泥沙收集器通常被用来测定河流输沙率。美国的Helly-Smith(H·S)推移质采样器大概是应用最普遍的一种便携式拦沙坑型直接测量仪器。相反,拦沙坑很少用于海岸研究中,尽管存在浪击区的模拟输移水流及准单向和准稳定海岸流。在典型的沙质海滩上,水流把细沙带到沿岸中度粒径和其他的泥沙中,形成高浊度和波浪作用下混合很好的河床质和悬浮泥沙。 Sediment collectors are often used to determine river sediment transport rates. The Helly-Smith push-button sampler in the United States is probably the most commonly used type of portable sand trap-type direct measuring instrument. In contrast, silt traps are rarely used in coastal research, despite the presence of simulated runoff waters in the surge zone and quasi-one-way and quasi-steady coastal flows. On a typical sandy beach, the flow of water carries fine sand to moderately sized coastal ash and other sediments, forming well mixed bed and suspended sediment under high turbidity and wave action.