Noninvasive Methods for Hydraulic Characterization of Density Currents with Application to Submarine Fan Experiments

Abstract

Laboratory experiments are a convenient way to study morphodynamic processes associated with subaqueous fans. However, the flows driving such systems can be difficult to hydraulically characterize due to the shallowness of the flows, the spatial and temporal dynamics of the autogenic channels, and the mixing at the interface of the ambient fluid and density current. The objective of this study is to develop a set of methods to quantify hydraulic variables in laterally unconstrained and morphologically active density currents. Herein, a methodology is presented capable of characterizing a density current flow field with direct application to submarine fan experiments. This is done with a combination of: (1) particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) analysis of tracers within the density current, (2) flow width measurements from overhead images, and (3) solution of the mass and volume conservation equations in one-dimension to obtain layer-averaged velocity, depth, and fractional excess density.