Abstract
STABLE density gradients are common in the world's oceans and lakes, and play a crucial part in their physical, chemical and biological evolution. It has recently been suggested1 that turbidity currents provide an indirect mechanism for eroding this stratification. In these currents, light ambient fluid that has been mixed by cyclones with dense suspended sediment is transported to greater depths, where it convectively erodes the gradient as the sediment settles. Here I present experimental results which show that in these circumstances the density gradient is eroded in a number of cycles of decreasing intensity and increasing duration. In each cycle some of the sediment settles to the base of a stagnant region of unimpeded sedimentation, while the rest is mixed into an overlying region that is vigorously convecting. My experimental observations agree with a simple physical model that predicts the rate and extent of vertical mixing as well as the variation of particle sizes in the resulting turbidite.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Quadfasel, D., Kudrass, H. & Frische, A. Nature 348, 320–322 (1990).
Oster, G. & Yamamoto, M. Chem. Rev. 63, 257–268 (1963).
Oster, G. Scient. Am. 213, 70–76 (1965).
Huppert, H. E., Kerr, R. C., Lister, J. L. & Turner, J. S. J. Fluid Mech. 226, 349–369 (1991).
Davis, R. H. & Birdsell, K. H. AlChE J. 34, 123–129 (1988).
Simpson, J. E. Gravity Currents in the Environment and the Laboratory (Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1987).
Inman, D. L., Nordstrom, C. E. & Flick, R. E. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 8, 275–310 (1976).
Parker, G., Fukushima, Y. & Pantin, H. M. J. Fluid Mech. 171, 145–181 (1986).
Gould, H. R. in Comprehensive Survey of Sedimentation in Lake Mead. 1948–1949. Prof. Pap. US geol. Surv. 295, 201–207 (1960).
Gilbert, R. Can J. Earth Sci. 12, 1697–1711 (1975).
Gustavson, T. C. J. Sedim. Petrol. 45, 450–461 (1975).
Gibbs, R. J. J. Sedim. Petrol. 53, 1193–1203 (1983).
Stow, D. A. V. & Piper, D. J. W. Fine-Grained Sediments: Deep Water Processes and Facies (Blackwell, Oxford, 1984).
van Leussen, W. in Physical Processes in Estuaries, 347–403 (eds Dronkers, J. & van Leussen, W.) (Springer, Berlin, 1988).
Carey, S. N., Sigurdsson, H. & Sparks, R. S. J. J. geophys. Res. 93, 15314–15328 (1988).
Koyaguchi, T., Hallworth, M. A., Huppert, H. E. & Sparks, R. S. J. Nature 343, 447–450 (1990).
Deardorff, J. W., Willis, G. E. & Lilly, D. K. J. Fluid Mech. 35, 7–31 (1969).
Deardorff, J. W., Willis, G. E. & Stockton, B. H. J. Fluid Mech. 100, 41–64 (1980).
Turner, J. S. Buoyancy Effects in Fluids (Cambridge University Press, 1973).
Green, T. Sedimentology 34, 319–331 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kerr, R. Erosion of a stable density gradient by sedimentation-driven convection. Nature 353, 423–425 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/353423a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/353423a0
This article is cited by
-
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Catastrophic flood outbursts in mid-continent left imprints in the Gulf of Mexico
Geo-Marine Letters (2023)
-
Sedimentary deposits and bioturbation in an Early Cretaceous subarctic stormy greenhouse shelf environment
Environmental Earth Sciences (2023)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
