Impact of hillslope-derived sediment supply on drainage basin development in small watersheds at the northern border of the central Alps of Switzerland

This paper explores the effects of hillslope mobility on the evolution of a 10-km² drainage basin located at the northern border of the Swiss Alps. It uses geomorphologic maps and the results of numerical models that are based on the shear stress formulation for fluvial erosion and linear diffusion for hillslope processes. The geomorphic data suggest the presence of landscapes with specific cross-sectional geometries reflecting variations in the relationships between processes in channels and on hillslopes. In the headwaters, the landscape displays parabolic cross-sectional geometries indicating that mass delivered to channels by hillslope processes is efficiently removed. In the trunk stream portion, the landscape is (i) V-shaped if the downslope flux of mass is balanced by erosion in channels (i.e. if mass delivered to channels by hillslope processes is efficiently removed) and (ii) U-shaped if in-channel accumulation of hillslope-derived material occurs. This latter situation indicates a non-balanced mass flux between processes in channels and on hillslopes.Information about the spatial pattern of the postglacial depth of erosion allows comparative estimates to be made about the erosional efficiency for the various landscapes that were mapped in the study area. The data suggest that the erosional potential and sediment discharge are reduced for the situation of a non-balanced mass flux between processes in channels and on hillslopes. These findings are also supported by the numerical model. Indeed, the model results show that high hillslope mobility tends to reduce the hillslope relief and to inhibit dissection and formation of channels. In contrast, stable hillslopes tend to promote fluvial incision, and the hillslope relief increases. The model results also show that very low erosional resistance of bedrock promotes backward erosion and steepening of channel profiles in headwaters. Beyond that, the model reveals that sediment discharge generally increases with decreasing erosional resistance of bedrock, but that this increase decays exponentially with increasing magnitudes of fluvial and hillslope mobilities. Very high hillslope diffusivities even tend to reduce the erosional potential of the whole watershed. It appears that besides rates of base-level lowering, factors limiting sediment discharge might be the nonlinear relationships between processes in channels and on hillslopes.     

Predicting fine sediment dynamics along a pool-riffle mountain channel

Fine sediment dynamics in mountain rivers are of concern because of implications for aquatic habitat, channel stability, and downstream sediment yields. Many mountain river systems have episodic fine sediment transport because of infrequent, point-source sediment inputs from landslides; basin instability triggered by land uses such as logging; or infrequent mobilization of the coarse surface layer in channels. Dam removal, which is now more likely along mountain rivers, may also provide a substantial fine sediment input to downstream channel reaches.Fine sediment storage in the interstices of spawning gravels and within pools along mountain rivers is of particular interest because of impacts to aquatic organisms. In this study we focus on sediment dynamics within pools of the North Fork Poudre River in Colorado as an example of the processes controlling fine sediment deposition, storage, and transport within laterally constricted pools. The 1996 release of 7000 m³ of silt-to gravel-sized sediment from a reservoir on the North Fork provided an opportunity to develop a field data set of fine sediment dynamics and to test the predictions of three different one- or two-dimensional sediment transport and hydraulic models against the field observations.The models were calibrated against quantitative measurements of pool scour and fill. One-dimensional HEC-6 results indicate that robust simulations yield the greatest agreement between predicted and measured pool bed elevation change. Model calibration on two pools and validation on one pool indicate that at least 58% of observed bed changes after the sediment release were predicted by HEC-6. Modeling accuracy using quasi-two-dimensional GSTARS 2.0 was considerably more variable, and no pool-wide trends were obtained. The two-dimensional model RMA2 substantially improved the representation of eddy pool hydraulics within a compound pool of the North Fork. Results from the hydraulic modeling, coupled with bed load and total load computations, delineate areas of scour and deposition which are consistent with observations in the field.A conceptual model of sediment delivery and storage for laterally confined pools suggests that persistent deposition of fine sediment within eddies distal from the sediment source may result from sediment releases. The original loss of channel capacity facilitated additional deposition within eddies as sediment within upstream proximal pools became mobilized. At high discharges, the development of a strong shear zone prevents degradation of sediment deposits within the eddy. Central portions of these proximal pools may clear according to existing models, whereas deposition within recirculating zones may be long-term. Water managers could use these models to estimate minimum pool volume for overwinter habitat and residence time of pool sediment.     

The influence of relative sediment supply on riverine habitat heterogeneity

The diversity of aquatic habitats in streams is linked to physical processes that act at various spatial and temporal scales. Two components of many that contribute to creating habitat heterogeneity in streams are the interaction between sediment supply and transport capacity and the presence of local in-stream structures, such as large woody debris and boulders. Data from previously published flume and field studies and a new field study on tributaries to the South Yuba River in Nevada County, California, USA, were used to evaluate the relationship between habitat heterogeneity, local in-stream structural features and relative sediment supply. Habitat heterogeneity was quantified using spatial heterogeneity measures from the field of landscape ecology. Relative sediment supply, as expressed by the sediment supply/transport capacity ratio, which controls channel morphology and substrate textures, two key physical habitat characteristics, was quantified using a dimensionless bedload transport ratio, q. Calculated q values were plotted against an ecologically meaningful heterogeneity index, Shannon's Diversity Index, measured for each study reach, as well as the percent area of in-stream structural elements. The results indicate two potential mechanisms for how relative sediment supply may drive geomorphic diversity in natural river systems at the reach scale. When less mobile structural elements form a small proportion of the reach landscape, the supply/capacity ratio dictates the range of sediment textures and geomorphic features observed within the reach. In these settings, channels with a moderate relative sediment supply exhibit the highest textural and geomorphic diversity. In contrast, when less mobile structural elements are abundant, forced local scour and deposition creates high habitat heterogeneity, even in the presence of high relative sediment supply.     

The sediment budget of a highly dynamic mesoscale catchment: The River Isábena

The paper presents the sediment budget of the Isábena basin, a highly dynamic 445-km² catchment located in the Central Pyrenees that is patched by highly erodible areas (i.e., badlands). The budget for the period 2007-2009 is constructed following a methodology that allows the interpolation of intermittent measurements of suspended sediment concentrations and enables a subsequent calculation of sediment loads. Data allow specification of the contribution of each subbasin to the water and sediment yield in the catchment outlet. Mean annual sediment load was 235,000 t y^− 1. Specific sediment yield reached 2000 t km^− 2 y^− 1, a value that indicates very high sedimentary activity, especially in the case of Villacarli and Lascuarre subcatchments, were most badlands are located. The specific sediment yield obtained for the entire Isábena is 527 t km^− 2 y^− 1, a high value for such a mesoscale basin. Results show that a small part of the area (i.e., 1%) controls most of the catchment's gross sediment contribution. Sediment delivery ratio (ratio between sediment input from primary sources and basin export) has been estimated at around 90%, while in-channel storage represents the 5% of the annual load on average. The high connectivity between sediment sources (i.e., badlands) and transfer paths (i.e., streamcourses) exacerbates the influence of the local sediment production on the catchment's sediment yield, a quite unusual fact for a basin of this scale.     

Quantifying channel development and sediment transfer following chute cutoff in a wandering gravel-bed river

Three-dimensional morphological adjustment in a chute cutoff (breach) alluvial channel is quantified using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analysis for a ca. 0.7 km reach of the River Coquet, Northumberland, UK. Following cutoff in January 1999, channel and bar topography was surveyed using a Total Station on five occasions between February 1999 and December 2000. Analysis of planform change coupled with DEM differencing elucidates channel and barform development following cutoff, and enables quantification of sediment transfers associated with morphological adjustment within the reach. This exercise indicates an initial phase of bed scour, followed by a period characterised by extensive bank erosion and lateral channel migration where erosion (including bed scour) totalled some 15,000 m³ of sediment. The channel in the post-cutoff, disequilibrium state is highly sensitive to relatively low-magnitude floods, and provision of accommodation space by bank erosion encouraged extensive lateral bar development. Bar development was further facilitated by infilling of channels abandoned by repeated within-reach avulsion and large-scale aggradation of sediment lobes deposited by higher magnitude floods. Calculations indicate that at least 6600 m³ of sediment was deposited on emerging bars within the reach over the survey period, and >2300 m³ deposited within the channel. Sediment losses from the reach may have exceeded 6500 m³.     

Suspended sediment source fingerprinting in a small tropical catchment and some management implications

The targeting of sediment management strategies is a key requirement in developing countries because of the limited resources available. Such targeting is, however, hampered by the lack of reliable information on catchment sediment sources. This paper reports the results of using a quantitative composite fingerprinting technique to estimate the relative importance of the primary potential sources within the upper Kaleya catchment (63 km²) in southern Zambia. During the study period (1997–9), the load-weighted mean relative contributions to the sediment load sampled at the catchment outlet were in the order: commercial cultivation (2.0%), bush grazing (17.1%), channel banks/gullies (17.2%) and communal cultivation (63.7%). Although influenced by the timing of sediment sample collection, these results are judged to provide a meaningful assessment of sediment sources in the Kaleya catchment. They indicate that improved environmental management strategies for the study area must be comprehensive and need to reduce surface erosion and hillslope/channel connectivity in areas of bush grazing and both communal and commercial cultivation and to control gully development.     

Analysing the influence of upslope bedrock outcrops on shallow landsliding

A model for the prediction of topographic and climatic control on shallow landsliding in mountainous terrain is enhanced to analyse the impact of upslope rocky outcrops on downslope shallow landsliding. The model uses a ‘generalised quasi-dynamic wetness index’ to describe runoff propagation on bare rock surfaces connected to downslope soil-mantled topographic elements. This approach yields a simple enhanced model capable of describing the influence of upslope bedrock outcrops on the pattern of downslope soil saturation. The model is applied in both diagnostic and predictive modes to a small catchment in the eastern Italian Alps for which a detailed inventory of shallow landslides in areas dominated by rocky outcrops is available. In the diagnostic mode, the model is used with satisfactory results to reproduce the pattern of instability generated by an intense short-duration storm occurred on 14 September 1994, which triggered a large percentage of the surveyed landslides. In the predictive mode, the model is used for hazard assessment, and the return time of the critical rainfall needed to cause instability for each topographic element is determined. Modelling results obtained in the predictive mode are evaluated against all the surveyed landslides. It is revealed that the generalised quasi-dynamic model offers considerable improvement over the non-generalised quasi-dynamic model and the steady-state model in predicting existing landslides as represented in the considered landslide inventory.     

Temporal distribution of suspended sediment transport in a humid Mediterranean badland area: The Araguás catchment, Central Pyrenees

This paper analyses the temporal patterns of suspended sediment yield in the Araguás catchment, Central Spanish Pyrenees, a small experimental catchment with extensive badlands. The catchment has been monitored since 2004 to study weathering, erosion, and hydrological and sediment responses to understand the superficial dynamics of a badland area in a relatively humid environment. The development of badlands in the Central Spanish Pyrenees is favoured by the presence of marls and a markedly seasonal climate. The continuous observation of selected physical parameters and environmental variables enables us to establish seasonal patterns of weathering processes and identify those factors that control regolith development. Freeze–thaw cycles in winter and wetting–drying in spring–summer are the main processes involved in regolith weathering, thereby controlling slope development in combination with rainfall-related erosion processes.The 64 floods recorded during the study period (December 2005 to January 2007) were used for a hydrosedimentological analysis. The main observed features indicate that the Araguás catchment reacts to all rainfall events, resulting in steep rising and recession limbs on the hydrograph and a very short time lag. Floods show high suspended sediment concentrations and a heterogeneous temporal distribution related to seasonal variations in surface runoff production. These differences increase the degree of complexity involved in studying sediment response. Suspended sediment concentration and transport mainly depend on rainfall volume, maximum rainfall intensity, peak flow, and runoff occurrence. Finally, the similarities among the obtained hydrographs, sedigraphs, and hyetographs, in combination with the rapid response of most of the floods, suggest a large contribution of overland flow, derived mainly from infiltration excess runoff upon badland areas. Accordingly, the significant correlations obtained between rainfall intensity and sediment concentration (mainly during the dry season), which suggest a single source area for both runoff and sediment, also support the hypothesis of Hortonian hydrological response within badland areas.     

Complex channel responses to changes in stream flow and sediment supply on the lower Duchesne River, Utah

Channel responses to flow depletions in the lower Duchesne River over the past 100 years have been highly complex and variable in space and time. In general, sand-bed reaches adjusted to all perturbations with bed-level changes, whereas the gravel-bed reaches adjusted primarily through width changes. Gravel-bed reaches aggraded only when gravel was supplied to the channel through local bank erosion and degraded only during extreme flood events.A 50% reduction in stream flow and an increase in fine sediment supply to the study area occurred in the first third of the 20th century. The gravel-bed reach responded primarily with channel narrowing, whereas bed aggradation and four large-scale avulsions occurred in the sand-bed reaches. These avulsions almost completely replaced a section of sinuous channel about 14 km long with a straighter section about 7 km long. The most upstream avulsion, located near a break in valley slope and the transition from a gravel bed upstream and a sand bed downstream, transformed a sinuous sand-bed reach into a braided gravel-bed reach and eventually into a meandering gravel-bed reach over a 30-year period. Later, an increase in flood magnitudes and durations caused widening and secondary bed aggradation in the gravel-bed reaches, whereas the sand-bed reaches incised and narrowed. Water diversions since the 1950s have progressively eliminated moderate flood events, whereas larger floods have been less affected. The loss of frequent flooding has increased the duration and severity of drought periods during which riparian vegetation can establish along the channel margins. As a result, the channel has gradually narrowed throughout the study area since the late 1960s, despite the occasional occurrence of large floods. No tributaries enter the Duchesne River within the study area, so all reaches have experienced identical changes in stream flow and upstream sediment supply.     

A sediment budget for a grazed semi-arid catchment in the Burdekin basin, Australia

In catchments adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in Queensland, Australia, there is a growing concern that sediments and nutrients being exported from the land are having a detrimental effect on coral reef communities. There is a need to determine the processes and rates of erosion from the major land use types, so that management intervention can be initiated to reduce sediment yields where required. This paper presents a sediment budget for Weany Creek, a 13.5 km² grazed semi-arid sub-catchment of the Burdekin River catchment, Australia. A range of field methods was used to measure erosion from hillslopes, gullies and stream banks, as well as identify the amount of sediment being deposited and remobilised on the bed of gullies and the stream network. The data suggests that at least during drought conditions, the primary erosion source in this catchment is gully erosion. However, the largest source of sediment in the budget is actually associated with the remobilisation of in-channel sediment stores. Overall, the sediment budget is comprised of  81% coarse material and 19% fine sediment and an agreement between the fine sediment yield estimated in the sediment budget and the yield measured at the catchment outlet is within 10%. The total sediment yield estimated for this catchment is  4205 t yr^− 1 and is much lower than expected for a catchment of this size. This may reflect the drought conditions during the measurement period; however, there is also the possibility that the primary erosion sources have been exhausted, and the rates of sediment loss may be much lower now than they may have been in the past. Nonetheless, the results show that stored sediment, which may have been deposited in the channel many decades ago, is an important contributor to end of catchment sediment yields and warrants further investigation.     

Magnitude and frequency of landsliding in a large New Zealand catchment

Knowledge of long-term average rates of erosion is necessary if factors affecting sediment yields from catchments are to be understood. Without such information, it is not possible to assess the potential influence of extreme storms, and, therefore, to evaluate the relative importance of various components of a sediment budget. A study of the sediment budget for the Waipaoa catchment, North Island, New Zealand, included evaluation of long-term rates of landsliding for six landslide-prone land systems in the catchment. The number of landslides per unit area generated by each of several storms was counted on sequential aerial photographs and correlated with the magnitude of the corresponding storm. The resulting relationships were combined with magnitude–frequency relationships derived for storms from 70- to 100-year rainfall records in the area to estimate a long-term magnitude–frequency relationship for landsliding for each land system. The long-term average values of the areal landslide frequency (number of slides per unit area per unit time) were then calculated from these relationships. The volumes of a sample of landslide scars were measured in the field, and the proportion of slides that deliver sediment to channels was determined from aerial photographs. These measurements then allowed calculation of the long-term average rate of sediment production to streams from landslides for different land systems and types of vegetation. Results suggest that shallow landslides currently contribute about 15±5% of the suspended sediment load in the Waipaoa River above the Kanakanaia gauging station, and that 75% of the sediment production from the landslides occurs during storms with recurrence intervals of less than 27 years. Reforestation of 6.3% (93 km²) of the slide-prone lands in the catchment between 1990 and 1995 resulted in a calculated decrease in slide-derived sediment of 10%. Calculations suggest that reforestation of an additional 3% (66 km²) of the catchment in areas with the most sensitive combinations of land system and storm regime could decrease the total sediment inputs from landsliding by about 20%.     

In-stream wetlands and their significance for channel filling and the catchment sediment budget, Jugiong Creek, New South Wales

Evidence is presented here of recent and extensive infilling of the incised channel network of the Jugiong Creek catchment, SE Australia. The present channel network resulted from widespread stream and gully incision in the period between 1880 and 1920. Our survey shows that gully floors have been colonised extensively by emergent macrophyte vegetation since before 1944, forming continuous, dense, in-stream wetlands, which now cover 25% of the channel network in the 2175 km² catchment and have so far trapped almost 2,000,000 t of nutrient-enriched, fine sediments. This mass of sediments represents the equivalent of 4.7 years of annual sediment production across the catchment and in some tributaries, more than 20 years of annual yield is stored within in-stream wetlands.Previous work on the late Quaternary stratigraphy of the region has shown that there were repeated phases of channel incision in the past following which the channels quickly stabilised by natural means and then filled with fine-grained sediment to the point of channel extinction, creating unchannelled swampy valley floors. The current formation and spread of in-stream wetlands is interpreted to be the onset of the next infill phase but it is not known whether present conditions will allow complete channel filling and reformation of the pre-existing swampy valley floors. Nevertheless, further spread of in-stream wetlands is likely to increase the sediment trapping capacity and further reduce the discharge of sediments and nutrients into the Murrumbidgee River. The in-stream wetlands may provide a significant capacity to buffer erosion from gullied catchments of considerable size (up to 300 km²) as an adjunct to current riparian management options. They may also assist the recovery of sediment-impacted channels downstream.     

Prolonged impact of earthquake-induced landslides on sediment yield in a mountain watershed: The Tanzawa region, Japan

To determine for how long a landslide affects sediment discharge, the sediment yields of 15 check-dam basins were compared with the time series of landslide distributions in a mountain basin in the Tanzawa region, central Japan. The distribution of sediment yield was quantitatively estimated from deposition in the sediment pools of check dams. The relationship between the landslide history and sediment discharge in the Nakagawa River basin was examined for an approximately 80-year period. Two major landslide events occurred during this period: the 1923 Kanto Earthquake and the 1972 disaster caused by heavy rainfall. The resulting trend in sediment discharge of the whole basin, estimated using reservoir sedimentation in the Miho Dam at its base, was nearly constant, with high sediment discharge (2897 m³ km^− 2 yr^− 1) in the intervening quarter-century, despite the recovery of vegetation on landslide areas in this period. Comparisons of the landslide distributions resulting from the two disasters, the sediment yields of check-dam basins, and the sediment discharge of the whole basin indicate that recent sediment discharge contains landslide debris that was originated by the Kanto Earthquake that occurred over 80 years ago. Thus, to understand high sediment discharge, it is essential to investigate not only the current basin condition and recent events, but also the landslide history of the basin for at least the previous 100 years.     

Sediment budget analysis of slope–channel coupling and in-channel sediment storage in an upland catchment, southeastern Australia

Slope–channel coupling and in-channel sediment storage can be important factors that influence sediment delivery through catchments. Sediment budgets offer an appropriate means to assess the role of these factors by quantifying the various components in the catchment sediment transfer system. In this study a fine (< 63 µm) sediment budget was developed for a 1.64-km² gullied upland catchment in southeastern Australia. A process-based approach was adopted that involved detailed monitoring of hillslope and bank erosion, channel change, and suspended sediment output in conjunction with USLE-based hillslope erosion estimation and sediment source tracing using ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb_ex. The sediment budget developed from these datasets indicated channel banks accounted for an estimated 80% of total sediment inputs. Valley floor and in-channel sediment storage accounted for 53% of inputs, with the remaining 47% being discharged from the catchment outlet. Estimated hillslope sediment input to channels was low (5.7 t) for the study period compared to channel bank input (41.6 t). However an estimated 56% of eroded hillslope sediment reached channels, suggesting a greater level of coupling between the two subsystems than was apparent from comparison of sediment source inputs. Evidently the interpretation of variability in catchment sediment yield is largely dependent on the dynamics of sediment supply and storage in channels in response to patterns of rainfall and discharge. This was reflected in the sediment delivery ratios (SDR) for individual measurement intervals, which ranged from 1 to 153%. Bank sediment supply during low rainfall periods was reduced but ongoing from subaerial processes delivering sediment to channels, resulting in net accumulation on the channel bed with insufficient flow to transport this material to the catchment outlet. Following the higher flow period in spring of the first year of monitoring, the sediment supplied to channels during this interval was removed as well as an estimated 72% of the sediment accumulated on the channel bed since the start of the study period. Given the seasonal and drought-dependent variability in storage and delivery, the period of monitoring may have an important influence on the overall SDR. On the basis of these findings, this study highlights the potential importance of sediment dynamics in channels for determining contemporary sediment yields from small gullied upland catchments in southeastern Australia.     

基于无人机摄影测量的地形变化检测方法与小流域输沙模型研究

流域输沙过程是地貌学和地表动力学的重要研究内容,但传统的输沙过程监测方法仅能得到某个区域的总输沙率,无法推算其空间分布。论文以黄土高原绥德县窑家湾小流域为例,利用无人机摄影测量技术得到其2006年和2019年2期数字高程模型(DEM)并计算地形变化量;然后,根据质量守恒原理和多流向算法建立泥沙在空间上的输送模型,进而计算小流域输沙率的空间分布。实验结果表明,该模型能有效模拟泥沙在空间上的输送情况,输沙率出现质量不守恒的区域面积占比小于4%,且不守恒区域多为人类活动影响区。同时,论文讨论了DEM的选择和不同地形变化检测水平对模型结果的影响。当使用第一期DEM进行泥沙搬运路径推算时,质量不守恒区域的面积显著降低。使用误差空间分布图进行地形变化检测得到的输沙率结果鲁棒性更强。使用中误差进行地形检测得到的结果在不同置信度下变化较大。基于无人机地形变化检测的空间输沙模型能方便、快捷地提供详尽的输沙率空间分布,为地表过程研究带来了新的机遇。     

Environmental factors controlling spatial variation in sediment yield in a central Andean mountain area

A large spatial variability in sediment yield was observed from small streams in the Ecuadorian Andes. The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental factors controlling these variations in sediment yield in the Paute basin, Ecuador. Sediment yield data were calculated based on sediment volumes accumulated behind checkdams for 37 small catchments. Mean annual specific sediment yield (SSY) shows a large spatial variability and ranges between 26 and 15,100 Mg km^− 2 year^− 1. Mean vegetation cover (C, fraction) in the catchment, i.e. the plant cover at or near the surface, exerts a first order control on sediment yield. The fractional vegetation cover alone explains 57% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). The negative exponential relation (SSY = a × e^{−b C}) which was found between vegetation cover and sediment yield at the catchment scale (10³–10⁹ m²), is very similar to the equations derived from splash, interrill and rill erosion experiments at the plot scale (1–10³ m²). This affirms the general character of an exponential decrease of sediment yield with increasing vegetation cover at a wide range of spatial scales, provided the distribution of cover can be considered to be essentially random. Lithology also significantly affects the sediment yield, and explains an additional 23% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). Based on these two catchment parameters, a multiple regression model was built. This empirical regression model already explains more than 75% of the total variance in the mean annual sediment yield. These results highlight the large potential of revegetation programs for controlling sediment yield. They show that a slight increase in the overall fractional vegetation cover of degraded land is likely to have a large effect on sediment production and delivery. Moreover, they point to the importance of detailed surface vegetation data for predicting and modeling sediment production rates.     

Drainage, sediment transport, and denudation rates on the Nanga Parbat Himalaya, Pakistan

The Nanga Parbat Himalaya presents some of the greatest relief on Earth, yet sediment production and denudation rates have only been sporadically addressed. We utilized field measurements and computer models to estimate bank full discharge, sediment transport, and denudation rates for the Raikot and Buldar drainage basins (north slope of Nanga Parbat) and the upper reach of the Rupal drainage basin (south slope).The overall tasks of determining stream flow conditions in such a dynamic geomorphic setting is challenging. No gage data exist for these drainage basins, and the overall character of the drainage basins (high relief, steep flow gradients, and turbulent flow conditions) does not lend itself to either ready access or complete profiling.Cross-sectional profiles were surveyed through selected reaches of these drainage basins. These data were then incorporated into software (WinXSPRO) that aids in the characterization (stage, discharge, velocity, and shear stress) of high altitude, steep mountain stream conditions.Complete field measurements of channel depths were rarely possible (except at several bridges where the middle of the channel could actually be straddled and probed) and, when coupled with velocity measurements, provided discrete points of field-measured discharge calculations. These points were then used to calibrate WinXSPRO results for the same reach and provided a confidence level for computer-generated results.Flow calculations suggest that under near bank full conditions, the upper Raikot drainage basin produces discharges of 61 cm and moves about 11,000 tons day⁻¹ (9980 tons day⁻¹) of sediment through its channel. Bank full conditions on the upper portion of the Rupal drainage basin generate discharges of 84 cm and moves only about 3800 tons day⁻¹ (3450 tons day⁻¹) of sediment. Although the upper Rupal drainage basin moves more water, the lower slope of the drainage basin (0.03) generates a much smaller shear stress (461 Pa) than does the higher slope (0.12) of the upper Raikot drainage basin (1925 Pa).Dissolved and suspended sediment loads were measured from water/sediment samples collected throughout the day and night over a period of 10 days at the height of the summer melt season but proved to be a minor variable in transport flux. Channel bed loads were measured using a pebble count method of bank material and then used to generate ratings curves of bed loads relative to discharge volumes. When coupled with discharge data and basin area, mean annual sediment yield and denudation rates for Nanga Parbat are produced. Denudation rates calculated in this fashion range from 0.2 mm year⁻¹ in the slower, more sluggish Rupal drainage basin to almost 6 mm year⁻¹ in the steeper, faster flowing Raikot and Buldar drainage basins.     

Spatial distribution of sediment storage types and quantification of valley fill deposits in an alpine basin, Reintal, Bavarian Alps, Germany

Spatial patterns of sediment storage types and associated volumes using a novel approach for quantifying valley fill deposits are presented for a small alpine catchment (17 km²) in the Bavarian Alps. The different sediment storage types were analysed with respect to geomorphic coupling and sediment flux activity. The most landforms in the valley in terms of surface area were found to be talus slopes (sheets and cones) followed by rockfall deposits and alluvial fans and plains. More than two-thirds of the talus slopes are relict landforms, completely decoupled from the geomorphic system. Notable sediment transport is limited to avalanche tracks, debris flows, and along floodplains. Sediment volumes were calculated using a combination of polynomial functions of cross sections, seismic refraction, and GIS modelling. A total of, 66 seismic refraction profiles were carried out throughout the valley for a more precise determination of sediment thicknesses and to check the bedrock data generated from geomorphometric analysis. We calculated the overall sediment volume of the valley fill deposits to be 0.07 km³. This corresponds to a mean sediment thickness of 23.3 m. The seismic refraction data showed that large floodplains and sedimentation areas, which have been developed through damming effects from large rockfalls, are in general characterised by shallow sediment thicknesses (<20 m). By contrast, the thickness of several talus slopes is more than twice as much. For some locations (e.g., narrow sections of valley), the polynomial-generated cross sections resulted in overestimations of up to one order of magnitude; whereas in sections with a moderate valley shape, the modelled cross sections are in good accordance with the obtained seismic data. For the quantification of valley fill deposits, a combined application of bedrock data derived from polynomials and geophysical prospecting is highly recommended.     

Effects of large floods on sediment transport and reach morphology in the cobble-bed Sainte Marguerite River

Sediment transport rates were estimated for two flood events on the cobble-bed Sainte Marguerite River in the Saguenay region, Canada. Morphologic methods were used to derive one set of estimates, and a combination of the Meyer-Peter and Muller equation with a dimensionless sediment transport ratio (after Dietrich et al. [Nature 340 (1989) 215]) was used to derive another set of estimates. Both sets of estimates give consistent results for the first event (which had a decade-scale return period), and for the second event (which was the largest flood on record and had a century-scale return period). The transport occurring during the second event was an order of magnitude greater than that occurring during the first event: despite this disparity in the transport intensity of the two events, the channel morphology remained qualitatively similar. The observed degree of channel stability is attributed to a change of channel pattern and the initiation of bed degradation following channel rectification in the 1960s.     

Alluvial and colluvial sediment storage in the Geul River catchment (The Netherlands) — Combining field and modelling data to construct a Late Holocene sediment budget

We used a combined approach of a two-dimensional erosion and hillslope sediment delivery model (WATEM/SEDEM) and detailed geomorphological reconstructions to quantify the different components in a sediment budget for the Geul River catchment (southern Netherlands) since the High Middle Ages. Hillslope erosion and colluvium deposition were calculated using the model, while floodplain storage was estimated using field data. Our results show that more than 80% of the total sediment production in the catchment has been stored as colluvium (mostly generated by hillslope erosion), while almost 13% is stored in the floodplain since the High Middle Ages (this situation resembles a capacity-limited system). Model results for the period prior to the High Middle Ages (with a nearly completely forested catchment) show that far less sediment was generated and that most of the sediments were directly transported to the main river valleys or out of the catchment (a supply-limited system). Geomorphological analysis of a large alluvial fan shows the sensitivity of the study area to changes in the percentage of arable land.Our combined field data-modeling study presents an elegant method to calculate a catchment sediment budget for a longer period and is able to identify and quantify the most important sediment storage elements. Furthermore, it provides a valuable tool to calculate a sediment budget while only limited dated fluvial sediment sequences are available.