1 1 Running head: Dynamics and structures of supercritical-flow bedforms 2 3 Morphodynamics and sedimentary structures of 4 bedforms under supercritical-flow conditions: new 5 insights from flume experiments 6 7 MATTHIEU J.B. CARTIGNY*, DARIO VENTRA, GEORGE POSTMA 8 and JAN H. VAN DEN BERG 9 10 Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, P.O. box 80021, 11 3508TA Utrecht, The Netherlands 12 * Corresponding author current address: National Oceanography Centre, European Way, 13 Southampton, Hampshire, UK SO14 3ZH (E-mail:
[email protected]) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Keywords Supercritical flow, cyclic steps, antidunes, hydraulic jump, chutes-and-pools, 24 flume experiments 25 26 2 27 ABSTRACT 28 Supercritical flow phenomena are fairly common in modern sedimentary environments, yet their 29 recognition and analysis remain difficult in the stratigraphic record. This fact is commonly 30 ascribed to the poor preservation potential of deposits from high-energy supercritical flows. 31 However, the number of flume datasets on supercritical flow dynamics and sedimentary 32 structures is very limited in comparison with available data for subcritical flows, which hampers 33 the recognition and interpretation of such deposits. The results of systematic flume experiments 34 spanning the full range of supercritical flow bedforms (antidunes, chutes-and-pools, cyclic steps) 35 developed in mobile sand beds of variable grain sizes are presented. Flow character and 36 related bedform patterns are constrained through time-series measurements of bed 37 configurations, flow depths, flow velocities and Froude numbers. The results allow the 38 refinement and extension of some widely used bedform stability diagrams in the supercritical- 39 flow domain, clarifying in particular the morphodynamic relations between antidunes and cyclic 40 steps.