally, but under the RI condition, it only obtains the logical timescale characterizing the largest eddies of the current. The sediment deposition makes the turbidity current easier to separate from the RP and RI bed than the saline type, causing a consequence of growing the current height.