Fluvial Geochemistry through a Short-Duration, Tropical-Cyclone Induced Discharge event in the Burdekin River and Hann Creek, North Queensland, Australia

The chemical composition of river water integrates a number of factors such as weathering, land use, climate, vegetation cover and human activity that individually affect its chemistry. Short term variations may also be significant. The Burdekin River, NE Australia, is an example of a class of tropical streams which experiences two to four orders of magnitude variation in discharge in response to seasonal but erratic monsoonal and cyclonic rainfall. In these systems individual discharge events last for days to weeks. Given the inherent difficulty sampling these events published data on water chemistry (and thus calculated fluxes and global budgets) may tend to be biased to low flow conditions. One such discharge event in February 1996 has been investigated for its impact on the chemistry of the water. Major cations (Na, Mg, K, Ca) all decreased in concentration as the water level rose, as did the minor elements Sr, Ba and U. Some other trace elements, notably Rb, Cr, Pb and REE were enriched in the peak flow waters. The flux of all measured elements increased substantially during the seven days of the discharge event. Such short term but significant events will have a major impact on the annual fluxes of elements delivered to the oceans from the land and global discharge budgets may need to take them into account when refining databases in the future.     

Gravel antidunes in the tropical Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia

The geological record is punctuated by the deposits of extreme event phenomena, the identification and interpretation of which are hindered by a lack of data on contemporary examples. It is impossible to directly observe sedimentary bedforms and grain fabrics forming under natural particle-transporting, high-velocity currents, and therefore, their characteristics are poorly documented. The deposits of such flows are exposed however, in the dry bed of the Burdekin River, Queensland, Australia following tropical cyclone-induced floods. Long wave-length (up to 19 m) gravel antidunes develop during short (days) high-discharge flows in the upper Burdekin River (maximum recorded discharge near the study reach over 25 600 m³ s^?1 in February 1927). Flood water levels fall quickly (metres in a day) and flow is diverted away from raised areas of the river bed into subchannels, exposing many of the high-stage bedforms with little reworking by falling-stage currents. Gravel bedforms were observed on the dry river bed after the moderate flows of February 1994 (max. 7700 m³ s^?1) and January 1996 (max. 3200 m³ s^?1). The bedforms had wave-lengths in the range 8–19 m, amplitudes of up to 1 m with steeper stoss than lee faces and crest lines generally transverse to local peak-discharge flow direction. The gravel fabric and size sorting change systematically up the stoss and down the lee faces. The antidune deposits form erosive based lenses of sandy gravel with low-angle downstream dipping lamination and generally steep upstream dipping a-b planes. The internal form and fabric of the antidune gravel lenses are distinctly different from those of dune lee gravel lenses. The erosive based lenses of low-angle cross-bedded gravel with steep upstream dipping a-b planes are relatively easy to recognize and may be diagnostic of downstream migrating antidunes. The antidune gravel lenses are associated with thick (to 1 m) high-angle cross bed sets. Ancient antidune gravel lenses may be diagnostic of episodic high-discharge conditions and particularly when they are associated with high-angle cross-bedded gravelly sand they may be useful for palaeoenvironmental interpretation.     

嘉陵江不同区域场次洪水输沙规律

对于雨洪河流,河流年输沙量主要来源于1场或几场高强度暴雨洪水过程,开展流域次洪输沙规律研究对认识流域水沙变化特性、提升流域产输沙的预测能力具有重要意义。利用嘉陵江流域小河坝站、罗渡溪站、武胜站及北碚站的历年场次洪量与输沙量资料,基于径流侵蚀功率理论和M-K分析等方法,系统分析了嘉陵江不同区域的次洪输沙特性。结果表明：嘉陵江流域汛期洪量和输沙量主要来自于嘉陵江干流;嘉陵江不同区域场次洪量均呈不显著减少趋势,次洪输沙模数(输沙量)总体呈显著减少趋势,但小河坝站2013—2020年次洪输沙模数(输沙量)呈显著增加趋势;随着径流侵蚀功率的逐渐增加,各区域不同时段的次洪输沙模数(输沙量)的变幅逐渐减小;嘉陵江干流区武胜站场次洪水输沙过程受人类活动影响最大、渠江罗渡溪站次之、涪江小河坝站最小;受汶川地震及强降雨等影响,小河坝站和北碚站2013—2020年次洪输沙量较1999—2012年有一定程度增加,但北碚站增幅小于小河坝站。     

Controls on channel deposits of highly variable rivers: Comparing hydrology and event deposits in the Burdekin River,Australia

Discharge event frequency, magnitude and duration all control river channel morphology and sedimentary architecture. Uncertainty persists as to whether alluvial deposits in the rock record are a time-averaged amalgam from all discharge events, or a biased record of larger events. This paper investigates the controls on channel deposit character and subsurface stratigraphic architecture in a river with seasonal discharge and very high inter-annual variability, the Burdekin River of north-east Australia. In such rivers, most sediment movement is restricted to a few days each year and at other times little sediment moves. However, the maximum discharge magnitude does not directly correlate with the amount of morphological change and some big events do not produce large deposits. The Burdekin channel deposits consist of five main depositional elements: (i) unit bars; (ii) vegetation-generated bars; (iii) gravel sheets and lags; (iv) antidune trains; and (v) sand sheets. The proportions of each depositional element preserved in the deposits depend on the history of successive large discharge events, their duration and the rate at which they wane. Events with similar peak magnitude but different rate of decline preserve different event deposits. The high intra-annual and inter-annual discharge variability and rapid rate of stage change make it likely that small to moderate-scale bed morphology will be in disequilibrium with flow conditions most of the time. Consequently, dune and unit bar size and cross-bed set thickness are not good indicators of event or channel size. Antidunes may be more useful as indicators of flow conditions at the time they formed. Rivers with very high coefficient of variance of maximum discharge, such as the Burdekin, form distinctive channel sediment bodies. However, the component parts are such that, if they are examined in isolation, they could lead to misleading interpretation of the nature of the depositional environment if conventional interpretations are used.     

Sedimentology of the Upper Burdekin River of North Queensland, Australia—an example of a tropical, variable discharge river

The Burdekin River is an example of a class of tropical streams which experience two to four orders of magnitude variation in discharge, in response to seasonal but erratic monsoonal rainfall. Floods of the Burdekin rise abruptly, reaching peak discharges of up to 40,000 m³ s^-1 in less than 24 h; maintain peak flow for up to a few days, and recede exponentially. The geomorphology and deposits of these rivers reflect the extreme discharge fluctuations, and have not previously been described. A stretch of the upper Burdekin River comprising four bends and one straight reach was examined near the town of Charters Towers. The river bed is largely exposed for most of any year, with a small, misfit perennial channel carrying low stage flow. Major geomorphic elements of bends include point bars with ridge-and-swale topography, three distinct types of chute channels, avalanche slipfaces up to 5 m or more high around the downstream edges of bars, and on the outer part of one point bar an elevated, vegetated ridge. Straight reaches are flat or gently inclined, sand- and gravel-covered surfaces. Much of the river bed is covered by well sorted, in places gravelly, coarse to very coarse-grained sand with local accumulations of pebble to boulder gravel. Lower parts of the river bed are periodically draped by mud which is desiccated on exposure. Dunes and plane beds are the most commonly occurring bedforms, with local development of gravelly antidunes. Most bank tops and upper, vegetated bars are covered by silt and fine-grained sand. The river bed also hosts a low-diversity but locally high-abundance, flood-tolerant flora dominated by the paperbark tree Melaleuca argentea, which plays an important role in controlling the distribution of sediment. The gross geomorphology of the river bed and most of the sedimentary features are interpreted as having formed during major (bankfull or near bankfull) flows, which have a recurrence of about 18 years (based on 65 years hydrographic data). The initial rapid drop in discharge following flood peaks appears to preserve flood peak features on upper bars more or less intact, whereas lower areas are subjected to variable degrees of modification during falling stage and by more frequent, non-bankfull discharge events.     

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload: a review of empirical data

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload is an important problem in fluvial geomorphology, sedimentation engineering and sedimentology. Bedload transport rates are notoriously hard to measure and, at many sites, only suspended load data are available. Often the bedload fraction is estimated with ‘rule of thumb’ methods such as Maddock’s Table, which are inadequately field‐tested. Here, the partitioning of sediment load for the Pitzbach is discussed, an Austrian mountain stream for which high temporal resolution data on both bedload and suspended load are available. The available data show large scatter on all scales. The fraction of the total load transported in suspension may vary between zero and one at the Pitzbach, while its average decreases with rising discharge (i.e. bedload transport is more important during floods). Existing data on short‐term and long‐term partitioning is reviewed and an empirical equation to estimate bedload transport rates from measured suspended load transport rates is suggested. The partitioning averaged over a flood can vary strongly from event to event. Similar variations may occur in the year‐to‐year averages. Using published simultaneous short‐term field measurements of bedload and suspended load transport rates, Maddock’s Table is reviewed and updated. Long‐term average partitioning could be a function of the catchment geology, the fraction of the catchment covered by glaciers and the extent of forest, but the available data are insufficient to draw final conclusions. At a given drainage area, scatter is large, but the data show a minimal fraction of sediment transported in suspended load, which increases with increasing drainage area and with decreasing rock strength for gravel‐bed rivers, whereby in large catchments the bedload fraction is insignificant at ca 1%. For sand‐bed rivers, the bedload fraction may be substantial (30% to 50%) even for large catchments. However, available data are scarce and of varying quality. Long‐term partitioning varies widely among catchments and the available data are currently not sufficient to discriminate control parameters effectively.     

含沙量和悬沙粒径变化对长江宜昌-汉口河段年冲淤量的影响

依据三峡水库修建以前的资料,运用数理统计方法对含沙量和悬沙粒径变化对长江宜昌-汉口河段年冲淤量的影响进行研究,以期为三峡水库修建以后库下游河道冲淤特性的预测提供参考。建立了1980-1997年间宜昌-汉口#河段年冲淤量与宜昌站年均含沙量C宜昌之间的回归方程,据此估算出使宜昌-汉口#河段处于不冲不淤状态的宜昌站临界年均含沙量为0.734 kg/m3。以宜昌-汉口冲淤量作为因变量,以宜昌站的含沙量、悬沙中径D50、最大流量和三口分流比作为影响变量,建立了多元回归方程。基于1980-1997年资料的方程表明,宜昌站含沙量越高,悬沙中径越粗,宜昌站洪水流量越大,宜昌-汉口河段年淤积量越大;三口分流比越小,宜昌-汉口河段年淤积量越大。     

河流泥沙输移过程中矿物风化的碳汇效应初探——以长江干流为例

本文首先提出了河流泥沙输移过程中泥沙中的钙镁矿物溶蚀消耗水体中的CO2并具有碳汇功能的观点。基于前人长江干流从源头到入海口和支流2003~2007年期间4次河流悬移质泥沙的化学元素组成和矿物组成资料,分析悬移质中CaO、MgO含量和方解石、白云石含量变化特征,定量计算了这些取样点悬移质泥沙的CO2总碳汇能力和非永久性、永久性碳汇能力,分析了不同碳汇能力沿程变化规律及其原因。碳汇计算结果表明：寸滩—大通河段1956~2000年期间泥沙输移过程中钙镁矿物溶蚀产生的总碳汇量、非永久性和永久性碳汇量分别为2572万t/a、1700万t/a和872万t/a。由于输沙量减少,寸滩站—大通站河段的总碳汇量、非永久性和永久性碳汇量2006~2019年期间较1956~2000年期间相应分别减少了1852万t、1224万t和872万t。三峡水库年均淤积量1. 145亿t,损失总碳汇量675. 6万t,相当于三峡电站减排二氧化碳8580万t的7. 9%。全球河流入海年输沙量126. 1亿t,以寸滩- 吴淞口河段碳汇功能0. 060 t/t计,总碳汇量7. 57亿t相当于全球岩石风化碳汇总量10. 56亿t CO2的71. 6%。河流泥沙输移过程中钙镁矿物溶蚀的碳汇量具有重要的作用,其溶蚀速率大于原地风化。     

黄河下游洪水的泥沙输移特征

研究了黄河下游1950-1960年、1969-1985年144次洪水的泥沙输移特征.结果表明:泥沙输移比(SDR)随场次洪水平均含沙量和平均来沙系数的增大而迅速减小;存在着一个使泥沙的输移比达到最大值的最优洪水流量级(4000m3/s左右);场次洪水泥沙输移比与场次洪水最大含沙量之间存在着负相关,当最大含沙量(C_max)>300kg/m3时,泥沙输移比(SDR)<0.50,说明高含沙洪水的输移比是很低的.上中游不同源区的洪水对下游的SDR有显著的差异.来自河口镇以上清水区洪水的SDR大多数大于0.60;来自多沙细沙区洪水的SDR都大于0.50;来自多沙粗沙区洪水的SDR则小于0.50.黄河下游SDR与来自不同来源区洪水的搭配关系有关,SDR随来自粗泥沙区来沙量比例的增大而增大,达到一个峰值,与之相对应的粗泥沙区沙量百分比为50%;对于细泥沙区来沙量比例而言,情形类似,与SDR峰值相对应的细泥沙区来沙量百分比为40%.     

Direct numerical simulation of bedload transport using a local, dynamic boundary condition

ABSTRACT Temporally and spatially averaged models of bedload transport are inadequate to describe the highly variable nature of particle motion at low transport stages. The primary sources of this variability are the resisting forces to downstream motion resulting from the geometrical relation (pocket friction angle) of a bed grain to the grains that it rests upon, variability of the near‐bed turbulent velocity field and the local modification of this velocity field by upstream, protruding grains. A model of bedload transport is presented that captures these sources of variability by directly integrating the equations of motion of each particle of a simulated mixed grain‐size sediment bed. Experimental data from the velocity field downstream and below the tops of upstream, protruding grains are presented. From these data, an empirical relation for the velocity modification resulting from upstream grains is provided to the bedload model. The temporal variability of near‐bed turbulence is provided by a measured near‐bed time series of velocity over a gravel bed. The distribution of pocket friction angles results as a consequence of directly calculating the initiation and cessation of motion of each particle as a result of the combination of fluid forcing and interaction with other particles. Calculations of bedload flux in a uniform boundary and simulated pocket friction angles agree favourably with previous studies.     

Unit bar architecture in a highly-variable fluvial discharge regime: Examples from the Burdekin River,Australia

Unit bars are relatively large bedforms that develop in rivers over a wide range of climatic regimes. Unit bars formed within the highly-variable discharge Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia, were examined over three field campaigns between 2015 and 2017. These bars had complex internal structures, dominated by co-sets of cross-stratified and planar-stratified sets. The cross-stratified sets tended to down-climb. The development of complex internal structures was primarily a result of three processes: (i) superimposed bedforms reworking the unit bar avalanche face; (ii) variable discharge triggering reactivation surfaces; and (iii) changes in bar growth direction induced by stage change. Internal structures varied along the length and across the width of unit bars. For the former, down-climbing cross-stratified sets tended to pass into single planar cross-stratified deposits at the downstream end of emergent bars; such variation related to changes in fluvial conditions whilst bars were active. A hierarchy of six categories of fluvial unsteadiness is proposed, with these discussed in relation to their effects on unit bar (and dune) internal structure. Across-deposit variation was caused by changes in superimposed bedform and bar character along bar crests; such changes related to the three-dimensionality of the channel and bar geometry when bars were active. Variation in internal structure is likely to be more pronounced in unit bar deposits than in smaller bedform (for example, dune) deposits formed in the same river. This is because smaller bedforms are more easily washed out or modified by changing discharge conditions and their smaller dimensions restrict the variation in flow conditions that occur over their width. In regimes where unit bar deposits are well-preserved, their architectural variability is a potential aid to their identification. This complex architecture also allows greater resolution in interpreting the conditions before and during bar initiation and development.     

Regulation of sand transport in the Colorado River by changes in the surface grain size of eddy sandbars over multi-year timescales

In settings where the transport of sand is partially or fully supply limited, changes in the upstream supply of sand are coupled to changes in the grain size of sand on the bed. In this manner, the transport of sand under the supply-limited case is ‘grain-size regulated’. Since the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, the downstream reach of the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons has exhibited evidence of sand-supply limitation. Sand transport in the river is now approximately equally regulated by changes in the discharge of water and changes in the grain sizes of sand on the channel bed and eddy sandbars. Previous work has shown that changes in the grain size of sand on the bed of the channel (driven by changes in the upstream supply of sand owing to both tributary floods and high dam releases) are important in regulating sand transport over timescales of days to months. In this study, suspended-sand data are analysed in conjunction with bed grain-size data to determine whether changes in the grain size of sand on the bed of the channel or changes in the grain size of sand on the surface of eddy sandbars have been more important in regulating sand transport in the post-dam Colorado River over longer, multi-year timescales. The results of this study show that this combined theory- and field-based approach can be used to deduce which environments in a complicated setting are the most important environments for regulating sediment transport. In the case of the regulated Colorado River in Marble and Upper Grand Canyons, suspended-sand transport has been regulated mostly by changes in the surface grain size of eddy sandbars.     

黄河下游输沙水量研究综述

对输沙水量的计算方法,黄河下游汛期、非汛期输沙水量的研究现状,水库对输沙水量的影响,输沙用水总量的研究现状等方面分别作了回顾。分析指出,输沙水量与来水含沙量、来水流量、河道冲淤、河床前期条件等有关。黄河下游各时期输沙水量不同,汛期最小,其余依次为非汛期、冬三月、凌汛期。水库调水调沙的同时也改变着黄河下游的输沙水量。利用水库群调水调沙,使小浪底水库以造床流量、高含沙水流输沙,是目前推荐的黄河下游节水减淤高效输沙入海的主要方式。提出了一些有待进一步研究的问题。     

东江沙卵石河床浅滩-深潭序列水沙演变特征

东江是珠三角网河区入汇河流之一,属少沙河流,其上游浅滩-深潭序列密集分布,河床结构的演变特性尚不清晰。选取东江浅滩-深潭序列河段进行现场河床质与推移质测量,结合试验得到不同流量和坡降中水流与河床在无上游来沙补给中的互馈机理。试验结果表明：浅滩与深潭交替造成沿程平均流速不连续变化,浅滩中部在洪水流量的塑造下容易产生紊动能峰值。无上游来沙条件下,序列中粗化层的形成、破坏过程交替与循环发生,其中静态分选是主导因素且导致沿程级配不连续。流量与坡降的增大促进浅滩-深潭序列发育,同时使得深潭与浅滩的纵向长度缩短;有上游来沙条件下推移质输沙率增大,无来沙条件下输沙率减小。     

黄河下游非恒定输沙数学模型——Ⅱ模型验证

利用所构建的非恒定输沙数学模型,对黄河下游铁谢至孙口河段内的1977年高含沙洪水、1982年大水少沙型洪水以及1996年典型洪水进行了数值模拟.模拟结果证明了数学模型的可靠性,表明该模型不仅能模拟黄河下游河道一般洪水和高含沙洪水的水沙传播、水位变化及河床变形等,而且对模拟现行严重萎缩河道内的洪水演进及河床冲淤特性也有较好的适应性.     

长江中下游河道采砂对入海泥沙的影响

河道采砂可对河道的稳定性、航运安全、生态环境等造成重要影响。河道采砂可能会增加河流的输沙,也可能会减少河流的输沙。长江中下游河道的采砂量虽然很大,但却不是导致入海泥沙减少的主要原因,由河道采砂引起的河流输沙减少的相应比例应该不到采砂量的10%。汉口站和湖口站的来沙减少是造成大通站输沙减少的最主要原因。     

郁江南宁站水沙变化的回归分析

根据郁江南宁站1954～2001年的流量和输沙率资料，对流量和输沙率之间进行了回归分析，得出了多年平均月均流量～输沙率的相关性、各年月均流量～输沙率的相关性、各月月均流量～输沙率年际变化的相关性和年均流量～输沙率的相关性，分析了南宁站的水沙变化趋势，得出了两者变化趋势的规律。     

长江澄通河段河床冲淤对流域减沙的响应

为研究潮汐河道不同区段在流域来沙减少条件下的冲淤响应机制,以长江澄通河段为例,根据水动力特性将其划分为江阴—天生港和天生港—徐六泾两段,结合1950—2014年的水沙资料及2005—2014年的地形资料,比较两段冲淤对流域减沙的响应差异。结果表明:上游江阴—天生港段对流域减沙敏感,较快地由淤积转为冲刷;下游天生港—徐六泾段1998—2004年期间受洪季平均径流流量减小、潮汐顶托作用相对增大的影响,冲刷速率为减小趋势,2004年以后受洪季平均径流流量增大、潮汐顶托作用相对减小及流域来沙持续减少的共同影响,冲刷速率为增大趋势。使得潮汐动力对天生港—徐六泾段由促淤变为促冲的临界洪季平均径流流量为36 000 m3/s,该径流流量也是使得潮汐顶托作用在江阴—天生港段由不显著变为显著的临界流量。目前,流域减沙已加剧澄通河段整体的冲刷。     

澜沧江-湄公河流域产输沙和水库拦沙研究存在问题分析

澜沧江-湄公河是中国与东南亚地区重要的跨境河流,其泥沙问题涉及流域内各国的生态、农业、渔业、航运、海岸侵蚀等诸多领域,近年来下游输沙量持续减少,受到广泛关注。综述了澜沧江-湄公河泥沙研究的争论焦点,包括全流域主产沙区的位置,湄公河干流水文站点间实测输沙量异常变化关系以及人类活动对泥沙过程的影响。系统梳理了现有研究中存在的主要问题,包括下湄公河泥沙观测数据质量不高、全流域总输沙量1.60亿t/a的数据基础存疑、水文模拟的时空分辨率不足、未考虑土地利用变化的影响和悬移质之外的泥沙研究不充分等,在此基础上提出了进一步研究建议。     

黄河下游非恒定输沙数学模型——Ⅰ模型方程与数值方法

构建起具有通用性的黄河下游一维非恒定输沙数学模型.该模型建立了新的泥沙连续性方程与河床变形方程,克服了以往数学模型计算中取饱和恢复系数小于1等缺陷,引入了符合黄河下游河道水沙特点的水流挟沙力和河床糙率计算等公式,给出了悬移质含沙量以及悬移质泥沙平均粒径沿横向分布的计算方法,以及阐明了河槽在冲淤过程中河宽变化规律的模拟技术.运用Preissmann四点差分格式离散水流方程,并与泥沙连续性方程进行非耦合求解.