Abstract
A sediment trap is a container deployed in the water column with the aim of providing a representative sample of the material settling through that water column before it passes to a greater depth and ultimately to the seabed or lake bottom. A review of the previous literature shows cylinders and baffled funnels to be the most efficient sediment trap design in flows less than 0.1 m/s. For flow velocities above 0.1 m/s recent evidence suggests upwelling from the trap base, and possible undercollection. The degree of undercollection depends on the flow velocity, the type of trap, the height: diameter (aspect) ratio of the trap, and the type of sediment. Recent experiments suggest that cylinders with an aspect ratio of ≥3 may be efficient collectors in velocities up to 0.2 m/s. The use of cylinders is not recommended in velocities above 0.2 m/s. For unbaffled asymmetric funnels a lower limit of 0.12 m/s is suggested.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Baker E. T., Milburn H. B., and Tennant D. A., 1988, Field Assessment of Sediment Trap Efficiency under Varying Flow Conditions, J. Mar Res. 46, 573–592.
Bloesch J. and Burns N. M., 1980, A Critical Review of Sedimentation Trap Technique, Schweizerisch Zeitschrift für Hydrologie 42, 15–55.
Blomqvist S. and Hakanson L., 1981, A Review of Sediment Traps in Aquatic Environments, Arch Hydrobiol, 91, 101–132.
Blomqvist S. and Kofoed C., 1981, Sediment Trapping—A Subaquatic in situ Experiment, Limnology and Oceanography 26, 585–590.
Butman C. A., 1986, Sediment Trap Biases in Turbulent Flows: Results from a Laboratory Flume Study, J Mar Res. 44, 645–693.
Davis M. B., 1967, Pollen Decomposition in Lakes as Measured by Sediment Tarps, Geol Soc Am Bull. 78, 849–858.
Dymond J., Fischer K., Clauson M., Cobler R., Gardner W., Richardson M. J., Berger W., Soutar A., and Dunbar R., 1981, A Sediment Trap Intercomparison Study in the Santa Barbara Basin, Earth and Planetary Sci Lett. 53, 409–418.
Gardner, W. D., 1977, Fluxes, Dynamics and Chemistry of Particulates in the Ocean, PhD Thesis MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, pp. 405.
Gardner W. D., 1980a, Sediment Trap Dynamics and Calibration: A Laboratory Evaluation, J. Mar. Res. 38, 17–39.
Gardner W. D., 1980b, Field Assessment of Sediment Traps, J. Mar. Res. 38, 41–52.
Gardner W. D., 1985, The Effect of Tilt on Sediment Trap Efficiency, Deep Sea Res. 32, 349–361.
Gardner W. D., 1989, Baltimore Canyon as a Modern Conduit of Sediment to the Deep Sea. Deep Sea Res. 36, 323–358.
Gardner W. D., Richardson M. J., Hinga K. R., and Biscaye P. E., 1983, Resuspension Measured with Sediment Traps in a High Energy Environment, Earth and Planetary Sci Lett. 26, 262–278.
Hargrave B. T. and Burns N. M., 1979, Assessment of Sediment Trap Collection Efficiency, Limnology and Oceanography 24, 1124–1136.
Hawley N., 1988, Flow in Cylindrical Sediment Traps, J. Great Lakes Res. 14, 76–88.
Heim A. 1990, Der Schlammabsatz am Grund des Vierwaldstatter see, Vierteljahresschrift Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zurich. A5, 164–182.
Honjo S., 1980, Material Fluxes and Modes of Sedimentation in the Mesopelagic and Bathypelagic Zones, J. Mar. Res. 38, 53–97.
Jickells T. D., Deuser W. G., and Knap A. H., 1984, The Sedimentation Rates of Trace Elements in the Sargasso Sea Measured by Sediment Trap, Deep Sea Res. 31, 1169–1178.
Johnson M. G. and Brinkhurst R. O., 1971, Benthic Community Metabolism in Quinte Bay and Lake Ontario, J. Fisheries Resource Board of Canada 28, 1715–1725.
Lau Y. L., 1979, Laboratory Study of Cylindrical Sedimentation Traps, J. Fisheries Resource Board of Canada 36, 1128–1291.
Parmenter C. M., Bothner M. H., and Butman B., 1983, Characteristics of Resuspended Sediment from Georges Bank Collected with a Sediment Trap, Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Sci. 17, 521–533.
Pennington W., 1974, Seston and Sediment Formation in Five Lake District Lakes, J. Ecology 62, 215–251.
Reynolds, C. S., Wiseman, S. W., and Gardner W. D., 1980, An Annotated Bibliography of Aquatic Sediment Traps and Trapping Methods, Freshwater Biological Assoc. Occasional Publication 11.
Reynolds C. S. and Godfrey B. M., 1983, Failure of a Sediment Trapping Device, Limonology and Oceanography 28, 172–176.
Watanabe Y. and Hayashi H., 1971, Investigation on the Method for Measuring the Amount of Freshly Precipitating Matter in Lakes, Japanese J. Limnology 32, 40–45.
White J., 1990, The Use of Sediment Traps to Monitor Marina Siltation, PhD Thesis, Civil Engineering Department, Univ. of Southampton (pending).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
White, J. The use of sediment traps in high-energy environments. Marine Geophysical Researches 12, 145–152 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310569
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310569