Transient character of a turbidity current in a reservoir

Conclusions

In a turbidity current a transient character during the daily cycles is determined by a change in the regime of inflow of sediments into the reservoir and by eddy-wave structures developing on the outer boundaries of a density flow. The first factor can be taken into account for a known daily variation of the liquid discharge of the river feeding the density current. The second type of transient character of the current is determined by the effect of turbulence being generated in the contact zones of the current, the intensity of which can be expressed in the form

$$\sigma u = \pi \Delta z/Ri_{cr} \Delta t\bar u = (\pi /Ri_{cr} )\alpha _0 ,$$

((6))

where α₀∼10⁻² is the coefficient of entrainment of the ambient fluid into the flow.