title: Dynamics of crater formations in immersed granular materials.
abstract: We report the formation of a crater at the free surface of an immersed granular bed, locally crossed by an ascending gas flow. In two dimensions, the crater consists of two piles which develop around the location of the gas emission. We observe that the typical size of the crater increases logarithmically with time, independently of the gas emission dynamics. We describe the related granular flows and give an account of the influence of the experimental parameters, especially of the grain size and of the gas flow.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique, Université de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Varas
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Géminard