Validating floc settling velocity models in rivers and freshwater wetlands

Abstract. Flocculation controls mud sedimentation and organic carbon burial rates by increasing mud settling velocity. Floc settling velocity can be predicted using a semi-empirical model that depends on turbulence, sediment concentration, and geochemical variables or an explicit Stokes law-type model that depends on floc diameter, permeability, and fractal properties. However, validation of the semi-empirical and explicit models with direct field measurements is lacking. We employed a camera, in situ particle sizing, and analysis of grain size-specific suspended sediment concentration profiles to measure flocs in the freshwater channels and wetlands of Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana. Sediment finer than ~20 to 50 μm flocculates with median floc diameter of 30 to 90 μm, bulk solid fraction of 0.05 to 0.3, and floc settling velocity of ~0.1 to 1 mm s^-1, with little variation along depth. These values are consistent with the semi-empirical model, which indicates that turbulence limits variation in floc settling velocity on flood-to-seasonal time scales. In the explicit model, the effective primary particle diameter, commonly assumed to be the median primary particle diameter, differs by a factor of ~2 to 6 smaller than the median and can be better described using a simple fractal theory. Flow through the floc increases settling velocity by a factor of ~2 and can be explained by parameterizing flocs as effectively permeable clusters of primary particles. Our results provide the first full field validation of effective primary particle diameter and floc permeability theories, which improve floc settling velocity predictions of the explicit model.