Erosion of fine-grained marine sediments: Sea-floor and laboratory experiments

Research Article| May 01, 1978 Erosion of fine-grained marine sediments: Sea-floor and laboratory experiments ROBERT N. YOUNG; ROBERT N. YOUNG 1Massachusetts Institute of Technology–Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 025433Present address: NOAA, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratories, Maine Geology and Geophysics Laboratory, 15 Ricken-backer Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar JOHN B. SOUTHARD JOHN B. SOUTHARD 2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1978) 89 (5): 663–672. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<663:EOFMSS>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation ROBERT N. YOUNG, JOHN B. SOUTHARD; Erosion of fine-grained marine sediments: Sea-floor and laboratory experiments. GSA Bulletin 1978;; 89 (5): 663–672. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1978)89<663:EOFMSS>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Estimates of threshold erosion velocities have been obtained in the field and in the laboratory for marine mud relatively rich in organic matter and having an active infauna. A sea-floor flume was used to erode undisturbed sediments on the sea floor, and a laboratory flume was used to study the effects of sampling, redeposition, bioturbation, organic-matter content, and compaction time on erosion resistance.Critical shear velocity, u*c, for erosion of muds in situ ranged from 0.32 to 0.84 cm/s, and u*c was apparently independent of season or bulk physical properties. Erosion was often but not always initiated in biogenically disturbed parts of the bed. Lee drifts around small bed-roughness elements were the most common constructional bedforms observed during the sea-floor experiments, and narrow and shallow longitudinal furrows were the most commonly observed erosional features. Tidal u*c values measured at the field site were of the same magnitude as the u*c values measured with the sea-floor flume.Mean u*c for muds redeposited and bioturbated for 1 to 60 days in the laboratory flume (0.92 cm/s) was greater by a factor of two than mean u*c for muds eroded in situ (0.45 cm/s). As bioturbation time in the laboratory increased, u*c decreased. Increases in sediment organic content were found to increase u*c systematically in flat, nonbioturbated laboratory beds. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.