A framework to estimate sediment loads using distributions with covariates: Beaurivage River watershed (Québec,Canada)

A framework to estimate sediment loads based on the statistical distribution of sediment concentrations and various functional forms relating distribution characteristics (e.g. mean and variance) to covariates is developed. The covariates are used as surrogates to represent the main processes involved in sediment generation and transport. Statistical models of increasing complexity are built and compared to assess their relative performance using available sediment concentration and covariate data. Application to the Beaurivage River watershed (Québec, Canada) is conducted using data for the 1989–2004 period. The covariates considered in this application are streamflow and calendar day. A comparison of different statistical models shows that, in this case, the log‐normal distribution with a mean value depending on streamflow (power law with an additive term) and calendar day (sinusoidal), a constant coefficient of variation for streamflow dependence and a constant standard deviation for calendar day dependence provide the best result. Model parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation technique. The selected model is then used to estimate the distribution of annual sediment loads for the Beaurivage River watershed for a selected period. A bootstrap parametric method is implemented to account for uncertainties in parameter values and to build the distributions of annual loads. Comparison of model results with estimates obtained using the empirical ratio estimator shows that the latter were rarely within the 0·1–0·9 quantile interval of the distributions obtained with the proposed approach. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling the effects of pulsed versus chronic sand inputs on salmonid spawning habitat in a low‐gradient gravel‐bed river

It is widely recognized that high supplies of fine sediment, largely sand, can negatively impact the aquatic habitat quality of gravel‐bed rivers, but effects of the style of input (chronic vs. pulsed) have not been examined quantitatively. We hypothesize that a continuous (i.e. chronic) supply of sand will be more detrimental to the quality of aquatic habitat than an instantaneous sand pulse equal to the integrated volume of the chronic supply. We investigate this issue by applying a two‐dimensional numerical model to a 1 km long reach of prime salmonid spawning habitat in central Idaho. Results show that in both supply scenarios, sand moves through the study reach as bed load, and that both the movement and depth of sand on the streambed mirrors the hydrograph of this snowmelt‐dominated river. Predictions indicate greater and more persistent mortality of salmonid embryos under chronic supplies than pulse inputs, supporting our hypothesis. However, predicted mortality varies both with salmonid species and location of spawning. We found that the greatest impacts occur closer to the location of the sand input under both supply scenarios. Results also suggest that reach‐scale morphology may modulate the impact of sand loads, and that under conditions of high sand loading climate‐related increases in flow magnitude could increase embryo mortality through sand deposition, rather than streambed scour. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Colloid particle sizes in the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries,from Minneapolis to below New Orleans

An on-board technique was developed that combined discharge-weighted pumping to a high-speed continuous-flow centrifuge for isolation of the particulate-sized material with ultrafiltration for isolation of colloid-sized material. In order to address whether these processes changed the particle sizes during isolation, samples of particles in suspension were collected at various steps in the isolation process to evaluate changes in particle size. Particle sizes were determined using laser light-scattering photon correlation spectroscopy and indicated no change in size during the colloid isolation process. Mississippi River colloid particle sizes from twelve sites from Minneapolis to below New Orleans were compared with sizes from four tributaries and three seasons, and from predominantly autochthonous sources upstream to more allochthonous sources downstream. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting river water temperatures using stochastic models: case study of the Moisie River (Québec,Canada)

Successful applications of stochastic models for simulating and predicting daily stream temperature have been reported in the literature. These stochastic models have been generally tested on small rivers and have used only air temperature as an exogenous variable. This study investigates the stochastic modelling of daily mean stream water temperatures on the Moisie River, a relatively large unregulated river located in Québec, Canada. The objective of the study is to compare different stochastic approaches previously used on small streams to relate mean daily water temperatures to air temperatures and streamflow indices. Various stochastic approaches are used to model the water temperature residuals, representing short‐term variations, which were obtained by subtracting the seasonal components from water temperature time‐series. The first three models, a multiple regression, a second‐order autoregressive model, and a Box and Jenkins model, used only lagged air temperature residuals as exogenous variables. The root‐mean‐square error (RMSE) for these models varied between 0·53 and 1·70 °C and the second‐order autoregressive model provided the best results. A statistical methodology using best subsets regression is proposed to model the combined effect of discharge and air temperature on stream temperatures. Various streamflow indices were considered as additional independent variables, and models with different number of variables were tested. The results indicated that the best model included relative change in flow as the most important streamflow index. The RMSE for this model was of the order of 0·51 °C, which shows a small improvement over the first three models that did not include streamflow indices. The ridge regression was applied to this model to alleviate the potential statistical inadequacies associated with multicollinearity. The amplitude and sign of the ridge regression coefficients seem to be more in agreement with prior expectations (e.g. positive correlation between water temperature residuals of different lags) and make more physical sense. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in stream water quality due to logging of the boreal forest in the Montmorency Forest,Québec

Summer stream water quality was monitored before and following the logging of 50% of the boreal forest within three small watersheds (<50 ha) nested in the ‘Ruisseau des Eaux‐Volées’ Experimental Watershed, Montmorency Forest (Québec, Canada). Logging was conducted in winter, on snow cover according to recommended best management practices (BMPs) to minimize soil disturbance and protect advance growth. A 20‐m forest buffer was maintained along perennial streams. In watershed 7·2, cut‐blocks were located near the stream network and logging was partially allowed within the riparian buffer zone. In watersheds 7·5 and 7·7, logging occurred farther away from the stream network. Observations were also made for watershed 7·3 that collected the runoff from watersheds 7·2 and 7·5, and watershed 7·6, the uproad portion of watershed 7·7. The control watershed 0·2 was contiguous to the impacted watersheds and remained undisturbed. Following clearcutting, changes in summer daily maximum and minimum stream temperatures remained within ± 1 °C while changes in diurnal variation did not decrease by more than 0·5 °C. Concentrations of NO₃^? greatly increased by up to 6000% and concentrations of K⁺ increased by up to 300% during the second summer after logging. Smaller increases were observed for Fe_total (up to 71%), specific conductance (up to 26%), and Mg²⁺ (up to 19%). Post‐logging pH decreased slightly by no more than 7% while PO₄^3? concentration remained relatively constant. Suspended sediment concentrations appeared to increase during post‐logging, but there was not enough pre‐logging data to statistically confirm this result. Logging of moderate intensity and respecting established BMPs may account for the limited changes of water quality parameters and the low exceedances of the criteria for the protection of aquatic life. The proximity of the cutover to the stream network and logging within the riparian zone did not appear to affect water quality. Copyright © 2008 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.     

Sediment jamming of a trunk stream by hyperconcentrated floods from small tributaries: case of the Upper Yellow River,China

ABSTRACT

The tributary–trunk stream relationship is investigated with respect to hyperconcentrated flows and coupled wind–water processes in the Yellow River, China. Ten small tributaries that drain only 3% of the total drainage area of the trunk stream transport large amounts of relatively coarse sediment from the desert to the trunk stream during hyperconcentrated floods. The resultant strong sedimentation often jams the trunk stream, leading to serious disasters. This study reveals the cause of this interesting phenomenon and proposes countermeasures for disaster reduction. A typical sediment-jamming event (SJE) in July 1989 was thoroughly analysed based on the observational data, including the beginning, development and final stages of the event. An index of the geomorphologic effectiveness of the tributary on the trunk stream and a number of indices describing SJEs and the influencing factors are adopted, based on which a discrimination relationship for the occurrence of SJEs is established and some statistical relationships are also established. The SJE’s hydrological and geomorphologic impacts are discussed at short timescales (from several days to one month) and at long time scales (up to 46 years). The results may help to gain a new insight into the study of the tributary–trunk stream relationship, and provide useful information for sediment management and disaster-reduction planning in the drainage basin. Countermeasures are suggested to reduce the channel sedimentation and the risk of sediment-jamming disaters.

Editor M.C. Acreman Associate editor Q. Zhang     

The particle size characteristics of fine‐grained channel deposits in the River Exe Basin,Devon, UK

Deposition and storage of fine‐grained (<62·5 μm) sediment in the hyporheic zone of gravel bed rivers frequently represents an important cause of aquatic habitat degradation. The particle size characteristics of such fine‐grained bed sediment (FGBS) exert an important control on its hydrodynamic properties and environmental impact. Traditionally, particle size analysis of FGBS in gravel bed rivers has focused on the absolute size distribution of the chemically dispersed mineral fraction. However, recent work has indicated that in common with fluvial suspended sediment, significant differences may exist between the absolute and the in situ, or effective, particle size composition of FGBS, as a result of the existence of aggregates, or composite particles. In the investigation reported in this paper, sealable bed traps that could be remotely opened to sample sediment deposited during specific storm runoff events and a laser back‐scatter probe were used to quantify the temporal and spatial variability of both the absolute and effective particle size composition of FGBS, and the associated suspended sediment from four gravel bed rivers in the Exe Basin, Devon, UK. The absolute particle size distributions of both the FGBS and suspended sediment evidenced c. >95%<62·5 μm sized primary particles and displayed a seasonal winter–summer fining, while the opposite trend was displayed by the effective particle size distribution of the FGBS and suspended sediment. The effective particle size distributions of both were typically highly aggregated, comprising up to 68%>62·5 μm sized particles. Spatial variation in the effective particle size and aggregation parameters was of secondary importance relative to temporal variation. The effective particle size distribution of the FGBS was consistently coarser and more aggregated than the associated suspended sediment and there was evidence of aggregate break‐up in samples of resuspended bed sediment. The implications of these findings for sediment transport modelling are considered. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment yield of the lower Tana River,Kenya, is insensitive to dam construction: sediment mobilization processes in a semi‐arid tropical river system

Dam construction in the 1960s to 1980s significantly modified sediment supply from the Kenyan uplands to the lower Tana River. To assess the effect on suspended sediment fluxes of the Tana River, we monitored the sediment load at high temporal resolution for 1 year and complemented our data with historical information. The relationship between sediment concentration and water discharge was complex: at the onset of the wet season, discharge peaks resulted in high sediment concentrations and counterclockwise hysteresis, while towards the end of the wet season, a sediment exhaustion effect led to low concentrations despite the high discharge. The total sediment flux at Garissa (c. 250 km downstream of the lowermost dam) between June 2012 and June 2013 was 8.8 Mt yr^‐1. Comparison of current with historical fluxes indicated that dam construction had not greatly affected the annual sediment flux. We suggest that autogenic processes, namely river bed dynamics and bank erosion, mobilized large quantities of sediments stored in the alluvial plain downstream of the dams. Observations supporting the importance of autogenic processes included the absence of measurable activities of the fall‐out radionuclides ⁷Be and ¹³⁷Cs in the suspended sediment, the rapid lateral migration of the river course, and the seasonal changes in river cross‐section. Given the large stock of sediment in the alluvial valley of the Tana River, it may take centuries before the effect of damming shows up as a quantitative reduction in the sediment flux at Garissa. Many models relate the sediment load of rivers to catchment characteristics, thereby implicitly assuming that alterations in the catchment induce changes in the sediment load. Our research confirms that the response of an alluvial river to external disturbances such as land use or climate change is often indirect or non‐existent as autogenic processes overwhelm the changes in the input signal. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictability of river flow and suspended sediment transport in the Mississippi River basin: a non‐linear deterministic approach

As the Mississippi River plays a major role in fulfilling various water demands in North America, accurate prediction of river flow and sediment transport in the basin is crucial for undertaking both short‐term emergency measures and long‐term management efforts. To this effect, the present study investigates the predictability of river flow and suspended sediment transport in the basin. As most of the existing approaches that link water discharge, suspended sediment concentration and suspended sediment load possess certain limitations (absence of consensus on linkages), this study employs an approach that presents predictions of a variable based on history of the variable alone. The approach, based on non‐linear determinism, involves: (1) reconstruction of single‐dimensional series in multi‐dimensional phase‐space for representing the underlying dynamics; and (2) use of the local approximation technique for prediction. For implementation, river flow and suspended sediment transport variables observed at the St. Louis (Missouri) station are studied. Specifically, daily water discharge, suspended sediment concentration and suspended sediment load data are analysed for their predictability and range, by making predictions from one day to ten days ahead. The results lead to the following conclusions: (1) extremely good one‐day ahead predictions are possible for all the series; (2) prediction accuracy decreases with increasing lead time for all the series, but the decrease is much more significant for suspended sediment concentration and suspended sediment load; and (3) the number of mechanisms dominantly governing the dynamics is three for each of the series. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in run‐off and sediment load in the three parts of the Yellow River basin,in response to climate change and human activities

Hydrological regimes in the Yellow River have changed significantly because of climate change and intensive human interventions. These changes present severe challenges to water resource utilization and ecological development. Variation of run‐off, suspended sediment load (SSL), and eight precipitation indices (P1: 0–12 mm·day^?1, P12: 12–25 mm·day^?1, P25: 25–50 mm·day^?1, P50: P ≥ 50 mm·day^?1 and corresponding rainfall day: Pd1, Pd12, Pd25, Pd50 day year^?1) in three critical parts of the Yellow River basin (source region: SRYRB, upper reaches: URYRB, middle reaches: MRYRB) were investigated for the period from 1960 to 2015. The results show that run‐off and SSL significantly decreased (P < 0.01) in the URYRB and the MRYRB, whereas their decline in the SRYRB was insignificant (P > 0.05). Moreover, run‐off in the URYRB had one change point in 1987, and SSL in the URYRB as well as run‐off and SSL in the MRYRB had two change points (in the 1970s and the 1990s). Over the same period, only Pd1 and Pd12 in the SRYRB showed significant increasing trends, and an abrupt change appeared in 1981. The optimal precipitation indices for assessing the effects of precipitation on run‐off and SSL in the URYRB and MRYRB were Pd50 and P12, respectively. A double‐mass curve analysis showed that precipitation and human activities contributed to approximately 20% and 80% of the reduction in run‐off, respectively, for both the SRYRB and the MRYRB. However, the contribution rate of precipitation and human activities on SSL reduction was approximately 40% and 60% in the URYRB and 5% and 95% in the MRYRB, respectively. Human activities, primarily soil and water conservation measures and water extraction (diversion), were the main factors (>50%) that reduced the run‐off. However, the dominant driving factors for SSL reduction were soil and water conservation measures and reservoir interception, for which the contribution rate was higher than 70% in the MRYRB. This work strengthens the understanding of hydrological responses to precipitation change and provides a useful reference for regional water resource utilization.     

The responses of hydrological processes and sediment yield to land‐use and climate change in the Be River Catchment,Vietnam

In this study, we investigated the responses of hydrology and sediment yield with impacts of land‐use and climate change scenarios in the Be River Catchment, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model. The calibration and validation results indicated that the SWAT model is a powerful tool for simulating the impact of environmental change on hydrology and sediment yield in this catchment. The hydrologic and sediment yield responses to land‐use and climate changes were simulated based on the calibrated model. The results indicated that a 16.3% decrease in forest land is likely to increase streamflow (0.2 to 0.4%), sediment load (1.8 to 3.0%), and surface runoff (SURQ) (4.8 to 10.7%) and to decrease groundwater discharge (GW_Q) (3.5 to 7.9%). Climate change in the catchment leads to decreases in streamflow (0.7 to 6.9%) and GW_Q (3.0 to 8.4%), increase in evapotranspiration (0.5 to 2.9%), and changes in SURQ (?5.3 to 2.3%) and sediment load (?5.3 to 4.4%). The combined impacts of land‐use and climate changes decrease streamflow (2.0 to 3.9%) and GW_Q (12.3 to 14.0%), increase evapotranspiration (0.7 to 2.8%), SURQ (8.2 to 12.4%), and sediment load (2.0 to 7.9%). In general, the separate impacts of climate and land‐use changes on streamflow, sediment load, and water balance components are offset each other. However, SURQ and some component of subsurface flow are more sensitive to land‐use change than to climate change. Furthermore, the results emphasized water scarcity during the dry season and increased soil erosion during the wet season. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Retrieval of suspended sediment concentrations in large turbid rivers using Landsat ETM+: an example from the Yangtze River,China

Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) is a critical parameter in the study of river sediment transport and water quality variation, but traditional measurement methods are costly and time‐consuming. This paper is focused on presenting a methodology that may be useful in estimating SSC which is of key importance in process geomorphology and hydrology. In previous studies, remote sensing has been applied to estimate the SSC of sea waters as well as low turbid inland waters like lakes, reservoirs and short river reaches visible within a single Landsat satellite image coverage. Rivers, especially highly turbid large rivers, have largely been ignored. The dataset used in this paper includes measured SSC and multi‐temporal Landsat ETM+ images covering most part of the Yangtze River. Using an effective easy‐to‐use atmospheric correction method that does not require in situ atmospheric conditions, retrieved water reflectance of Band 4 was found to be a good SSC indicator within the large SSC range 22–2610 mg l^–1. The newly developed regression relation between SSC and water reflectance of Band 4 appears to be able to provide a relatively accurate SSC estimate directly from Landsat ETM+ images for the Yangtze River from the upper, the middle to the lower reaches. With the relation it is possible to estimate or map out SSC dynamics of large rivers which lack SSC data due to constraints of conventional measurements. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Post‐glacial range of variability in the Conejos River Valley,southern Colorado,USA: fluvial response to climate change and sediment supply

Effective river management strategies require an understanding of how fluvial processes vary both spatially and temporally. Here, we examine the natural range of variability in the Conejos River Valley, southern Colorado, through documentation of terrace morphostratigraphic and sedimentological characteristics as well as through investigation of sediment contributions from headwaters, hillslopes and tributary streams. Additionally, soil development and radiocarbon ages, together with local and regional paleoclimate reconstructions, were used to infer the range of processes acting in this system. Since de‐glaciation, the Conejos River has fluctuated between episodes of bedrock strath formation, aggradation and vertical incision. Morphostratigraphic relationships, soil development and radiocarbon ages enable us to propose a chronology for periods of alluvial deposition (around 8·9–7·6 ka, 5·5 ka and from 3·5 to 1·1 ka), separated by intervals of fluvial incision. We infer potential forcing mechanisms by utilizing multiple working hypotheses. Specifically, we discuss the potential for increases in sediment supply during periods of (1) para‐glacial adjustment, (2) climatic cooling, (3) increased frequency of climate change and (4) increased fire frequency or severity. We also consider the effects of changes in stream discharge and extreme storm occurrence. We conclude that combinations of these processes, operating at different times, have contributed to sediment mobilization since de‐glaciation. Stream and landform morphology also varies longitudinally due to the influence of remnant glacial topography. In particular, valley bottom overdeepening at tributary junctions has resulted in incision and strath formation into unlithified glacial deposits (i.e. fill‐cut terraces) rather than bedrock in some reaches. Overall, the Conejos fluvial system has varied significantly both temporally and spatially since de‐glaciation and appears to be sensitive to changes in sediment supply related to Holocene scale climate fluctuations. This natural range of variability must therefore be a key consideration in any future stream management policies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Response of deep groundwater to land use change in desert basins of the Trans‐Pecos region,Texas, USA: Effects on infiltration,recharge, and nitrogen fluxes

Quantifying the effects of anthropogenic processes on groundwater in arid regions can be complicated by thick unsaturated zones with long transit times. Human activities can alter water and nutrient fluxes, but their impact on groundwater is not always clear. This study of basins in the Trans‐Pecos region of Texas links anthropogenic land use and vegetation change with alterations to unsaturated zone fluxes and regional increases in basin groundwater NO₃^? concentrations. Median increases in groundwater NO₃^? (by 0.7–0.9 mg‐N/l over periods ranging from 10 to 50+ years) occurred despite low precipitation (220–360 mm/year), high potential evapotranspiration (~1570 mm/year), and thick unsaturated zones (10–150+ m). Recent model simulations indicate net infiltration and groundwater recharge can occur beneath Trans‐Pecos basin floors, and may have increased due to irrigation and vegetation change. These processes were investigated further with chemical and isotopic data from groundwater and unsaturated zone cores. Some unsaturated zone solute profiles indicate flushing of natural salt accumulations has occurred. Results are consistent with human‐influenced flushing of naturally accumulated unsaturated zone nitrogen as an important source of NO₃^? to the groundwater. Regional mass balance calculations indicate the mass of natural unsaturated zone NO₃^? (122–910 kg‐N/ha) was sufficient to cause the observed groundwater NO₃^? increases, especially if augmented locally with the addition of fertilizer N. Groundwater NO₃^? trends can be explained by small volumes of high NO₃^? modern recharge mixed with larger volumes of older groundwater in wells. This study illustrates the importance of combining long‐term monitoring and targeted process studies to improve understanding of human impacts on recharge and nutrient cycling in arid regions, which are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and increasing human reliance on dryland ecosystems.     

Modern sediment yield compared to geologic rates of sediment production in a semi‐arid basin,New Mexico: assessing the human impact

An Erratum has been published for this article in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 29(13) 2004, 1707. In the semi‐arid Arroyo Chavez basin of New Mexico, a 2·28 km² sub‐basin of the Rio Puerco, we contrasted short‐term rates (3 years) of sediment yield measured with sediment traps and dams with long‐term, geologic rates (～10 000 years) of sediment production measured using ¹⁰Be. Examination of erosion rates at different time‐scales provides the opportunity to contrast the human impact on erosion with background or geologic rates of sediment production. Arroyo Chavez is grazed and we were interested in whether differences in erosion rates observed at the two time‐scales are due to grazing. The geologic rate of sediment production, 0·27 kg m^?2 a^?1 is similar to the modern sediment yields measured for geomorphic surfaces including colluvial slopes, gently sloping hillslopes, and the mesa top which ranged from 0·12 to 1·03 kg m^?2 a^?1. The differences between modern sediment yield and geologic rates of sediment production were most noticeable for the alluvial valley ?oor, which had modern sediment yields as high as 3·35 kg m^?2 a^?1. The hydraulic state of the arroyo determines whether the alluvial valley ?oor is aggrading or degrading. Arroyo Chavez is incised and the alluvial valley ?oor is gullied and piped and is a source of sediment. The alluvial valley ?oor is also the portion of the basin most modi?ed by human disturbance including grazing and gas pipeline activity, both of which serve to increase erosion rates. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of small‐format and low‐altitude aerial photos for the realization of high‐resolution DEMs in mountainous areas: application to the Super‐Sauze earthflow (Alpes‐de‐Haute‐Provence,France)

Geomorphologists have to make choices and compromises, as acquisition techniques of geometrical information are numerous, depending on the specific complexity of the targeted three‐dimensional objects and the requirements of the end user. This article presents the methodology and the results over a well known and documented site. This ready‐to‐use, low‐altitude, aerial photo methodology reveals itself to be a satisfying compromise between cost, accuracy and difficulty of implementation. The selected equipment package is light enough to enable a quick reaction to unexpected events and the tools and methods are competitive with field acquisition techniques. An evaluation has demonstrated a sub‐metric accuracy for the final result. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.