Channel formation by turbidity currents: Navier–Stokes-based linear stability analysis

The linear stability of an erodible sediment bed beneath a turbidity current is analysed, in order to identify potential mechanisms responsible for the formation of longitudinal gullies and channels. On the basis of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, the stability analysis accounts for the coupled interaction of the three-dimensional fluid and particle motion inside the current with the erodible bed below it. For instability to occur, the suspended sediment concentration of the base flow needs to decay away from the sediment bed more slowly than does the shear stress inside the current. Under such conditions, an upward protrusion of the sediment bed will find itself in an environment where erosion decays more quickly than sedimentation, and so it will keep increasing. Conversely, a local valley in the sediment bed will see erosion increase more strongly than sedimentation, which again will amplify the initial perturbation. The destabilizing effect of the base flow is modulated by the stabilizing perturbation of the suspended sediment concentration and by the shear stress due to a secondary flow structure in the form of counter-rotating streamwise vortices. These streamwise vortices are stabilizing for small Reynolds and Péclet numbers and destabilizing for large values. For a representative current height of O(10–100m), the linear stability analysis provides the most amplified wavelength in the range of 250–2500m, which is consistent with field observations reported in the literature. In contrast to previous analyses based on depth-averaged equations, the instability mechanism identified here does not require any assumptions about subor supercritical flow, nor does it require the presence of a slope or a slope break.