Observing, Measuring and Modelling Sediment Transport

Daniel Vázquez Tarrío, Luca Mao

There are clear feedbacks and interplays between particle entrainment, sediment transport and bed structuration in natural rivers. For instance, sediment supply and the differential mobility of different grain-sizes influences the type of bedforms that emerge. Similarly, bed structures and channel morphologies influence hydraulics and sediment transport rates. Consequently, the sedimentological functioning of rivers is largely controlled by the physical processes driving sediment transport and bedform dynamics. However, there remain open questions on how sediment transport, bed structuration and macro-bedforms coevolve in rivers. In this session, we seek for contributions focusing on the measurement and quantification of sediment transport processes and bedform dynamics in rivers, focusing at the local and reach scales. Contributions that combine different methodologies (field, flume experiments, numerical modelling) and/or try to link the short-term sediment transport dynamics to the sediment records preserved through fluvial stratigraphy are particularly welcomed.