Sediment budgeting: A case study in the Katiorin drainage basin,Kenya

The primary objective of this study was to compute a detailed budget for a small semiarid tropical drainage basin in Kenya. Results indicated that transfer of sediments (‘inputs’) from primary source areas was minor in comparison to changes in storage. The major sediment source area within the Katiorin drainage basin was the colluvial hillslope zone. The net change in storage within this zone was approximately 2100 Mg yr^?1. Surface wash and rilling were the dominant transport processes responsible for the remobilization of colluvial sediments. Sediment storage within the in-channel reservoir increased by 60 Mg yr^?1, which was minor when compared to the total store of sediment in this reservoir. During 1986, the channel network stored only a small fraction ( < 3 per cent) of the sediment delivered from the hillslope subsystem. Therefore, the in-channel reservoir had limited influence on sediment conveyance to the basin outlet. These data indicate that a static equilibrium condition cannot be assumed within the Katiorin drainage basin. Such an assumption would result in erosion estimates of approximately 5.5 mm yr^?1 for the entire basin (based on a sediment output of 7430 Mg km^?2 yr^?1 and a measured bulk density of 1.35 Mg m^?3). However, this masked the actual rates of 1.2 to 7.1 mm yr^?1 in subbasin primary source areas, and rates of 0.6 to 17 mm yr^?1 for colluvial material in the various subbasins. The extreme accelerated erosion rates resulted from minimal ground vegetation, steep slopes, soil crust formation, an erodible substrate, and a well-integrated drainage network for rapid conveyance of sediments from the hillslope subsystem to the basin outlet.     

Soil properties controlling seepage erosion contributions to streambank failure

The majority of sediment leaving catchments may be from streambank failure. Seepage erosion of unconsolidated sand above a restrictive layer is an important erosion process in incised streams that leads to streambank failure by undercutting banks. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of soil properties on seepage erosion and the resulting streambank failure. Seepage flow and sediment concentrations were measured in situ at eight locations along the banks of a deeply incised stream in northern Mississippi. Using field observations as a guide, the soil profile conditions of a shallow (45 cm) streambank, consisting of 30 cm of topsoil, a 10 cm conductive layer, and a 5 cm restrictive layer, were mimicked in laboratory lysimeter experiments to quantify the hydrologic properties controlling seepage erosion and bank failure under a 40 cm head. The time to flow initiation and the flow rate were linearly related to the slope of the restrictive layer. Seepage erosion began within minutes of flow initiation and resulted in substantial (3 to 34 cm) undercutting of the bank. Sediment concentrations of seeps were as high as 660 g l^?1 in situ and 4500 g l^?1 in the lysimeters. Sediment concentrations were related to the layer slope, thereby indicating the importance of detailed site characterization. The USDA‐ARS Streambank Stability model demonstrated the increase in instability of banks due to undercutting by seepage erosion, but failed to account for the sediment loss due to sapping for stable banks and overestimated the sediment loads for failed banks. Published in 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving bank erosion modelling at catchment scale by incorporating temporal and spatial variability

Bank erosion can contribute a significant portion of the sediment budget within temperate catchments, yet few catchment scale models include an explicit representation of bank erosion processes. Furthermore, representation is often simplistic resulting in an inability to capture realistic spatial and temporal variability in simulated bank erosion. In this study, the sediment component of the catchment scale model SHETRAN is developed to incorporate key factors influencing the spatio‐temporal rate of bank erosion, due to the effects of channel sinuosity and channel bank vegetation. The model is applied to the Eden catchment, north‐west England, and validated using data derived from a GIS methodology. The developed model simulates magnitudes of total catchment annual bank erosion (617–4063 t y^‐1) within the range of observed values (211–4426 t yr^‐1). In addition, the model provides both greater inter‐annual and spatial variability of bank eroded sediment generation when compared with the basic model, and indicates a potential 61% increase of bank eroded sediment as a result of temporal flood clustering. The approach developed within this study can be used within a number of distributed hydrologic models and has general applicability to temperate catchments, yet further development of model representation of bank erosion processes is required. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

The impact of afforestation on stream bank erosion and channel form

Modification of the land use of a small catchment through coniferous afforestation is shown to have influenced stream bank erosion and channel form. Field mapping and erosion pin measurements over a 19-month period provides evidence of more active bank erosion along forested channel reaches than along non-forested. Extrapolation of downstream increases in bankfull width, bankfull depth, and channel capacity with increasing basin area for the non-forested catchment has demonstrated that afforestation of the lower part of the catchment has had a marked effect on channel form. Channel widths within the forest are up to three times greater than that predicted from the regression. These changes in bankfull width have led to stream bed aggradation and the development of wide shallow channels within the forest, and channel capacities within the forest are over two times that predicted from the basin area. The relationship between channel sinuosity and valley gradient for non-forested reaches of the river also indicated decreased sinuosity resulting from afforestation. These changes in channel form result from active bank erosion within the forest with coarse material being deposited within the channel as point-bars and mid-channel bars. Active bank erosion is largely attributed to the suppression by the forest of a thick grass turf and its associated dense network of fine roots, and secondly to the river attempting to bypass log jams and debris dams in the stream channel.     

Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physical model experiments for sediment supply to the old Rhine through induced bank erosion

A mobile-bed, undistorted physical model （1：40） has been used to investigate different sediment supply strategies to the Old Rhine through bank protection removal and modifications of groyne dimensions and configuration, which cause bank erosion. This trained channel was previously the main bed of the upper Rhine downstream of Basel （Switzerland）, but it has an artificially low flow regime since the construction of the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, a navigation canal, and a flow control dam at Kembs （France）. Training works and subsequent channel incision have also greatly reduced sediment transport rates and created a heavily armoured bed. The modelled pilot site has a groyne field on the left bank. Results show that the currently existing groynes at the site are not effective in creating high bank-side velocities conducive to bank erosion, even for flow rates significantly higher than the mean annual flow rate. The river bank has also proved to be more resistant than previously thought, allowing long stretches of bank protection to be safely removed. The physical model testing process has produced a new configuration for the groyne field, where two higher, larger island groynes are placed further apart than the three existing attached groynes. This innovative approach has proved effective, causing bank erosion for flow rates below the mean annual flow rate, with consistent erosion being observed. It has also been found that such a configuration does not pose a hazard for the Grand Canal d＇Alsace, which is situated next to the Old Rhine, through excessive bank erosion during high flow events.     

Dynamic process-response model of river channel development

Feedback mechanisms, which operate upstream through drawdown and backwater effects and downstream through sediment discharge are responsible for channel evolution. By combining these mechanisms with channel processes it euables a dynamic process-response model to be developed to simulate the initial evolution of straight gravel-bed channels. When erosion commences on a land surface, sediment entrained in the headwater reach by hydraulic action is selectively transported, deposited and reworked. This produces a damped oscillation between degradation and aggradation as the channel and valley respond to spatial and temporal variations in sediment calibre and hydraulic conditions. The initial cut and fill phases are responsible for valley incision and floodplain development while secondary and subsequent activity can produce river terraces. Eventually sediment entrainment in the headwaters declines as slopes are reduced. Subsequent channel evolution is relatively insignificant because it is dependent on local weathering activity producing material that can be transported on declining slopes. Therefore landforms produced during the initial phase of development, when local weathering was non-limiting, dominate the landscape.     

Streambank sediment loading rates at the watershed scale and the benefit of riparian protection

Streambank erosion is a pathway for sediment and nutrient loading to streams, but insufficient data exist on the magnitude of this source. Riparian protection can significantly decrease streambank erosion in some locations, but estimates of actual sediment load reductions are limited. The objective of this research was to quantify watershed‐scale streambank erosion and estimate the benefits of riparian protection. The research focused on Spavinaw Creek within the Eucha‐Spavinaw watershed in eastern Oklahoma, where composite streambanks consist of a small cohesive topsoil layer underlain by non‐cohesive gravel. Fine sediment erosion from 2003 to 2013 was derived using aerial photography and processed in ArcMap to quantify eroded area. ArcMap was also utilized in determining the bank retreat rate at various locations in relation to the riparian vegetation buffer width. Box and whisker plots clearly showed that sites with riparian vegetation had on average three times less bank retreat than unprotected banks, statistically significant based on non‐parametric t‐tests. The total soil mass eroded from 2003 to 2013 was estimated at 7.27 × 10⁷ kg yr.^?1, and the average bank retreat was 2.5 m yr.^?1. Many current erosion models assume that fluvial erosion is the dominant stream erosion process. Bank retreat was positively correlated with stream discharge and/or stream power, but with considerable variability, suggesting that mass wasting plays an important role in streambank erosion within this watershed. Finally, watershed monitoring programs commonly characterize erosion at only a few sites and may scale results to the entire watershed. Selection of random sites and scaling to the watershed scale greatly underestimated the actual erosion and loading rates. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Erosion, sediment transportation and accumulation in rivers

The present paper analyses the interrelation between erosion, sediment transportation and accumulation proposed by N. I. Makkaveyev （1908-1983） and its further development in modem studies of river channel processes in Russia. Spatio-temporal linkages between erosion and accumulation are defined considering channel processes at different scales - river longitudinal profile, channel morphological patterns, alluvial bedforms （bars, dunes） and individual sediment particles. Relations between river geomorphic activity, flow transportation capacity and sediment budgets are established （sediment input and output; channel bed erosion and sediment entrainment into flow - termination of sediment transport and its deposition）. Channel planforms, floodplain segments separated by the latter and alluvial channel bedforms are shown to be geomorphic expressions of sediment transport process at different spatial and temporal scales. This paper is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of N. I. Makkaveyev, Professor of the Moscow State University, author of the book ＂River channel and erosion in its basin＂ （1955）. That book is regarded in Russia as the pioneering work which initiated the complex hydrological and geographical studies of channel processes and laid a basis for the theory of unified fluvial erosion-accumulation process.     

Magnitude and processes of bank erosion at a small stream in Denmark

River banks are important sources of sediment and phosphorus to fluvial systems, and the erosion processes operating on the banks are complex and change over time. This study explores the magnitude of bank erosion on a cohesive streambank within a small channelized stream and studies the various types of erosion processes taking place. Repeat field surveys of erosion pin plots were carried out during a 4‐year period and observations were supplemented by continuous monitoring of volumetric soil water content, soil temperature, ground water level and exposure of a PEEP sensor. Bank erosion rates (17·6–30·1 mm year^?1) and total P content on the banks were relatively high, which makes the bank an important source of sediment and phosphorus to the stream, and it was estimated that 0·27 kg P_tot year^?1 ha^?1 may potentially be supplied to the stream from the banks. Yearly pin erosion rates exceeding 5 cm year^?1 were mainly found at the lower parts of the bank and were associated with fluvial erosion. Negative erosion pin readings were widespread with a net advance of the bank during the monitoring period mainly attributed to subaerial processes and bank failure. It was found that dry periods characterized by low soil water content and freeze–thaw cycles during winter triggered bank failures. The great spatial variability, in combination with the temporal interaction of processes operating at different scales, requires new tools such as 3‐D topographical surveying to better capture bank erosion rates. An understanding of the processes governing bank erosion is required for riparian management using vegetational measures as root size and structure play different roles when it comes to controlling bank erosion processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-dimensional modeling of bank erosion and morphological changes in the Shishou bend of the middle Yangtze River

This paper presents a three-dimensional (3-D) numerical model to simulate morphological changes in alluvial channels due to bank erosion. A method for the simulation of bank erosion is established. This is incorporated into a 3-D mathematical model for turbulent flow and non-uniform, non-equilibrium sediment transport. This model is applied to simulate morphological changes in the Shishou bend of the middle Yangtze River in China, where serious bank erosions occurred during the last two decades. The double-layer sediment structure of the riverbank on the middle Yangtze River is taken into account in the bank erosion module. Both cohesive and non-cohesive bank material in the different layers are considered. The bank erosion module also includes other factors affecting the rate of bank erosion, such as the longitudinal length of failed bank, the thickness of each layer in the double-layer structure, and the erosion-resisting effect of cohesive material from the top layer of failed bank. A locally-adaptive grid system is proposed to efficiently simulate the lateral migration of alluvial channel due to bank erosion. The predictive capability of the 3-D model is examined by laboratory data. Simulated processes of bank erosion agree with field observations in the Shishou bend during the period of October 1996–October 1998, and the bank erosion module plays a significant role in simulating morphological changes of the study reach. In addition, the equivalent channel-forming discharge, which is defined as a constant discharge that can create the same amount of bank erosion in an alluvial channel as that created by natural runoff processes during the same period of time, is proposed to improve calculation efficiency for feasibility studies.     

Identifying large‐scale erosion and deposition processes from airborne gamma radiometrics and digital elevation models in a weathered landscape

Patterns of erosion and deposition are difficult to identify and measure at catchment and regional scale but it may be possible to infer their distribution from remote sensing using easily measured surrogate variables. Airborne geophysical surveys provide data on gamma ray emissions from surface and near‐surface material and allow estimation of K, Th and U content. Gamma ray signatures are largely determined by lithology but also change with weathering and with erosion and deposition, and may be used as a partial surrogate for those processes. Comparison of gamma ray signatures with topographic characteristics closely related to sediment transport capacity, downstream sorting of sediments, and the extent of erosion and deposition shows strong linkages. Studies in four small catchments in southeastern Australia indicate that K consistently increases as slopes become steeper while Th and U may either increase or decrease. This suggests the presence of fresh rock rather than weathered material and implies removal of material by erosion, although some patterns may result from systematic changes in lithology across catchments. Analysis by lithology confirms the increase in K with slope in granites, metamorphosed sediments and basalt, and also shows a tendency for U to decrease with slope in the granites and basalt. Gamma ray emissions vary only slightly with catchment area (a surrogate measure of water discharge) suggesting that water erosion is limited or that discharge is not closely related to area. Gamma radiometric profiles down hillslopes, averaged across the full range of gradients, show that, in most cases, radioelements initially decrease, probably reflecting increased weathering, but then increase close to valley floors because of accumulation of fine sediments. Analysis by lithology confirms the increase in radioelements close to valley floors in granites and metamorphosed sediments but the trend is less clear in basalt. Gamma ray profiles down floodplains are variable and indicate the amount of deposition and accumulation of weathered material in valley openings and exposure of bedrock in valley constrictions. Simple erosion and deposition models, based on the conservation of mass equation, and applied to the four catchments, show that all radioelements increase as the potential for deposition increases. They reach a low point in zones of no net erosion or deposition and subsequently increase as erosion becomes more intense and weathered material is lost from slopes. Analysis by lithology largely confirms this pattern. The usefulness of airborne geophysical survey data is limited by flight line spacing with most data being flown at a 200–400 m spacing in Australia. However, general trends in erosion and deposition can still be distinguished and there is capacity for calibrating long‐term erosion and deposition models once better approaches to interpretation of gamma ray data have been developed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting catchment sediment yield in Mediterranean environments: the importance of sediment sources and connectivity in Italian drainage basins

Predicting sediment yield at the catchment scale is one of the main challenges in geomorphologic research. The application of both physics‐based models and regression models has until now not provided very satisfying results for prediction of sediment yield for medium to large sized catchments (c. >50 km²). The explanation for this lies in a combination of the large data requirements of most models and a lack of knowledge to describe all processes and process interactions at the catchment scale. In particular, point sources of sediment (e.g. gullies, mass movements), connectivity and sediment transport remain difficult to describe in most models. From reservoir sedimentation data of 44 Italian catchments, it appeared that there was a (non‐significant) positive relation between catchment area and sediment yield. This is in contrast to what is generally expected from the theory of decreasing sediment delivery rates with increasing catchment area. Furthermore, this positive relation suggests that processes other than upland erosion are responsible for catchment sediment yield. Here we explore the potential of the Factorial Scoring Model (FSM) and the Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee (PSIAC) model to predict sediment yield, and indicate the most important sediment sources. In these models different factors are used to characterize a drainage basin in terms of sensitivity to erosion and connectivity. In both models an index is calculated that is related to sediment yield. The FSM explained between 36 and 61 per cent of the variation in sediment yield, and the PSIAC model between 57 and 62 per cent, depending on the factors used to characterize the catchments. The FSM model performed best based on a factor to describe gullies, lithology, landslides, catchment shape and vegetation. Topography and catchment area did not explain additional variance. In particular, the addition of the landslide factor resulted in a significantly increased model performance. The FSM and PSIAC model both performed better than a spatially distributed model describing water erosion and sediment transport, which was applied to the same catchments but explained only between 20 and 51 per cent of the variation in sediment yield. Model results confirmed the hypothesis that processes other than upland erosion are probably responsible for sediment yield in the Italian catchments. A promising future development of the models is by the use of detailed spatially distributed data to determine the scores, decrease model subjectivity and provide spatially distributed output. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of temporally averaged sediment delivery ratio using aggradational terraces in headwater catchments of the Waipaoa River,North Island,New Zealand

The sediment delivery ratio was estimated for two periods (28 years and eight years) following reforestation of seven tributary catchments (0·33 to 0·49 km²) in the headwaters of the Waipaoa River basin, North Island, New Zealand. In these catchments, gully erosion, which largely resulted from clearance of the natural forest between 1880 and 1920, is the main source of sediment to streams. Reforestation commenced in the early 1960s in an attempt to stabilize hillslopes and reduce sediment supply. Efforts have been partially successful and channels are now degrading, though gully erosion continues to supply sediment at accelerated rates in parts of the catchment. Data from the area indicate that the sediment delivery ratio (SDR) can be estimated as a function of two variables, ψ (the product of catchment area and channel slope) and A _g (the temporally averaged gully area for the period). Sediment input from gullies was determined from a well defined relationship between sediment yield and gully area. Sediment scoured from channels was estimated from dated terrace remnants and the current channel bed. Terrace remnants represent aggradation during major floods. This technique provides estimates of SDR averaged over periods between large magnitude terrace‐forming events and with the present channel bed. The technique averages out short‐term variability in sediment flux. Comparison of gully area and sediment transport between two periods (1960–1988 and 1988–1996) indicates that the annual rate of sediment yield from gullies for the later period has decreased by 77 per cent, sediment scouring in channels has increased by 124 per cent, and sediment delivered from catchments has decreased by 78 per cent. However, average SDR for the tributaries was found to be not significantly different between these periods. This may reflect the small number of catchments examined. It is also due to the fact that the volume of sediment scoured from channels was very small relative to that produced by gullies. According to the equation for SDR determined for the Waipaoa headwaters, SDR increases with increasing catchment area in the case where A _g and channel slope are fixed. This is because the amount of sediment produced from a channel by scouring increases with increasing catchment area. However, this relationship does not hold for the main stem of the study catchments, because sediment delivered from its tributaries still continues to accumulate in the channel. Higher order channels are, in effect, at a different stage in the aggradation/degradation cycle and it will take some time until a main channel reflects the effects of reforestation and its bed adjusts to net degradation. Results demonstrate significant differences among even low order catchments, and such differences will need to be taken into consideration when using SDR to estimate sediment yields. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnitude and variation in the contribution of bank erosion to the suspended sediment load of the River Severn,UK

The wide range of studies describing the role of bank erosion in fluvial sediment supply have mostly lumped amounts of bank erosion into coarse temporal units, such as years. This paper investigates sediment yields from individual bank erosion events within the upper River Severn, UK (basin area 380 km²). Manual erosion pins and photo-electronic erosion pins were used to estimate bank erosion, and turbidity meters were used to determine suspended sediment transport. At the annual time-scale, the silt-clay fraction of bank-derived sediment accounted for an equivalent of 17 per cent of the suspended load, increasing to an average of 38 per cent at the monthly timescale, and then to an average of 64 per cent at the event timescale. This research highlighted that for an upland catchment, bank erosion was an important supply of suspended sediment, and that for some flood events bank erosion can supply more sediment than is transported. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

One-dimensional morphodynamic model for retrogressive erosion based on a sediment entrainment theory at high flow velocity

Retrogressive erosion is a high-speed erosion process that usually occurs during the rapid release of stored water in reservoirs built on sandy rivers.Retrogressive erosion has been utilized in the practice of reservoir sedimentation control,but accurate prediction of the bed deformation process by numerical models has rarely been reported.The current study presents a one-dimensional morphodynamic model for simulating the evolution process of retrogressive erosion induced by high-velocity flows on steep slopes.The governing equations apply a Cartesian coordinate system with a vertically oriented z axis.The bed surface gradient and friction terms in the flow equations include correction factors to take account of the effects of high slope on flow movement.The net vertical sediment flux term in the sediment transport and bed deformation equations is calculated using an equation of erosion velocity.Particularly,this equation is based on an empirical relation between the sediment entrainment rate and the Shields parameter in contrast to the traditional sediment transport capacity,and the critical Shields parameter is modified by taking into account the permeability of the sediment layer and the stability of particles on a slope.The feedback of scoured sediment on the flow movement is considered by additional terms in the governing equations.Flume experiments of retrogressive erosion in literature were simulated to validate the model.The temporal variations of the longitudinal profiles of the free surface and channel bed and the sediment transport rate were well predicted.The algorithm calculating sediment entrainment in the proposed model also was validated for an experiment measuring entrainment rate from the literature.More importantly,it was found that the morphodynamic model using the sediment transport capacity equation predicts the trend of cumulative erosion contrary to the measurements,while results of the proposed model can follow a similar trend with the observed data in the retrogressive erosion process.     

Modelling of sediment dynamics in a laboratory‐scale experimental catchment

The variability of hillslope form and function is examined experimentally using a simple model catchment in which most landscape development parameters are either known or controlled. It is demonstrated that there is considerable variability in sediment output from similar catchments, subjected to the same hydrological processes, and for which the initial hillslope profiles are the same. The results demonstrate that, in the case of catchments with a linear initial hillslope profile, the sediment output is initially high but reduces through time, whereas for a concave initial profile the sediment output was smaller and relatively constant. Concave hillslope profiles also displayed reduced sediment output when compared with linear slopes with the same overall slope. Using this experimental model catchment data, the SIBERIA landscape evolution model was tested for its ability to predict temporal sediment transport. When calibrated for the rainfall and erodible material, SIBERIA is able to simulate mean temporal sediment output for the experimental catchment over a range of hillslope profiles and rainfall intensities. SIBERIA is also able to match the hillslope profile of the experimental catchments. The results of the study provide confidence in the ability of SIBERIA to predict temporal sediment output. The experimental and modelling data also demonstrate that, even with all geomorphic and hydrological variables being known and/or controlled, there is still a need for long‐term stream gauging to obtain reliable assessments of field catchment hydrology and sediment transport. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bank erosion of legacy sediment at the transition from vertical to lateral stream incision

Streambank erosion is a primary source of suspended sediments in many waterways of the US Atlantic Piedmont. This problem is exacerbated where banks are comprised of fine sediment produced by the intensive land use practices of early European settlers. A stream in this region, Richland Creek incises into banks comprised of three stratigraphic layers associated with historic land use: pre‐European settlement, early European agriculture and development, and water‐powered milldam operation. This study aims to identify the bank processes along a reach of Richland Creek that is eroding towards its pre‐disturbance elevation. The volume of material that has eroded along this stream since the milldam breached was calculated by differencing a reconstructed surface of the pond bed and an aerial lidar digital terrain model (DTM). Immediately downstream from the study reach, the channel is floored by bedrock and immediately upstream the rate of channel erosion approximately doubled along the longitudinal profile of Richland Creek, which indicate that the study reach spans the transition from a channel dominated by vertical incision in the upstream direction to horizontal widening in the downstream direction. The combined hydrometeorological conditions and dominant processes causing reach‐scale cut bank erosion were investigated with analyses of stream stage, precipitation, and streambank volumetric and surfaces change that was measured during nine terrestrial lidar surveys in 2010–2012. The spatial variability of erosion during a simulated precipitation event was examined in a field‐based experiment. Erosion was greatest where mill pond sediment columns detached along vertical desiccation and horizontal seepage cracks. This sediment accumulated on the bank toe throughout the study and was a source of readily‐entrained fine sediment contrary to the upper reaches where depositional accommodation space is more limited. Findings suggest that hotspots of sediment excavation progress upstream, indicating that restoration efforts should focus upon stabilizing banks at these locations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SEDIMENT BUDGET OF THE ILLINOIS RIVER

1 BACKGROUND The Illinois River is the most significant river in the state of Illinois. The river drains nearly half of the state and has a drainage area of 28,906 mi2 (74,867 km2). Except for about a 4,000 mi2 (10,360 km2) area in Indiana and Wisconsin, the watershed is located in Illinois (see Fig. 1). The watershed contains the drainage basins of several of the state's significant rivers such as the Sangamon, LaMoine, Spoon, Mackinaw, Vermilion, Fox, Kankakee, and Des Plaines Ri…