Articles | Volume 11, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-615-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-615-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Confinement width and inflow-to-sediment discharge ratio control the morphology and braiding intensity of submarine channels: insights from physical experiments and reduced-complexity models
Sam Y. J. Huang
Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Steven Y. J. Lai
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Hydraulic and Ocean Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Ajay B. Limaye
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
Brady Z. Foreman
Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
Chris Paola
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
MN 55455, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Chloé Seibert, Cecilia McHugh, Chris Paola, Leonardo Seeber, and James Tucker
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 341–348, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-341-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-341-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a new mechanism of co-seismic sediment entrainment induced by shear stress at the sediment–water interface during major subduction earthquakes rupturing to the trench. Physical experiments show that flow velocities consistent with long-period earthquake motions can entrain synthetic marine sediment, and high-frequency vertical shaking can enhance this mobilization. They validate the proposed entrainment mechanism, which opens new avenues for paleoseismology in deep-sea environments.
John F. Harrison, Steven Yueh-Jen Lai, and Yu-Hsiang Yeh
Abstr. Int. Cartogr. Assoc., 7, 55, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-7-55-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-7-55-2024, 2024
Steven Y. J. Lai, David Amblas, Aaron Micallef, and Hervé Capart
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 621–640, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-621-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-621-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study explores the creation of submarine canyons and hanging-wall fans on active faults, which can be defined by gravity-dominated breaching and underflow-dominated diffusion processes. The study reveals the self-similarity in canyon–fan long profiles, uncovers Hack’s scaling relationship and proposes a formula to estimate fan volume using canyon length. This is validated by global data from source-to-sink systems, providing insights into deep-water sedimentary processes.
Cited articles
Ashmore, P.: How do gravel-bed rivers braid, Can. J. Earth. Sci, 28,
326–341, https://doi.org/10.1139/e91-030, 1991.
Ashmore, P.: Intensity and characteristic length of braided channel
patterns, Can. J. Earth. Sci, 36, 1656–1666,
https://doi.org/10.1139/L09-088, 2009.
Ashmore, P., Bertoldi, W., and Gardner, J. T.: Active width of gravel-bed
braided rivers, Earth Surf. Proc. Land, 36, 1510–1521,
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2182, 2011.
Babonneau, N., Savoye, B., Cremer, M., and Bez, M.: Sedimentary architecture
in meanders of a submarine channel: Detailed study of the present Congo
turbidite channel (Zaiango project), J. Sediment. Res., 80, 852–866,
https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2010.078, 2010.
Belderson, R., Kenyon, N., Stride, A., and Pelton, C.: A `braided'
distributary system on the Orinoco deep-sea fan, Mar. Geol., 56, 195–206,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(84)90013-6, 1984.
Bertoldi, W., Zanoni, L., and Tubino, M.: Planform dynamics of braided
streams, Earth Surf. Proc. Land, 34, 547–557,
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1755, 2009.
Bradley, D. and Roth, G.: Adaptive thresholding using the integral image, J.
Graphics Tools, 12, 13–21, https://doi.org/10.1080/2151237X.2007.10129236,
2007.
Callec, Y., Deville, E., Desaubliaux, G., Griboulard, R., Huyghe, P.,
Mascle, A., Mascle, G., Noble, M., de Carillo, C. P., and Schmitz, J.: The
Orinoco turbidite system: Tectonic controls on sea-floor morphology and
sedimentation, AAPG Bull., 94, 869–887, https://doi.org/10.1306/11020909021,
2010.
Carbonari, C., Recking, A., and Solari, L.: Morphology, bedload, and sorting
process variability in response to lateral confinement: Results from
physical models of gravel-bed rivers, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 125, e2020JF005773,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF005773, 2020.
Casalbore, D., Clare, M. A., Pope, E. L., Quartau, R., Bosman, A., Chiocci,
F. L., Romagnoli, C., and Santos, R.: Bedforms on the submarine flanks of
insular volcanoes: New insights gained from high resolution seafloor
surveys, Sedimentology, 68, 1400–1438, https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12725,
2021.
Coulthard, T. J., Neal, J. C., Bates, P. D., Ramirez, J., de Almeida, G. A.,
and Hancock, G. R.: Integrating the LISFLOOD-FP 2D hydrodynamic model with
the CAESAR model: implications for modelling landscape evolution, Earth
Surf. Proc. Land, 38, 1897–1906, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3478, 2013.
Deptuck, M. E., Sylvester, Z., Pirmez, C., and O'Byrne, C.:
Migration-aggradation history and 3-D seismic geomorphology of submarine
channels in the Pleistocene Benin-major Canyon, western Niger Delta slope,
Mar. Petrol. Geol., 24, 406–433,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2007.01.005, 2007.
Egozi, R. and Ashmore, P.: Defining and measuring braiding intensity, Earth
Surf. Proc. Land, 33, 2121–2138, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1658, 2008.
Egozi, R. and Ashmore, P.: Experimental analysis of braided channel pattern
response to increased discharge, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 114, F02012,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JF001099, 2009.
Ercilla, G., Alonso, B., Baraza, J., Casas, D., Chiocci, F., Estrada, F.,
Farran, M., Gonthier, E., Perez-Belzuz, F., and Pirmez, C.: New
high-resolution acoustic data from the “braided system” of the Orinoco
deep-sea fan, Mar. Geol., 146, 243–250,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-3227(97)00134-5, 1998.
Ferguson, R. I. and Church, M.: A simple universal equation for grain settling velocity, J. Sediment. Res., 74, 933–937, https://doi.org/10.1306/051204740933, 2004.
Foreman, B. Z., Lai, S. Y. J., Komatsu, Y., and Paola, C.: Braiding of
submarine channels controlled by aspect ratio similar to rivers, Nat.
Geosci., 8, 700–703, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2505, 2015.
Gamberi, F. and Marani, M.: Geomorphology and sedimentary processes of a
modern confined braided submarine channel belt (Stromboli slope valley,
southeastern Tyrrhenian sea), J. Sediment. Res., 81, 686–701,
https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2011.56, 2011.
García, M.: Discussion of “The Legend of AF Shields”, J. Hydraul.
Eng., 126, 718–720, 2000.
Garcia Lugo, G., Bertoldi, W., Henshaw, A., and Gurnell, A.: The effect of
lateral confinement on gravel bed river morphology, Water Resour. Res., 51,
7145–7158, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017081, 2015.
Hesse, R., Klaucke, I., Khodabakhsh, S., Piper, D. J., Ryan, W. B., and
Group, N. S.: Sandy submarine braid plains: potential deep-water reservoirs,
AAPG Bull., 85, 1499–1521,
https://doi.org/10.1306/8626CAEB-173B-11D7-8645000102C1865D, 2001.
Huang, S. Y. J., Lai, S. Y. J., Limaye, A. B., Foreman, B. Z., and Paola, C.: Confinement effects of experimental submarine braided channels, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7601496, 2023.
Imran, J., Parker, G., and Pirmez, C.: A nonlinear model of flow in
meandering submarine and subaerial channels, J. Fluid Mech., 400, 295–331,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112099006515, 1999.
Ippen, A. T. and Harleman, D. R.: Steady-state characteristics of subsurface
flow, in: Proceedings of NBS Semicentennial Symposium on Gravity Waves, NBS,
USA, 18–20 June 1952, 79–93, ISBN 0598544860, 1952.
Janocko, M., Nemec, W., Henriksen, S., and Warchoł, M.: The diversity of
deep-water sinuous channel belts and slope valley-fill complexes, Mar.
Petrol. Geol., 41, 7–34, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2012.06.012,
2013.
Jobe, Z. R., Howes, N. C., and Auchter, N. C.: Comparing submarine and
fluvial channel kinematics: Implications for stratigraphic architecture,
Geology, 44, 931–934, https://doi.org/10.1130/G38158.1, 2016.
Keevil, G. M., Peakall, J., Best, J. L., and Amos, K. J.: Flow structure in
sinuous submarine channels: Velocity and turbulence structure of an
experimental submarine channel, Mar. Geol., 229, 241–257,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2006.03.010, 2006.
Lai, S. Y. J., Gerber, T. P., and Amblas, D.: An experimental approach to
submarine canyon evolution, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 2741–2747,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067376, 2016.
Lai, S. Y. J., Hung, S. S. C., Foreman, B. Z., Limaye, A. B., Grimaud, J.
L., and Paola, C.: Stream power controls the braiding intensity of submarine
channels similarly to rivers, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 5062–5070,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072964, 2017.
Lajeunesse, E., Malverti, L., Lancien, P., Armstrong, L., Metivier, F.,
Coleman, S., Smith, C. E., Davies, T., Cantelli, A., and Parker, G.: Fluvial
and submarine morphodynamics of laminar and near-laminar flows: A synthesis,
Sedimentology, 57, 1–26, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01109.x,
2010.
Limaye, A. B., Grimaud, J L., Lai, S. Y. J., Foreman, B. Z., Komatsu, Y.,
Paola, C., and Baas, J.: Geometry and dynamics of braided channels and bars
under experimental density currents, Sedimentology, 65, 1947–1972,
https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12453, 2018.
Lofquist, K.: Flow and stress near an interface between stratified liquids,
Phys. Fluids, 3, 158–175, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1706013, 1960.
Métivier, F., Lajeunesse, E., and Cacas, M. C.: Submarine canyons in the
bathtub, J. Sediment. Res., 75, 6–11, https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2005.002,
2005.
Murray, A. B. and Paola, C.: A cellular-model of braided rivers, Nature,
371, 54–57, https://doi.org/10.1038/371054a0, 1994.
Murray, A. B. and Paola, C.: Properties of a cellular braided-stream model,
Earth Surf. Proc. Land, 22, 1001–1025,
https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9837(199711)22:11<1001::AID-ESP798>3.0.CO;2-O, 1997.
Nicholas, A.: Reduced-complexity flow routing models for sinuous
single-thread channels: Intercomparison with a physically-based
shallow-water equation model, Earth Surf. Proc. Land, 34, 641–653,
https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1761, 2009.
Paola, C.: Modelling stream braiding over a range of scales, in: Gravel Bed Rivers V, edited by: Mosley, M. P., New Zealand Hydrological Society, 11–46, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/164368 (last access: 22 March 2022), 2001.
Parker, G.: On the cause and characteristic scales of meandering and
braiding in rivers, J. Fluid Mech., 76, 457–480,
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112076000748, 1976.
Peakall, J. and Sumner, E. J.: Submarine channel flow processes and
deposits: A process-product perspective, Geomorphology, 244, 95–120,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.03.005, 2015.
Peakall, J., McCaffrey, B., and Kneller, B.: A process model for the
evolution, morphology, and architecture of sinuous submarine channels, J.
Sediment. Res., 70, 434–448,
https://doi.org/10.1306/2DC4091C-0E47-11D7-8643000102C1865D, 2000.
Peakall, J., Amos, K. J., Keevil, G. M., Bradbury, P. W., and Gupta, S.:
Flow processes and sedimentation in submarine channel bends, Mar. Petrol.
Geol., 24, 470–486, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2007.01.008, 2007.
Peirce, S., Ashmore, P., and Leduc, P.: The variability in the morphological
active width: Results from physical models of gravel-bed braided rivers,
Earth Surf. Proc. Land, 43, 2371–2383, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4400,
2018.
Romagnoli, C., Casalbore, D., and Chiocci, F.: La Fossa Caldera breaching
and submarine erosion (Vulcano island, Italy), Mar. Geol., 303, 87–98,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2012.02.004, 2012.
Saint-Ange, F., Savoye, B., Michon, L., Bachelery, P., Deplus, C., De Voogd,
B., Dyment, J., Le Drezen, E., Voisset, M., and Le Friant, A.: A
volcaniclastic deep-sea fan off La Réunion Island (Indian Ocean):
Gradualism versus catastrophism, Geology, 39, 271–274,
https://doi.org/10.1130/G31478.1, 2011.
Schoklitsch, A.: Handbuch des Wasserbaues I, Springer-Verlag, New York, ISBN 3709180880,
1950.
Sequeiros, O. E.: Estimating turbidity current conditions from channel
morphology: A Froude number approach, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 117, C04003,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JC007201, 2012.
Sequeiros, O. E., Spinewine, B., Beaubouef, R. T., Sun, T. A. O., Garcia, M.
H., and Parker, G.: Bedload transport and bed resistance associated with
density and turbidity currents, Sedimentology, 57, 1463–1490,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2010.01152.x, 2010.
Sisavath, E., Babonneau, N., Saint-Ange, F., Bachèlery, P., Jorry, S.
J., Deplus, C., De Voogd, B., and Savoye, B.: Morphology and sedimentary
architecture of a modern volcaniclastic turbidite system: The Cilaos fan,
offshore La Réunion Island, Mar. Geol., 288, 1–17,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2011.06.011, 2011.
Spinewine, B., Sequeiros, O. E., Garcia, M. H., Beaubouef, R. T., Sun, T.,
Savoye, B., and Parker, G.: Experiments on wedge-shaped deep sea sedimentary
deposits in minibasins and/or on channel levees emplaced by turbidity
currents. Part II. Morphodynamic evolution of the wedge and of the
associated bedforms, J. Sediment. Res., 79, 608–628,
https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2009.065, 2009.
Straub, K. M., Mohrig, D., McElroy, B., Buttles, J., and Pirmez, C.:
Interactions between turbidity currents and topography in aggrading sinuous
submarine channels: A laboratory study, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 120, 368–385,
https://doi.org/10.1130/B25983.1, 2008.
Sylvester, Z., Pirmez, C., and Cantelli, A.: A model of submarine
channel-levee evolution based on channel trajectories: Implications for
stratigraphic architecture, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 28, 716–727,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.05.012, 2011.
Thomas, R. and Nicholas, A.: Simulation of braided river flow using a new
cellular routing scheme, Geomorphology, 43, 179–195,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(01)00128-3, 2002.
Thomas, R., Nicholas, A. P., and Quine, T. A.: Cellular modelling as a tool
for interpreting historic braided river evolution, Geomorphology, 90,
302–317, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.10.025, 2007.
Tejedor, A., Schwenk, J., Kleinhans, M., Limaye, A. B., Vulis, L., Carling,
P., Kantz, H., and Foufoula-Georgiou, E.: The entropic braiding index (eBI):
A robust metric to account for the diversity of channel scales in
multi-thread rivers, Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL099681,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099681, 2022.
Weill, P., Lajeunesse, E., Devauchelle, O., Metiver, F., Limare, A.,
Chauveau, B., and Mouaze, D.: Experimental investigation on self-channelized
erosive gravity currents, J. Sediment. Res., 84, 487–498,
https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2014.41, 2014.
Williams, R. D., Brasington, J., and Hicks, D. M.: Numerical modelling of
braided river morphodynamics: Review and future challenges, Geography
Compass, 10, 102–127, https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12260, 2016.
Zanoni, L., Bertoldi, W., and Tubino, M.: Spatial scales in braided
networks: Experimental observations, River, Coastal and Estuarine
Morphodynamics, in: Proceedings of the 5th IAHR Symposium, Coastal and
Estuarine Morphodynamics, Enschede, Netherlands, 17–21 September 2007,
201–207, ISBN 0415453631, 2007.
Short summary
We use experiments and a model to study the effects of confinement width and the inflow-to-sediment discharge ratio on the evolution of submarine braided channels. We find that confinement width controls most of the morphological changes. These trends are consistent for submarine braided channels both with and without confinement width effects and similar to fluvial braided rivers. Furthermore, we built a model that can simulate the flow bifurcation and confluence of submarine braided channels.
We use experiments and a model to study the effects of confinement width and the...