3-D flow and scour near a submerged wing dike: ADCP measurements on the Missouri River

Water Resources Research
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Abstract

Detailed mapping of bathymetry and three-dimensional water velocities using a boat-mounted single-beam sonar and acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was carried out in the vicinity of two submerged wing dikes located in the Lower Missouri River near Columbia, Missouri. During high spring flows the wing dikes become submerged, creating a unique combination of vertical flow separation and overtopping (plunging) flow conditions, causing large-scale three-dimensional turbulent flow structures to form. On three different days and for a range of discharges, sampling transects at 5 and 20 m spacing were completed, covering the area adjacent to and upstream and downstream from two different wing dikes. The objectives of this research are to evaluate whether an ADCP can identify and measure large-scale flow features such as recirculating flow and vortex shedding that develop in the vicinity of a submerged wing dike; and whether or not moving-boat (single-transect) data are sufficient for resolving complex three-dimensional flow fields. Results indicate that spatial averaging from multiple nearby single transects may be more representative of an inherently complex (temporally and spatially variable) three-dimensional flow field than repeated single transects. Results also indicate a correspondence between the location of calculated vortex cores (resolved from the interpolated three-dimensional flow field) and the nearby scour holes, providing new insight into the connections between vertically oriented coherent structures and local scour, with the unique perspective of flow and morphology in a large river.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title 3-D flow and scour near a submerged wing dike: ADCP measurements on the Missouri River
Series title Water Resources Research
DOI 10.1029/2010WR010043
Volume 47
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Publisher location Washington, D.C.
Contributing office(s) Columbia Environmental Research Center
Description W07544, 20 p.
Country United States
State Missouri
City Columbia
Other Geospatial Missouri River
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