Grain-size distributions of bed load: Inferences from flume experiments using heterogeneous sediment beds     

K. Ghoshal  B.S. Mazumder  Barendra Purkait 《Sedimentary Geology》2010,223(1-2):1-14

The grain-size fractions in the bedload transported over the five heterogeneous sediment beds of different values of bed roughness were computed from the flume experiments. The existence of an entrapment factor associated with the sorting observed from the bed to active layer was modeled based on the modified critical shear stress to estimate the grain-size fractions in the transport layer under given hydraulic conditions. The efficiency of these models was tested with the observed data. Subsequently, the patterns of observed grain-size distributions in the transport layer were tested to identify the distributions developed in the active layer due to sorting using three probability density functions (pdf), such as, log-normal, log-hyperbolic and log-skew-Laplace. Tests indicated that a log-skew-Laplace distribution fitted best for 49%, a log-hyperbolic for 31%, and a log-normal for 20% out of forty-five bedload samples collected under unidirectional flow with changes in flow discharge and bed roughness. The results of this study would be useful to specify the grain-size distributions in the bedload formed under different hydrodynamic conditions in various sedimentary environments.  相似文献   

Deciphering the Seasonal Cycle of Copepod Trophic Dynamics in the Strait of Georgia,Canada, Using Stable Isotopes and Fatty Acids     

Rana W. El-Sabaawi  Akash R. Sastri  John F. Dower  Asit Mazumder 《Estuaries and Coasts》2010,33(3):738-752

Characterizing trophic flows is central to our understanding of energy transfer in marine ecosystems. The food webs of coastal systems are difficult to study because the proportion of autochthonous to allochthonous sources often varies seasonally and is often overlaid on a seasonal cycle of zooplankton composition. Here, we use a combination of fatty acids and stable isotopes to disentangle the trophic pathways in a productive coastal system (the Strait of Georgia (SoG), Canada). Over the span of a year, Metridia pacifica, a ubiquitous omnivorous copepod, can utilize a wide range of dietary items including diatoms, flagellates, bacteria, detritus, and microzooplankton. M. pacifica can switch from herbivory to carnivory in response to declining chlorophyll concentrations after the spring bloom and can occasionally utilize detrital sources. These findings are discussed in the context of previous knowledge of the SoG ecosystem, the current state of ecosystem modeling in the region, and the use of stable isotopes and fatty acids to assess trophic dynamics.  相似文献