Impacts of macro-turbulent flow on sediment transport potential during ice-covered and open-channel conditions

Macro-turbulent flows during ice-covered and open-channel conditions, and their impacts on the total sediment transport, have not been studied widely in northern rivers. Previous studies have detected these processes, for example, only at the inlet area of one meander bend, or only during low discharge conditions. Thus, for understanding their impacts on the total sediment transport, it is needed to detect these macro-turbulent flow structures from a variety of cold region rivers, from multiple years, and also from a variety of different flow magnitude conditions. The pulses of high flow velocities related to these macro-turbulent structures may be important for determining the seasonal total sediment amount transported to the arctic ocean.

 

The aim is 1) to detect the macro-turbulent flow in a meandering river at ice-covered low flow condition, and compare it to both high and low magnitude open-channel flow conditions. 2) Within a meander bend, the macro-turbulent flow will be compared between its inlet, apex and outlet sections. 3) The shear forces will be analyzed to detect the effects of macro-turbulent flow on potential sediment transport and channel development. The analyses are based on 5–10 minutes long moving boat Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements from a meandering sub-arctic river. The measurements have been done in February and May during 2016–2019, and in September during 2016-2018. The preliminary results of this study are presented. The hypothesis is that the sediment transport potential of a sub-arctic river could be higher during all seasons than previously expected due to the pulses of high velocities related to macro-turbulent flow structures.