Shallow-water simulations of colliding turbidity currents

Motivated by future deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules, we investigate colliding turbidity currents in one and two horizontal dimensions. The standard shallow-water equations are amended to include the sediment concentration and pressure difference with the ambient fluid. Our simulations show that currents do not mix upon collision and instead develop a reflecting wave in each current. We describe the effects of the ratio of current concentrations, ratio of current heights, settling speed, and collision angle. To understand the overall impact of the mining process on the ocean floor, we present the resulting patterns of sediment deposition.