Turbidity currents deliver sediment rapidly from the continental shelf to the slope and beyond; and can be triggered by processes such as shelf resuspension during oceanic storms; mass failure of slope deposits due to sediment- and wave-pressure loadings; and localized events that grow into sustained currents via self-amplifying ignition. Because these operate over multiple spatial and temporal scales, ranging from the eddy-scale to continental-scale; coupled numerical models that represent the full transport pathway have proved elusive though individual models have been developed to describe each of these processes. Toward a more holistic tool, a numerical workflow was developed to address pathways for sediment routing from terrestrial and coastal sources, across the continental shelf and ultimately down continental slope canyons of the northern Gulf of Mexico, where offshore infrastructure is susceptible to damage by turbidity currents. Workflow components included: 1) a calibrated simulator for fluvial discharge (Water Balance Model - Sediment; WBMsed); 2) domain grids for seabed sediment textures (dbSEABED); bathymetry, and channelization; 3) a simulator for ocean dynamics and resuspension (the Regional Ocean Modeling System; ROMS); 4) A simulator (HurriSlip) of seafloor failure and flow ignition; and 5) A Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbidity current model (TURBINS). Model simulations explored physical oceanic conditions that might generate turbidity currents, and allowed the workflow to be tested for a year that included two hurricanes. Results showed that extreme storms were especially effective at delivering sediment from coastal source areas to the deep sea, at timescales that ranged from individual wave events (~hours), to the settling lag of fine sediment (~days).

中文翻译：

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数据驱动的多模型工作流程表明，飓风对墨西哥湾浊流的产生有很大影响

浑浊的水流将沉积物从大陆架迅速输送到斜坡和更远的地方。并可能由海洋风暴期间的架子重新悬浮等过程触发；由于沉积物和波浪压力的作用而导致的斜坡沉积物的质量破坏；局部事件通过自放大点火而变成持续电流。因为它们在从涡尺度到大陆尺度的多个时空尺度上运作；尽管已经开发出描述每个过程的单个模型，但表示完整运输路径的耦合数值模型已被证明是难以捉摸的。为了使用更全面的工具，开发了一种数字工作流程，以解决陆源和沿海源的泥沙输送路径，穿过大陆架，最终到达墨西哥湾北部的大陆斜坡峡谷，那里的近海基础设施容易受到浊流的破坏。工作流程的组成部分包括：1）用于河流排放的校准模拟器（水平衡模型-泥沙；WBMsed）; 2）海底沉积物纹理的域网格（dbSEABED）；测深和渠道化；3）海洋动力学和再悬浮的模拟器（区域海洋建模系统；ROMS）；4）海底故障和水流点火的模拟器（HurriSlip）；和5）雷诺平均Navier-Stokes（RANS）浊度模型（TURBINS）。模型模拟探索了可能产生浑浊洋流的物理海洋条件，并允许对工作流进行一年的测试，其中包括两次飓风。结果表明，极端风暴对从沿海源区向深海输送沉积物特别有效，其时间范围从单个海浪事件（约数小时）到精细沉积物的沉降滞后（约数天）不等。