SSP3.5

The ESA/ROSCOSMOS ExoMars 2022 will land in Oxia Planum an area that shows outcrops of clay-rich Noachian-aged phyllosilicates overlaid by an Early Amazonian volcanic dark resistant unit (Adru) [1]. Using HiRISE images, we identified NE-SW (53.9 ± 13.2°) oriented TARs overlying an enigmatic ~EW (95.4 ± 10°) oriented ridge pattern that we interpreted as periodic bedrock ridges (PBRs) [2]. Ridges (~ 38 m spaced) display Y-junctions, show cross-cutting fractures and share the same blocky texture of the bedrock they are associated with. Ridge crestlines are locally found in continuity outside and inside heavily eroded impact craters around the dark upstanding material (Adru) exposed in the center of many craters. These stratigraphic relationships suggest that the ridges (PBRs) formed after the event(s) that eroded the crater rims and thus after deposition of the Adru (2.6 Ga). Ridges are even visible in association with impact crater ejecta and are superimposed by 10-25 m craters and boulders, so they pre-date these impact events. When associated with crater ejecta, ridges locally show two different crests. Both crests are truncated by craters suggesting they were emplaced before the impacts. We interpret this double crest arrangement as megaripples detaching from PBRs. The ejecta deposited over the megaripple-PBRs favored the preservation of the megaripple crests from a subsequent episode/s of erosion that led to the complete exposure of the PBRs on the plain. Because the preserved megaripples are locally visible on the southern edges of the PBRs, the wind that formed the megaripple-PBR system should have blown from N-NNE because the megaripples are located at the downwind side of PBRs [3]. To better understand the relative age of the ridges, we mapped their occurrence on 316 craters in the study area that we qualitatively classified as relatively degraded/old and pristine/young. Results show that ridges are only found in degraded/old craters but are never found inside pristine/young craters. Thus, the ridge forming process was only active in-between the formation of degraded/old and pristine/young craters. A major change in the wind regime occurred during or after the event that exposed the PBRs: N-NNE winds that shaped the PBRs changed into dominant SE winds that led to the deposition of the TARs above the PBR/megaripples. This work unveils a complex history of aeolian erosion and deposition in Oxia Planum during the Amazonian. By visiting PBRs for the first time, the ExoMars 2022 mission will provide further constraints on PBR formation and paleo-winds, shedding light on a past Amazonian environment.

This work is a summary of a manuscript that is currently in press on Geophysical Research Letters: Silvestro et al. 2021, Periodic Bedrock Ridges at the ExoMars 2022 Landing Site: Evidence for a Changing Wind Regime. DOI: 10.1029/2020GL091651.

[1] Quantin-Nataf C. et al. (2021). Astrobiology, 21, N.3.

[2] Silvestro S. et al. (2020). 6th Int. Planet. Dunes Work. 12-15 May, 2020. LPI No. 2188, id.3009.

[3] Hugenholtz C. H. et al. (2015). Aeolian Res. 18, 135–144.

How to cite: Silvestro, S., Tirsch, D., Pacifici, A., Salese, F., Vaz, D., Neesemann, A., Popa, C., Pajola, M., Franzese, G., Mongelluzzo, G., Ruggeri, A. C., Cozzolino, F., Porto, C., and Esposito, F.: Change in the Wind and Climate at the ExoMars 2022 Landing Site in Oxia Planum (Mars). , EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-3429, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3429, 2021.

It is well known that barchan dunes are not isolated bedforms but are able to interact with one another both directly, through collisions and the emission/absorption of flux, and indirectly, due to the effects of turbulence in the wake of a dune.  In recent years, wave-tank experiments, continuum simulations, and cellular automata models have enabled researchers to model barchan-barchan interactions.  The findings from these studies have been fed into object-based models of entire fields of barchans and used to predict the size distributions.  Although there has been some success with these techniques, each model has failed to reproduce certain known properties on the field-scale; for instance, that the mean width is constant with downwind distance.  Furthermore, previous attempts have not been based on a theoretical understanding of the role of interactions in determining the dune size distribution, thus limiting their potential as universal models of barchan swarms.

Mean-field models are relatively simple in terms of the mathematics, but have shown some degree of success in the modelling of barchan fields, although previous work has  focused only on specific cases of interaction rules.  We have developed a more general mean-field model which can include many different forms of interaction, making it applicable to a variety of problems, including socio-economic systems as well as fields of interacting barchans.  Despite the generality of our model, we have been able to derive expressions for the dependence of the steady-state size distribution, and its moments, on the choice of interaction rules.  This means that, by making a measurement of the size distribution of a barchan field, we are able to infer properties of the interactions at play. 

To demonstrate the power of such a model we have measured size distributions of several barchan fields in the area of Tarfaya, Morocco.  Measurements were made by recording locations of seven distinct points on each barchan to yield morphometric parameters of each dune and compile the size-distribution.  By comparing the distribution and its moments to those predicted by the model, we can infer certain properties of the interaction rules, such as the relative probabilities of the different forms of collision.  The results show an example of how our model provides a more comprehensive understanding of the way in which dune-dune interactions determine properties on the scale of the field. 

How to cite: Robson, D., Baas, A., and Annibale, A.: Inference of barchan interaction properties from a comparison of theoretical modelling and observation, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-213, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-213, 2021.

The distribution and morphology of tidal bedforms in the Weser Estuary, Germany, between the tidal limit (Weser-km 0 in Bremen) and the open North Sea (Weser-km 110) has been analysed for a five-year period (2009-2013) based on monthly bathymetric surveys carried out along the main waterway. Bedforms were detected from gridded bathymetry data (2x2 m) and their geometric properties described. In particular, the presence and position of a slip face, here defined as the portion of the lee side steeper than 15°, were determined. In earlier studies, this was shown to be a practical criterion for the presence of a permanent flow separation and a turbulent wake in the lee of bedforms. Here it is used as a simplified indicator of bedform roughness: if a bedform does feature a slip face, it is assumed to be an active roughness element. The results were related to measured river discharge and water levels and modelled flow velocities.

Bedforms properties varied spatially and temporally along the estuary. Along the main bedform field (Weser-km 12 to 55) bedforms were mostly flood-oriented upstream, gradually becoming symmetrical then ebb-oriented downstream. In times of high discharge, all bedforms were more ebb-oriented than in times of low discharge. Bedforms in the Weser Estuary can be described as predominantly low angle dunes and their steepest slope is situated near the bedform crest. The analysed bedforms (in the main navigational channel, which is deepened and constrained) are also very two-dimensional, with little variations of three-dimensionality in time or space.

Although the Weser bedforms are mainly low angle, a significant proportion of bedforms possesses a slip face. This implies that they have a strong potential to induce bed roughness. This roughness is likely to change spatially along the estuary due to the variations of bedform properties, but also vary in time as a function of the tidal phase (ebb and flood) and discharge. This has wide implications in terms of modelling hydrodynamics and sediment transport in estuaries.

How to cite: Lefebvre, A., Herrling, G., Zorndt, A., Krämer, K., Becker, M., and Winter, C.: Morphology of tidal bedforms, Weser Estuary, Germany, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-4919, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4919, 2021.

Hummocky Cross Stratifications (HCS) are low-angle sedimentary structures found in association to sediments from the offshore transition. They are traditionally interpreted as representing storm-induced bedforms, whereby a combined flow is created including an oscillation component from storm waves and a unidirectional component from a density current, with debate on the intensity of each component. 

Here, the lateral evolution of bedsets containing HCS is investigated from field exposures. Drone images were collected from outcrops in the Moroccan Anti-Atlas from the Jbel Bani, a several hundred meters thick succession of shoreface to offshore sandstones and shales deposited during the Late Ordovician. Outcrops were targeted specifically for configurations where a vertical series of HCS sandstone bedsets occurred within silty-shale to flazer background interbeds.

Over a few hundred meters of lateral distance, HCS beds are found to splay out into channel cuts. Outside these channel features, individual bedsets are seemingly discontinuous, either amalgamating into underlying beds or laterally passing into ripple beds. This preliminary study offers new insights into the depositional dynamics of HCS sandstone beds, feeding a long-lasting discussion over the last 50 years. 

How to cite: Douillet, G. A. and Harlet, D.: Investigation of the lateral continuity of sandstone bedsets containing hummocky cross stratifications, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-16551, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-16551, 2021.

Estuarine sand dunes are – similar to river dunes and marine sand waves – large-scale rhythmic bed patterns. Their characteristics differ from their riverine and marine counterparts, owing to the complex and dynamic estuarine environment. Using an idealized process-based modelling approach, we investigate the effect of the gravitational circulation on estuarine sand dunes.

The gravitational circulation is a residual current typical to estuaries, as it results from a longitudinal salinity gradient. It constitutes a tide-averaged residual flow with an upstream-directed (landward) component at the bed and a downstream-directed (seaward) component at the water surface (Geyer & MacCready, 2014). Sediment transport primarily depends on the bed shear stress (and thus on the flow near the bed), and therefore this residual flow may well be responsible for upstream migration of these bedforms. Observations of sand dunes in the Gironde estuary, France, suggest that this may indeed be relevant to the migration direction of estuarine sand dunes (Berné et al., 1993).  

We incorporated the hydrodynamic features of the gravitational circulation in a morphodynamic model, which is similar to the one of Hulscher (1996). We then perform a so-called linear stability analysis, which shows that bedforms develop as free instabilities of the flat bed.

Results show that a longitudinal salinity gradient may cause upstream migration, provided that the river flow velocity is sufficiently small. During high discharge in the Gironde estuary, the salinity front is pushed outward (van Maanen & Sottolichio, 2018), thus increasing the salinity gradient at the position in the Gironde where the sand wave field is situated. Including this in the model shows that the strengthened gravitational circulation can overpower the increased river flow velocities during high discharge, and thus confirms the observation by Berné et al. (1993). We note that this mechanism is probably limited to estuaries which share similar characteristics as the Gironde estuary, i.e. symmetric tide, well-mixed, little wind and wave influence, and a small residual river flow velocity due to a significant increase in cross-sectional area. Future research will elaborate on the effects of (tidally varying) stratification through implementation of a time- and space dependent eddy viscosity.

References

Berné, S., Castaing, P., le Drezen, E., & Lericolais, G. (1993). Morphology, Internal Structure, and Reversal of Asymmetry of Large Subtidal Dunes in the Entrance to Gironde Estuary (France). Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 63(5), 780–793. https://doi.org/10.1306/d4267c03-2b26-11d7-8648000102c1865d

Geyer, W. R., & MacCready, P. (2014). The Estuarine Circulation. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, 46, 175–197. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-fluid-010313-141302

Hulscher, S. J. M. H. (1996). Tidal-induced large-scale regular bed form patterns in a three-dimensional shallow water model. Journal of Geophysical Research, 101(C9), 727–744. https://doi.org/10.1029/96JC01662

van Maanen, B., & Sottolichio, A. (2018). Hydro- and sediment dynamics in the Gironde estuary (France): Sensitivity to seasonal variations in river inflow and sea level rise. Continental Shelf Research, 165(May), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2018.06.001

How to cite: van der Sande, W. M., Roos, P. C., Gerkema, T., and Hulscher, S. J. M. H.: The influence of the gravitational circulation on estuarine sand dune migration: an idealized modelling approach, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-4874, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-4874, 2021.

Open and data-driven paradigms have allowed to answer fundamental scientific questions in different disciplines such as astronomy, ecology and fluid mechanics, among others. Recently, the need to collaboratively build a large, engineered and freely accessible bed form database has been highlighted as a necessary step to adopt these paradigms in bed form dynamics research.

Most large database architectures have followed the principles of relational databases model solutions (RDBMS). Recently, non-relational (NoSQL) architectures (e.g., key-value store, graph databases, document-oriented, etc.) have been proposed to improve the capabilities and flexibility of RDBMS. Both RDBMS and NoSQL architectures require designing an engineered metadata structure to define the data taxonomy and structure, which are subsequently used to develop a metadata language for data querying. Past research suggests that the development of a metadata language needs a collaborative and iterative approach.

Defining the data taxonomy and structure for bed form data may be challenging because: [1] there is not a standardized protocol for conducting field and laboratory measurements; [2] it is expected that existing bed form data have a wide spectrum of data characteristics (e.g. length, format, resolution, structured or non-structured, etc.); and [3] bedforms are studied by scientists and engineers from different disciplines (e.g., geologists, ecologists, civil and water engineers, etc.).

In recent years, several data repositories have been built to manage large datasets related to the Earth System. One of these repositories is the Earth Science Information Partners, which has proposed standards to promote and improve the preservation, availability and overall quality of Earth System related data. These standards map the roles of participants (e.g., creators, intermediaries and end users) and delivers protocols to ensure proper data distribution and quality control.

This contribution presents the first iteration of a metadata language for subaqueous bed form data, named BedformsML0, which adopts the standards of the Earth Science Information Partners. BedformsML0 may serve as a prototype to describe bed form observations from field and laboratory measurements, model outputs, technical reports, scientific papers, post processed data, etc. Biogeoenvironmental observations associated to bed form dynamics (e.g., hydrodynamics, turbulence, river and coastal morphology, biota density, habitat metrics, sediment transport, sediment properties, land use dynamics, etc.) may also be represented in BedformsML0. It could subsequently be improved in future iterations via the collaboration of professionals from different Earth science fields to also describe subaerial, and extraterrestrial bed form data. Likewise, BedformsML0 can be used as machine search query selection for massive data processing and visualization of bed form observations. 

How to cite: Gutierrez, R. R., Escusa, F. E., Lefebvre, A., Gualtieri, C., Nunez-Gonzalez, F., and Roche, M.: BedformsML0, a preliminary metadata language for a large, engineered and freely accessible bed form database, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-16081, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-16081, 2021.

During low flows, river dunes determine the navigable depth of rivers, influencing the maximum draft of ships. Accurate predictions of the height and location of river dunes during low flows is needed to plan shipping operations in rivers. Currently, little data of dune evolution during low flows is available and analyzed, as most research is focused on high flows and most data is retrieved in flume experiments. However, the scaling from flume to full scale river gives issues with the lee slope angle and secondary bed forms.[LL(1]  Therefore, research on dune evolution on full scale rivers is lacking.

For this research multibeam echo sounding (MBES) measurements of the Waal river, Netherlands, were used. These measurements were done once per two weeks and cover the fairway. The data was made available by Rijkswaterstaat (Department of public works and water management, Netherlands). We developed a method to analyze dune shape in a large dataset of bed data. This method was applied on a stretch of 2 km Waal river, between the cities of Tiel and St. Andries. The research period covers the whole year 2018. This year is characterized by three separate discharge regimes. High water during January until March, median discharge from April until June and extreme low discharges from July until November.

In the first step of the data analysis locations of the primary dunes were determined using a wavelet analysis. At these locations, the dune crests and troughs were identified. With the crests and troughs, the shape characteristics such as dune length, height lee slope angle and propagation speed were determined. The dune characteristics were eventually related to the governing discharge.

The first results show that the river dunes are mobile during extreme low flows. After a transition period of one month, where the discharge drops from the median value towards the low discharge, the dune length and height become statistically stable. While the dune shape in flow direction becomes stable during these low flows the three dimensionality increases, not only in primary dune shape but also the appearance of secondary dunes and ripples. The dune height near the right bank is smaller than in the middle of the river, towards the left bank the height decreases again. The differences between the banks and the middle of the fairway increase as discharge decreases. Also, by visually inspecting the bed profiles at other locations, a similar trend is observed.

The first results show that the location in the river cross-section influences the dune characteristics. These differences increase as the discharge decreases. In further work we will extend the research area over the full length of the Waal river, to give a quantitative analysis supporting our visual results and to include influence of sediment size. As the differences in the cross-section can be found throughout the river, we will also investigate the influence of shipping on the differences in dune shape.

How to cite: Lokin, L., Warmink, J., Bomers, A., and Hulscher, S.: The variability of river dune shape at high and low flows in a navigable river, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-6276, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6276, 2021.

Bedforms are thought to be a major cause of hydraulic roughness in channels. The geometry of the river bed, shaped by bars, dunes, and ripples, and the spatial and temporal distribution of these, influence the resulting roughness variations. Roughness is a fundamental parameter for understanding river flow behaviour by influencing sediment transport and water level.

Quantification of roughness is challenging since it is not directly measurable in the field. It is therefore inferred from hydrological characteristics, -including water depth, water surface slope, flow velocity, discharge-, as well as morphological characteristics, -such as bedform height-, or derived from calibration of a hydraulic model.

This study contributes to the elucidation of factors influencing hydraulic roughness, and its quantification from field data. Proper quantification of roughness and its spatiotemporal behavior will increase our knowledge in river behavior and will lead to improvement of river management strategies and operational models.

In this research, three methods will be explored, to quantify the spatial distribution of hydraulic roughness in the field. We aim to state the importance of bed morphology for hydraulic roughness and we pursue the auxiliary aim to explore the spatial distribution of bedforms and roughness in our case study area river Waal, the Netherlands.

Method 1 uses the St. Vernant equations (better known as the Chezy equations) to quantify roughness, with as input among others flow velocity, bed slope and water surface slope. This value is seen as the ‘true’  roughness of the river system. Method 2 is a traditionally often used method, where form roughness is obtained from dune characteristics such as height and length via empirical predictors. Method 3 makes use of characteristics of the bed itself, not strictly related to 2D bedform geometry, specifically the inclination of the streamwise local elevation profile, i.e. local topographic leeside angle. Doing so eliminates the necessity of defining dune characteristics, and therefore taking one, often arbitrary, step out of the procedure to quantify roughness.

The three methodologies show the same general trend and order of magnitude of roughness (C=30-70 m^0.5/s, mean 42 m^0.5/s) however kilometer-scale variations show contrasting patterns. Nor dune geometry neither local topographic leeside angle manage to fully explain the variations in the roughness as obtain from the st. Vernant equations. From this we conclude that bed morphology does not seem to be the only explaining factor for roughness variations. Possible explanations include the low leeside angle of dunes (mean <10°), the influence of man-made structures such as groynes and longitudinal training dams, the influence of fixed gravel layers in sharp bends, river curvature, and cross-sectional variation in river depth (bars) and flow velocity. Further steps will be made to unravel the contributing factors for spatial variation in roughness.

How to cite: de Lange, S., Naqshband, S., and Hoitink, T.: Quantifying hydraulic roughness from field data: can bed morphology tell the whole story?, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-6336, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6336, 2021.

Field observations in the Dover Strait (Le Bot and Trentesaux, 2004) show sandy bed patterns in an environment where sand is scarce. Their morphological features closely resemble tidal sand waves, however, these type of bed forms are characterized by a crest-to-crest spacing which is larger than the wavelength of sand waves in the same surveyed area where sand is abundant. Based on stability theory, Porcile et al (2017) developed a morphodynamic model that was able to explain these features. They found that where the motionless substratum is exposed due to the growth of dunes, the lack of sand affects sediment transport, and consequently the morphology of the bed patterns. Their results also showed that the continuous growth leads to a lengthening of the dunes, and an increasing irregularity of the spacing. The found that their results were supported by the field observations.

Since the model by Porcile et al (2017) is partly based on the perturbation principle, the results are only valid for small amplitude patterns. To further understand the nonlinear behaviour of these sand starved dunes (e.g. shape, height), we here apply the fully numerical sand wave model by Damveld et al (2020). We extend this model by accounting for the presence of a hard substrate just below a thin layer of sand. Moreover, we start with a randomly perturbed bed pattern to give the morphodynamic system the freedom of self-organization.

Preliminary results show that the numerical model is able to reproduce the results found by Porcile et al (2017). In situations where sand is less abundant, wavelengths increase, and so does the spacing irregularity. Moreover, it is found that the average height of the sandy dunes is becoming increasingly smaller with decreasing sand availability. Further analysis should reveal dependencies to different environmental parameters, such as grain size, depth and tidal current strength.

Le Bot, S., & Trentesaux, A. (2004). Types of internal structure and external morphology of submarine dunes under the influence of tide- and wind-driven processes (Dover Strait, northern France). Marine Geology, 211(1), 143-168. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2004.07.002

Damveld, J. H., Borsje, B. W., Roos, P. C., & Hulscher, S. J. M. H. (2020). Horizontal and Vertical Sediment Sorting in Tidal Sand Waves: Modeling the Finite-Amplitude Stage. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 125(10), e2019JF005430. doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005430

Porcile, G., Blondeaux, P., & Vittori, G. (2017). On the formation of periodic sandy mounds. Continental Shelf Research, 145(Supplement C), 68-79. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2017.07.011

How to cite: Damveld, J., Porcile, G., Blondeaux, P., and Roos, P.: Nonlinear dynamics of sand waves in sediment scarce environments, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-16019, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-16019, 2021.