Vertical profiles of fluid velocity and suspended sediment concentration in nearshore

Based on the power function of velocity and the friction velocity,a velocity profile is obtained.By solving the Schmidt’s diffusion equation,an equilibrium suspended sediment concentration profile is further deduced.The profiles of velocity and suspended sediment concentration agree well with the field data,and the profile of suspended sediment concentration avoids the unreasonableness of the classical Rouse profile such as a zero value at the water surface.According to these profiles,an expression which is easy to use for calculating the suspended sediment transport rate is derived.     

Capacitive sensing technique for silt suspended sediment concentration monitoring

Automated, real-time, and continuous techniques for monitoring suspended sediment concentration in rivers and reservoirs can play an important role in the improvement of the quantity and quality of sediment data, and are valuable to the management of water environment, water conservancy, hazard prevention, and water resources. Research in the monitoring techniques has examined the possibility of using the characteristics of dielectric constants for detecting soil moisture and concentration of air-water two-phase flow, based on the fact that dielectric constants of sediment, air and water are different. A capacitance sensor was developed to monitor the silt suspended sediment concentration (SSSC) in a recent study, following the principle that as SSSC increases in the sediment-water mixture, the apparent dielectric constant of the water sample also increases and therefore the capacitance detected by the sensing system also increases. It is demonstrated that the variations in the concentration of silt sediment correlates positively with the variations in observed capacitance in a linear fashion, and correlates negatively with voltage outputs but also in a linear fashion. The correlation coefficients reached above 0.98. The overall errors in estimated concentrations range between 0.26% and 2.91%. Elements in the capacitance sensor system such as the frequencies of the signal generating system, areas of the electrode plates, and effects of sample temperature have also been evaluated. The results illustrated that the capacitance sensor techniques can be applied to monitoring SSSC automatically and continuously. Also, the range of SSSC in the experiment reached 200 kg/m³; therefore, the application of this technique in practical SSSC monitoring is worthy of further research.     

Relationship between bed shear stress and suspended sediment concentration:annular flume experiments

In this study,annular flume experiments were carried out,using the sediment samples collected from the lower part of the inter-tidal zone at Xiaoyangkou,Jiangsu coast,China.The Ariathurai-Partheniades equation was used to determine the bed shear stress,by evaluating variations in the suspended sediment concentration within the water column.The derived relation between the bed shear stress and suspended sediment concentration shows that,at various stages of seabed erosion, suspended sediment concentration increases rapidly when the flow velocity is increased,but the pattern of change in the bed shear stress does not follow suit.At low concentrations,bed shear stress initially increases markedly with increasing flow velocity.However,when the concentration reaches an apparently critical level around 0.55 kg m"3,the rate of change in the bed shear stress abruptly slows down,or becomes almost constant,in response to further increases in the flow velocity.Results of experiments indicate that,from a critical level onward,suspended sediment concentration has a strong influence on the bed shear stress.     

Non-equilibrium concentration profile formulas of suspended sediment and their preliminary applications

The vertical concentration profiles in non-equilibrium sediment transport processes generally deviate from the equilibrium concentration distribution of suspended sediment. The non-equilibrium concentration profile formulas currently available are those of Han and Brown, respectively. However, the complexity of these formulas limits their use in practical calculations. To improve the usefulness of these formulas, the unknown parameters in Han’s formula are reduced from three to two, and the thre...     

Using ADV backscatter strength for measuring suspended cohesive sediment concentration

Laboratory experiments were conducted at two institutes to reveal the relationship between acoustic backscatter strength and suspended sediment concentration (SSC). In total, three acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) with different frequencies (5, 10 and 16 MHz) were tested. Two different commercial clays and one natural sediment from Clay Bank site in the York River were checked for acoustic responses. The SSCs of selected sediments were artificially changed between a selected low and a high value in tap or de-ion water. Each ADV showed quite different backscatter responses depending on the sediment type and SSC. Not all devices had a good linear relationship between backscatter strength and SSC. Within a limited range of SSC, however, the backscatter strength can be well correlated with the SSC. Compared with optical backscattering sensor (OBS), the fluctuation of ADV backscatter signals was too noisy to be directly converted to the instantaneous changes of SSC due to high amplification ratio and small sampling volume. For the more accurate signal conversion for finding the fluctuation of SSC, the ensemble average should be applied to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. There are unexpected responses for the averaged backscatter wave strength: (1) high signals from small particles but low signals from large particles; and (2) two linear segments in calibration slope. These phenomena would be most likely caused by the different gain setting built in ADVs. The different acoustic responses to flocculation might also contribute somewhat if flocs are tightly packed. This study suggests that an ADV could be a useful instrument to estimate suspended cohesive sediment concentration and its fluctuation if the above concerns are clarified.     

The effect of properties of sediment type on the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and radiance

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was designed to determine the spectral characteristics of different types of sediment suspended in water in the visible and near infrared wavelengths (0.45–0.9 μm) using a four-channel radiometer. Field collected sediments were resuspended in water to produce different concentration levels for the measurement of radiance. Spectral measurements of turbid water showed a distinctive difference in the behaviour of radiance with change in the inorganic suspended sediment concentration and type. It was noted that the correlation between the suspended sediment concentration and the radiance varied with the mineral composition of the sediment. The clay minerals of low specific gravity had larger values of radiance than those from high specific gravity nonclay minerals. Based on the results obtained, it appears that an algorithm to estimate suspended sediment concentration can be developed from radiance.     

Experimental study of near-bed concentration and sediment vertical mixing parameter for vertical concentration distribution in the surf zone

Two formulae for the near-bed concentration(C_a) and the sediment vertical mixing parameter(m) are established based on a large scale wave flume experiment.The advantage of the new formulae is that the turbulent kinetic energy induced by wave breaking can be taken into account;the formula for C_a is in terms of the near-bed,time-averaged turbulent kinetic energy,and the formula for m is in terms of depth-and time-averaged turbulent kinetic energy.A new expression for suspended sediment load also is established by depth integration of the vertical distribution of the suspended sediment concentration obtained on basis of the new formulae.Equation validation is done by comparing the predicted C_a and m to measurements for different types of waves(regular wave,wave group,and irregular wave),and good agreement is found.The advantages of the proposed formulae over previous formulae also are discussed.     

Modelling suspended sediment concentration using artificial neural networks for Gangotri glacier

The dynamics of suspended sediment involves inherent non‐linearity and complexity because of existence of both spatial variability of the basin characteristics and temporal climatic patterns. This complexity, therefore, leads to inaccurate prediction by the conventional sediment rating curve (SRC) and other empirical methods. Over past few decades, artificial neural networks (ANNs) have emerged as one of the advanced modelling techniques capable of addressing inherent non‐linearity in the hydrological processes. In the present study, feed‐forward back propagation (FFBP) algorithm of ANNs is used to model stage–discharge–suspended sediment relationship for ablation season (May–September) for melt runoff released from Gangotri glacier, one of the largest glaciers in Himalaya. The simulations have been carried out on primary data of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) discharge and stage for ablation season of 11‐year period (1999–2009). Combinations of different input vectors (viz. stage, discharge and SSC) for present and previous days are considered for development of the ANN models and examining the effects of input vectors. Further, based on model performance indices for training and testing phase, a suitable modelling approach with appropriate model input structure is suggested. The conventional SRC method is also used for modelling discharge–sediment relationship and performance of developed models is evaluated by statistical indices, namely; root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and coefficient of determination (R²). Statistically, the performance of ANN‐based models is found to be superior as compared to SRC method in terms of the selected performance indices in simulating the daily SSC. The study reveals suitability of ANN approach for simulation and estimation of daily SSC in glacier melt runoff and, therefore, opens new avenues of research for application of hybrid soft computing models in glacier hydrology. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Real-time prediction of the peak suspended sediment concentration and sediment yield of the Lao-Nung River during storms

Based on rainfall erosion of soil and suspended sediment transport in storm events, a method is proposed to predict peak suspended sediment concentration and suspended sediment yield in watersheds based on rainfall characteristics prior to peak rainfall intensity. The rainfall characteristics factors that dominate peak suspended sediment concentration C_p are rainfall erosion factor R_ef, first peak rainfall intensity of area-average rainfall i_p1 and antecedent precipitation index I_ap; the rainfall characteristics factors that dominate suspended sediment yield Y_ss in storm events are total rainfall P, suspended sediment yield factor R_sf and antecedent precipitation index I_ap. This research focuses on watersheds in Liau-Kwei observation station along Lao-Nung River in southern Taiwan as the research object, and adopts the PSED-model to simulate the discharge hydrograph, suspended sediment concentration hydrograph and suspended sediment yield in 11 storm events for analysis. The analytical results show that there is a good correlation between the above-mentioned rainfall characteristics factors and C_p as well as Y_ss, thus enabling C_p and Y_ss to be predicted by using Expressions (13) and (14). These two expressions are utilized to predict C_p and Y_ss of Typhoon Morakot in 2009, and the results are compared with those from simulation by using the PSED-model. The result of comparison shows there is a good capability in predicting. For the watersheds where it is necessary to predict C_p and Y_ss of a storm event for the benefit of effective operation of water resource facilities, the aforesaid rainfall characteristics factors can be utilized to establish applicable models for prediction.     

Estimating instantaneous concentration of suspended sediment using acoustic backscatter from an ADV

The measurement of instantaneous sediment concentration remains a challenging task. In this study, a three-step procedure is proposed to estimate instantaneous sediment concentration using acoustic backscatter from Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV). The influences of acoustic noise and particle diameter on an ADV's performance was first tested in the laboratory, then the three-step procedure was verified based on field measurements in the Zhongxian and Fengjie reaches in the Three Gorges Reservoir. The first step involves reconstructing the backscatter signal time series. Due to contamination from both the noise floor and spurious spikes, the denoising-despiking method was applied instead of the traditional velocity-despiking methods, and this approach performed well based on spectrum ana-lysis. The second step involves calibrating the sediment concentration against the backscatter signal. A linear relation, whose slope and intercept were calibrated to be dependent on particle diameter, is proposed in double logarithmic coordinates. The third step involves calculating the instantaneous sediment concentration using reconstructed instantaneous backscatter based on the proposed relation. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated through consideration of the concentration spec-trum and sediment flux, indicating that the proposed three-step procedure is effective for the mea-surement of instantaneous sediment concentration.     

近岸Ⅱ类水体表层悬浮泥沙浓度遥感模式研究进展

因为具有明显的时间与空间分辨率优势,遥感数据成为近岸Ⅱ类水体悬浮泥沙浓度(SSC)信息提取研究的重要数据源之一.悬浮泥沙遥感信息提取的现状可归纳为:(1)建立近岸Ⅱ类水体SSC遥感模式的方法有三种类型,分别是基于地面光谱与SSC测量的反射率反演方法、基于图像信息法和基于大气辐射传输理论模型法;(2)基于地面测量的反射率反演方法属于理论与经验相结合的方法,也是目前用于SSC定量化遥感模式研究的常用方法.其数学表达形式包括线性关系式、对数关系式、负指数关系式、Gordon模式和综合模式等;(3)到目前为止已有的Ⅱ类水体SSC遥感模式适用性方面还不理想,远未达到与试验室分析相匹配的精度.文章认为:加强地面水文光谱实验研究,建立多光谱SSC定量模式,以高分辨率和高光谱遥感融合数据为基础的SSC定量遥感是今后该方向发展趋势.     

Neuro-fuzzy models employing wavelet analysis for suspended sediment concentration prediction in rivers

Abstract

The study of sediment load is important for its implications to the environment and water resources engineering. Four models were considered in the study of suspended sediment concentration prediction: artificial neural networks (ANNs), neuro-fuzzy model (NF), conjunction of wavelet analysis and neuro-fuzzy (WNF) model, and the conventional sediment rating curve (SRC) method. Using data from a US Geological Survey gauging station, the suspended sediment concentration predicted by the WNF model was in satisfactory agreement with the measured data. Also the proposed WNF model generated reasonable predictions for the extreme values. The cumulative suspended sediment load estimated by this model was much higher than that predicted by the other models, and is close to the observed data. However, in the current modelling, the ANN, NF and SRC models underestimated sediment load. The WNF model was successful in reproducing the hysteresis phenomenon, but the SRC method was not able to model this behaviour. In general, the results showed that the NF model performed better than the ANN and SRC models.

Citation Mirbagheri, S. A., Nourani, V., Rajaee, T. & Alikhani, A. (2010) Neuro-fuzzy models employing wavelet analysis for suspended sediment concentration prediction in rivers. Hydrol. Sci. J. 55(7), 1175–1189.     

Monitoring baseline suspended sediment in forested basins: the effects of sampling on suspended sediment rating curves

Abstract

Rating curves are widely used for directly assessing changes in the suspended sediment delivery process and indirectly for estimating total yields. Four sampling methods were simulated over a 31-day record of suspended sediment from the North Fork of the Mad River near Korbel, California. The position and size of the four groups of plotted slope/intercept pairs indicated differences in bias and variance among the methods. Estimates of total yield for the 31-day period and for storms of three sizes were also biased according to sampling method. A standard bias-correcting technique improved yield estimates, but did not remove sampling bias uniformly. Methods of data collection have a large and systematic effect on the estimation of rating-curve parameters and on estimates of suspended sediment yield. Differences attributed to land management may, in fact, result from changes in sampling methods.     

Temporal variation in suspended sediment transport: linking sediment sources and hydro-meteorological drivers

Suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) in rivers are variable in time due to interacting soil erosion and sediment transport processes. While many hydro-meteorological variables are correlated to SSCs, interpretation of these correlations in terms of driving processes requires in-depth knowledge of the catchment. Detailed sediment source information is needed to establish the causal linkages between driving processes and variations in SSC. This study innovatively combined sediment fingerprinting with multivariate statistical analyses of hydro-meteorological data to investigate how differential contributions of sediment sources control SSC in response to hydro-meteorological variables during high-flow events in rivers. Applied to the River Aire (UK), five sediment sources were classified: grassland topsoil in three lithological areas (limestone, millstone grit and coal measures), eroding riverbanks, and street dust. A total of 159 suspended sediment samples were collected during 14 high-flow events (2015–2017). Results show substantial variation in sediment sources during high-flow events. Limestone grassland and street dust, the dominant contributors to the suspended sediment, show temporal variations consistent with variations in total SSC, and are correlated with precipitation and discharge shortly prior and during high-flow events (i.e. fast mobilization to and within river). Contrarily, contributions from millstone and coals grassland appear to be driven by antecedent hydro-meteorological conditions (i.e. lag-time between soil erosion and sediment delivery). Riverbank material is poorly correlated to hydro-meteorological variables, possibly due to weak source discrimination or the infrequent nature of its delivery to the channel. Differences in source-specific drivers and process interactions for sediment transport demonstrate the difficulty in generalizing sediment transport patterns and developing targeted suspended sediment management strategies. While more research is essential to address different uncertainties emerging from the approach, the study demonstrates how empirical data on sediment monitoring, fingerprinting, and hydro-meteorology can be combined and analysed to better understand sediment connectivity and the factors controlling SSC. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Terrigenous transportation to the Okinawa Trough and the influence of typhoons on suspended sediment concentration

The source and transport mechanisms of land-derived Okinawa Trough sediments were studied using the field data of temperature, salinity and turbidity in the East China Seas. The results suggest that there are two primary sediments sources from the Chinese Mainland to the Okinawa Trough: one is the Old Huanghe River submarine delta, and the other is the Changjiang River sediments, which are distributed at the Changjiang River estuary and the off-coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. It is difficult for the Huanghe River suspended sediments to arrive in the Okinawa Trough via the new estuary. Although the Taiwan warm current blocks the seaward terrigenous transportation to a certain extent, part of the coastal suspended sediments are transported to the outer shelf. Suspended particulate matter is unable to get through the barrier of the Kuroshio Current under normal conditions. However, episodic events, such as winter storms, internal-tidal waves and turbidity flows, are capable of transporting suspended particulate matter into the Okinawa Trough. The super typhoon “Ewiniar” induced strong waves and influenced the thermocline depth and suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas. The typhoon-induced waves pushed the thermocline depth down to around 40 m and caused the resuspension of large volumes of sediments in its path. In the other East China Seas regions, the typhoon-induced swells deepened the thermocline depth by about 5 m and increased suspended sediment concentrations. The typhoon effect on suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas disappeared within 2 weeks.     

A study of suspended sediment concentration in Yangshan deep-water port in Shanghai,China

Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) plays an important role in the estuarine environment.Its spatial or temporal variations in coastal zones and estuaries indicate that sediments are suspended,trans...     

Surficial sediment erodibility from time-series measurements of suspended sediment concentrations: development and validation

Numerical models of fine sediment transport depend on different approaches to parameterize the erosion properties of surficial sediment strata. These properties, namely the critical shear stress for erosion and the erosion rate coefficient, are crucial for reproducing the short-term and long-term sediment dynamics of the system. Methods to parameterize these properties involve either specialized laboratory measurements on sediment samples or optimization by model calibration. Based on observations of regular patterns in the variation of suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) over the tidal cycle in a small, narrow estuary, an alternate approach, referred to as the entrainment flux method, for quantifying the erosion properties of surficial bed strata is formulated and applied. The results of this method are shown to be analogous to the erosion data used to formulate the standard linear erosion formulation developed by various authors. The erosion properties inferred from the entrainment flux method are also compared to direct measurements of erodibility on sediment samples from the same site using the Gust microcosm apparatus. The favorable comparison of the two approaches suggests that the entrainment flux method can be used to infer and quantify the erodibility of surficial sediment strata in similar small and narrow estuaries. This method has certain advantages, chiefly its ease of implementation and the fact that it uses SSC time series which would typically be expected to be available for the study of or for model application at a given site. Guidelines for selecting the appropriate dataset for the application of the method are also presented.     

Effect of particle density and inflow concentration of suspended sediment on bedload transport in rill flow

Laboratory flume experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of particle density on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles and the effect of a suspended load of clay particles (kaolinite) on bedload transport of sand‐sized particles in rill flow conditions. Three materials in the range 400–600 µm were selected to simulate bedload transport of primary particles and aggregates: sand (2650 kg/m³), crushed brick (2450 kg/m³) and anthracite (1300–1700 kg/m³). In the two first experiments, two different methods were applied to determine bedload transport capacity of coarse particles for various conditions of flow discharge (from 2 to 15 L/min) and slope (2.2, 3 and 4%). In the third experiment, clear water was replaced with kaolinite–water mixture and bedload transport capacity of crushed brick particles was determined for a 4% slope and different concentrations of kaolinite (0, 7, 41 and 84 g/L). The results showed that bedload transport increased significantly with the decrease in particle density but the effect of particle density on transport rates was much less important than flow discharge. Velocity measurements of clear flow, flow mixed with coarse particles and coarse particles confirmed the existence of a differentiation between suspended load and bedload. In these experimental conditions, suspended load of kaolinite did not affect bedload rates of crushed brick particles. Three transport capacity formulae were tested against observed bedload rates. A calibration of the Foster formula revealed that the shear stress exponent should be greater than 1.5. The Low and the Govers unit stream power (USP) equations were then evaluated. The Low equation was preferred for the prediction of bedload rates of primary particles but it was not recommended in the case of aggregates of low density because of the limited experimental conditions applied to derive this equation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration based on bio-optical mechanism and HJ-1 image in Chaohu Lake

Synchronization experiment was conducted in June, 2009 to get Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) of water component in Chaohu Lake. Water bio-optical mechanism was studied combined with multispectral data of Environmental Satellite 1 (CCD), and then inversion models of total suspended matter (TSM), inorganic suspended matter (ISM) and organic suspended matter (OSM) concentration were built. The data indicated that: the absorption ratio of suspended particulate matter and CDOM to total were almost no change from band 1 to band 2 with about 85% and 9%, respectively. The ratio of pure water to total increased from 0.4% to 5.6%. Water reflectance in these two bands were influenced by absorption of three kinds of components: algae particles absorption surpassed non-algal particles in band 3, and so played an important role in total absorption with about 35.7%; the proportion of pure water absorption and particles matter backscattering both were 99% in band 4, so these two components decided the main inherent optical properties in band 4. The models of TSM and ISM concentration inversion based on band combination (band 3 + band 4)/(band 1 + band 2) were built, while OSM concentration was estimated by band 4/(band 1 + band 2) index. Inversed by image data, RE of TSM concentration between modeled and measured was 33.4%, and RMSE was 18.68 mg/L. RE of ISM and OSM concentration were 39.9% and 35.2% respectively. The inversion was more accurate when satellite-ground data were just in the same day. At this situation, RE of ISM concentration dropped to 25.4%, and that of TSM and OSM reduced to 26.5% and 26.8% as well.     

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration based on bio-optical mechanism and HJ-1 image in Chaohu Lake

Synchronization experiment was conducted in June, 2009 to get Inherent Optical Properties (IOP) of water component in Chaohu Lake. Water bio-optical mechanism was studied combined with multispectral data of Environmental Satellite 1 (CCD), and then inversion models of total suspended matter (TSM), inorganic suspended matter (ISM) and organic suspended matter (OSM) concentration were built. The data indicated that: the absorption ratio of suspended particulate matter and CDOM to total were almost no change from band 1 to band 2 with about 85% and 9%, respectively. The ratio of pure water to total increased from 0.4% to 5.6%. Water reflectance in these two bands were influenced by absorption of three kinds of components: algae particles absorption surpassed non-algal particles in band 3, and so played an important role in total absorption with about 35.7%; the proportion of pure water absorption and particles matter backscattering both were 99% in band 4, so these two components decided the main inherent optical properties in band 4. The models of TSM and ISM concentration inversion based on band combination (band 3 + band 4)/(band 1 + band 2) were built, while OSM concentration was estimated by band 4/(band 1 + band 2) index. Inversed by image data, RE of TSM concentration between modeled and measured was 33.4%, and RMSE was 18.68 mg/L. RE of ISM and OSM concentration were 39.9% and 35.2% respectively. The inversion was more accurate when satellite-ground data were just in the same day. At this situation, RE of ISM concentration dropped to 25.4%, and that of TSM and OSM reduced to 26.5% and 26.8% as well.