Scour, as a topic in earth and environmental sciences, refers to the localized erosion and removal of sediment or soil by fluid flow, typically water or ice, leading to bed or bank lowering and potential exposure of underlying materials. It is governed by shear stress exceeding critical thresholds for particle entrainment, and is influenced by flow velocity, turbulence structure, sediment grain size, cohesion, and bedform geometry. Scour is studied around hydraulic structures (e.g., bridge piers, abutments), in river channels, coastal zones, and submarine environments, where it affects morphodynamics, sediment transport, and infrastructure stability, and is analyzed using hydraulic modeling, dimensionless parameters (e.g., Shields parameter), and physical or numerical simulations.
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