Collaborative Research: Tracer Stone Studies; Field and Flume

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The team of S. Burges and P. De Vries (Univ. of Washington) and G. Parker (Univ. of Minnesota) plan collaborative research into the mechanics of coarse bedload transport at the particle scale. Gravel tracer particles are a convenient way to study the longitudinal travel and dispersion and vertical mixing of sediment in mountain rivers. Field observations of tracer displacement have not yet, however, been linked comprehensively into the formal framework of sediment transport in rivers.The study will use experiments as a bridge between theoretical/numerical research and field-scale research to a) develop formulations for distance moved, dispersion and mixing of tracers for unsteady flow, b) link these formulations to mechanistic theories of bedload transport and c) test and validate the results against field data taken to the standards needed to test theory and numerical predictions.The field research will be conducted in several streams in western Washington State. The experimental research will be conducted at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. The Washington and Minnesota teams will collaborate on both efforts, with both sides contributing to the development of a predictive numerical model.