Flux saturation length of sediment transport

Ribeiro Parteli EJ, Pähtz T, Kok JF, Herrmann HJ (2013)


Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2013

Journal

Publisher: American Physical Society

Book Volume: 111

Article Number: 218002

Journal Issue: 21

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.218002

Abstract

Sediment transport along the surface drives geophysical phenomena as diverse as wind erosion and dune formation. The main length scale controlling the dynamics of sediment erosion and deposition is the saturation length L , which characterizes the flux response to a change in transport conditions. Here we derive, for the first time, an expression predicting L as a function of the average sediment velocity under different physical environments. Our expression accounts for both the characteristics of sediment entrainment and the saturation of particle and fluid velocities, and has only two physical parameters which can be estimated directly from independent experiments. We show that our expression is consistent with measurements of L in both aeolian and subaqueous transport regimes over at least 5 orders of magnitude in the ratio of fluid and particle density, including on Mars. © 2013 American Physical Society.

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APA:

Ribeiro Parteli, E.J., Pähtz, T., Kok, J.F., & Herrmann, H.J. (2013). Flux saturation length of sediment transport. Physical Review Letters, 111(21). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.218002

MLA:

Ribeiro Parteli, Eric Josef, et al. "Flux saturation length of sediment transport." Physical Review Letters 111.21 (2013).

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