Unraveling bed slope from relative roughness in initial sediment motion

Understanding incipient sediment transport is crucial for predicting landscape evolution, mitigating flood hazards, and restoring riverine habitats. Observations show that the critical Shields stress increases with increasing channel bed slope, and proposed explanations for this counterintuitive finding include enhanced form drag from bed forms, particle interlocking across the channel width, and large bed sediment relative to flow depth (relative roughness). Here we use scaled flume experiments with variable channel widths, bed slopes, and particle densities to separate these effects which otherwise covary in natural streams. The critical Shields stress increased with bed slope for both natural gravel (ρ_s = 2.65 g/cm^3) and acrylic particles (ρ_s = 1.15 g/cm^3), and adjusting channel width had no significant effect. However, the lighter acrylic particles required a threefold higher critical Shields stress for mobilization relative to the natural gravel at a fixed slope, which is unexpected because particle density is accounted for directly in the definition of Shields stress. A comparison with model predictions indicates that changes in local velocity and turbulence associated with increasing relative roughness for lighter materials are responsible for increasing the critical Shields stress in our experiments. These changes lead to concurrent changes in the hydraulic resistance and a nearly constant critical stream power value at initial motion. Increased relative roughness can explain much of the observed heightened critical Shields stresses and reduced sediment transport rates in steep channels and also may bias paleohydraulic reconstructions in environments with exotic submerged densities such as iron ore, pumice, or ice clasts on Titan

Particle friction angles in steep mountain channels

Sediment transport rates in steep mountain channels are typically an order of magnitude lower than predicted by models developed for lowland rivers. One hypothesis for this observation is that particles are more stable in mountain channels due to particle-particle interlocking or bridging across the channel width. This hypothesis has yet to be tested, however, because we lack direct measurements of particle friction angles in steep mountain channels. Here we address this data gap by directly measuring the minimum force required to dislodge sediment (pebbles to boulders) and the sediment weight in mountain channels using a handheld force gauge. At eight sites in California, with reach-averaged bed angles ranging from 0.5° to 23° and channel widths ranging from 2 m to 16 m, we show that friction angles in natural streams average 68° and are 16° larger than those typically measured in laboratory experiments, which is likely due to particle interlocking and burial. Results also show that larger grains are disproportionately more stable than predicted by existing models and that grains organized into steps are twice as stable as grains outside of steps. However, the mean particle friction angle does not vary systematically with bed slope. These results do not support systematic increases in friction angle in steeper and narrower channels to explain the observed low sediment transport rates in mountain channels. Instead, the spatial pattern and grain-size dependence of particle friction angles may indirectly lower transport rates in steep, narrow channels by stabilizing large clasts and channel-spanning steps, which act as momentum sinks due to form drag

Autogenic entrenchment patterns and terraces due to coupling with lateral erosion in incising alluvial channels

The abandonment of terraces in incising alluvial rivers can be used to infer tectonic and climatic histories. A river incising into alluvium erodes both vertically and laterally as it abandons fill-cut terraces. We argue that the input of sediment from the valley walls during entrenchment can alter the incision dynamics of a stream by promoting vertical incision over lateral erosion. Using a numerical model, we investigate how valley wall feedbacks may affect incision rates and terrace abandonment as the channel becomes progressively more entrenched in its valley. We postulate that erosion of taller valley walls delivers large pulses of sediment to the incising channel, potentially overwhelming the local sediment transport capacity. Based on field observations, we propose that these pulses of sediment can form talus piles that shield the valley wall from subsequent erosion and potentially force progressive channel narrowing. Our model shows that this positive feedback mechanism can enhance vertical incision relative to 1-D predictions that ignore lateral erosion. We find that incision is most significantly enhanced when sediment transport rates are low relative to the typical volume of material collapsed from the valley walls. The model also shows a systematic erosion of the youngest terraces when river incision slows down. The autogenic entrenchment due to lateral feedbacks with valley walls should be taken into account in the interpretation of complex-response terraces

The role of three-dimensional boundary stresses in limiting the occurrence and size of experimental landslides

The occurrence of seepage-induced shallow landslides on hillslopes and steep channel beds is important for landscape evolution and natural hazards. Infinite-slope stability models have been applied for seven decades, but sediment beds generally require higher water saturation levels than predicted for failure, and controlled experiments are needed to test models. We initiated 90 landslides in a 5 m long laboratory flume with a range in sediment sizes (D = 0.7, 2, 5, and 15 mm) and hillslope angles (θ = 20° to 43°), resulting in subsurface flow that spanned the Darcian and turbulent regimes, and failures that occurred with subsaturated and supersaturated sediment beds. Near complete saturation was required for failure in most experiments, with water levels far greater than predicted by infinite-slope stability models. Although 3-D force balance models predict that larger landslides are less stable, observed downslope landslide lengths were typically only several decimeters, not the entire flume length. Boundary stresses associated with short landslides can explain the increased water levels required for failure, and we suggest that short failures are tied to heterogeneities in granular properties. Boundary stresses also limited landslide thicknesses, and landslides progressively thinned on lower gradient hillslopes until they were one grain diameter thick, corresponding to a change from near-saturated to supersaturated sediment beds. Thus, landslides are expected to be thick on steep hillslopes with large frictional stresses acting on the boundaries, whereas landslides should be thin on low-gradient hillslopes or in channel beds with a critical saturation level that is determined by sediment size

Decreasing landslide erosion on steeper slopes in soil‐mantled landscapes

Slope‐stability models predict that steeper hillslopes require smaller hydrological triggers for shallow landslides to occur due to the added downslope pull of gravity, which should result in more frequent landslides and faster erosion. However, field observations indicate that landslide frequency does not consistently increase on steeper hillslopes. Here, we use measurements of 1,096 soil landslides in California and Switzerland, and a compilation of landslide geometries, to show that steeper hillslopes typically have thinner soils and that thin soils inhibit landslides due to enhanced roles of cohesion and boundary stresses. We find that the landscape‐averaged landslide erosion depth peaks near the threshold slope for instability, and it drops to half that value on hillslopes that are just 5° to 10° steeper. We propose that faster rates of soil creep on steeper slopes cause thin and more stable soils, which in turn reduces landslide erosion, despite the added pull of gravity

Autogenic entrenchment patterns and terraces due to coupling with lateral erosion in incising alluvial channels

The abandonment of terraces in incising alluvial rivers can be used to infer tectonic and climatic histories. A river incising into alluvium erodes both vertically and laterally as it abandons fill-cut terraces. We argue that the input of sediment from the valley walls during entrenchment can alter the incision dynamics of a stream by promoting vertical incision over lateral erosion. Using a numerical model, we investigate how valley wall feedbacks may affect incision rates and terrace abandonment as the channel becomes progressively more entrenched in its valley. We postulate that erosion of taller valley walls delivers large pulses of sediment to the incising channel, potentially overwhelming the local sediment transport capacity. Based on field observations, we propose that these pulses of sediment can form talus piles that shield the valley wall from subsequent erosion and potentially force progressive channel narrowing. Our model shows that this positive feedback mechanism can enhance vertical incision relative to 1-D predictions that ignore lateral erosion. We find that incision is most significantly enhanced when sediment transport rates are low relative to the typical volume of material collapsed from the valley walls. The model also shows a systematic erosion of the youngest terraces when river incision slows down. The autogenic entrenchment due to lateral feedbacks with valley walls should be taken into account in the interpretation of complex-response terraces

The role of three-dimensional boundary stresses in limiting the occurrence and size of experimental landslides

The occurrence of seepage-induced shallow landslides on hillslopes and steep channel beds is important for landscape evolution and natural hazards. Infinite-slope stability models have been applied for seven decades, but sediment beds generally require higher water saturation levels than predicted for failure, and controlled experiments are needed to test models. We initiated 90 landslides in a 5 m long laboratory flume with a range in sediment sizes (D = 0.7, 2, 5, and 15 mm) and hillslope angles (θ = 20° to 43°), resulting in subsurface flow that spanned the Darcian and turbulent regimes, and failures that occurred with subsaturated and supersaturated sediment beds. Near complete saturation was required for failure in most experiments, with water levels far greater than predicted by infinite-slope stability models. Although 3-D force balance models predict that larger landslides are less stable, observed downslope landslide lengths were typically only several decimeters, not the entire flume length. Boundary stresses associated with short landslides can explain the increased water levels required for failure, and we suggest that short failures are tied to heterogeneities in granular properties. Boundary stresses also limited landslide thicknesses, and landslides progressively thinned on lower gradient hillslopes until they were one grain diameter thick, corresponding to a change from near-saturated to supersaturated sediment beds. Thus, landslides are expected to be thick on steep hillslopes with large frictional stresses acting on the boundaries, whereas landslides should be thin on low-gradient hillslopes or in channel beds with a critical saturation level that is determined by sediment size

Force chains as the link between particle and bulk friction angles in granular material

From sediment transport in rivers to landslides, predictions of granular motion rely on a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion parameterized by a friction angle. Measured friction angles are generally large for single grains, smaller for large numbers of grains, and no theory exists for intermediate numbers of grains. We propose that a continuum of friction angles exists between single-grain and bulk friction angles due to grain-to-grain force chains. Physical experiments, probabilistic modeling, and discrete element modeling demonstrate that friction angles decrease by up to 15° as the number of potentially mobile grains increases from 1 to ~20. Decreased stability occurs as longer force chains more effectively dislodge downslope “keystone” grains, implying that bulk friction angles are set by the statistics of single-grain friction angles. Both angles are distinct from and generally larger than grain contact-point friction, with implications for a variety of sediment transport processes involving small clusters of grains

The concept of transport capacity in geomorphology

The notion of sediment-transport capacity has been engrained in geomorphological and related literature for over 50 years, although its earliest roots date back explicitly to Gilbert in fluvial geomorphology in the 1870s and implicitly to eighteenth to nineteenth century developments in engineering. Despite cross fertilization between different process domains, there seem to have been independent inventions of the idea in aeolian geomorphology by Bagnold in the 1930s and in hillslope studies by Ellison in the 1940s. Here we review the invention and development of the idea of transport capacity in the fluvial, aeolian, coastal, hillslope, débris flow, and glacial process domains. As these various developments have occurred, different definitions have been used, which makes it both a difficult concept to test, and one that may lead to poor communications between those working in different domains of geomorphology. We argue that the original relation between the power of a flow and its ability to transport sediment can be challenged for three reasons. First, as sediment becomes entrained in a flow, the nature of the flow changes and so it is unreasonable to link the capacity of the water or wind only to the ability of the fluid to move sediment. Secondly, environmental sediment transport is complicated, and the range of processes involved in most movements means that simple relationships are unlikely to hold, not least because the movement of sediment often changes the substrate, which in turn affects the flow conditions. Thirdly, the inherently stochastic nature of sediment transport means that any capacity relationships do not scale either in time or in space. Consequently, new theories of sediment transport are needed to improve understanding and prediction and to guide measurement and management of all geomorphic systems