Transport of sediments and nutrients across the hyporheic region in open channel flow

In this project we link the hydromechanics approach, which focuses on processes that control water flow and associated transport of nutrients and forces exerted on biota, to the ecological approach, which considers the hyporheic zone as a habitat for invertebrate freshwater organisms.

We conduct experimental work that targets the influence of phytobenthos on fine sediment entrainment and deposition, and on fluxes of concentration across a porous coarse sediment bed. In the laboratory, we take advantage of well-controlled conditions to study parameter-dependences systematically, whereas in the field we focus on species distribution, habitat diversity, and on the effects of seasonal variability. The quantitative results are theoretically framed with double-averaging methods so as to form a database that can be utilized for the validation and improvement of model closure relations.