Upper flow regime bedforms on levees and continental slopes: Turbidity current flow dynamics in response to fine-grained sediment waves

Abstract

Our knowledge of submarine upper fl ow regime bedforms is very limited. Numerical experiments presented herein were designed to broaden our understanding of the origin and dynamics of fi ne-grained upper fl ow regime bedforms in turbidite systems, particularly on levees and continental slopes. The experiments combine fi eld information in order to (1) examine the hydrodynamic response of a bed consisting of fi ne-grained sediment waves to a wide range of turbidity current conditions, and (2) demonstrate that fi ne-grained sediment waves most likely form and evolve as upper fl ow regime bedforms, i.e., cyclic steps, transitional bedforms, or antidunes. The results of the study provide valuable information for the reconstruction of turbidity current fl ow dynamics on levees, continental slopes, and in other submarine settings that display a slope break.