Effects of sediment bulk properties on erosion rates

Considerable work has been done recently on the effects of sediment bulk pr operties on erosion rates. From this it is known that erosion rates depend on at least the following parameters: bulk density, average particle size, particle size distribution, mineralogy, organic content, Volume of gas in t he sediment, salinity of the pore waters, and time after deposition. This w ork is reviewed and discussed here with the purpose of presenting a quantit ative overview of the effects of each of these parameters. This information is then used to demonstrate a procedure for estimating erosion rates of se diments based on a knowledge of their bulk properties. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.