Enhanced hysteresis of suspended sediment transport in response to upstream damming: An example of the middle Yangtze River downstream of the Three Gorges Dam

The peak in sediment transport in alluvial rivers generally lags behind the peak in discharge. It is thus not clear how the hysteresis in the sediment/discharge relationship may be impacted by damming, which can fundamentally alter the water and sediment regimes in the downstream reaches of the river. In this study, a total of 500 flood events in the Yichang–Chenglingji Reach (YCR) of the Middle Yangtze River immediately downstream of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) are analysed to study the impacts of dam operations on the hysteresis of suspended sediment transport. Sediment rating curves, hysteresis patterns, as well as lag times, are investigated to determine the relationship between suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and flow discharge (Q) at different temporal scales, from inter-annual to individual flood events, for the pre- and post-TGD period from 1992 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2017, respectively. The results showed that the TGD operation decreased the frequency and magnitude of floods. The decrease in peak flow and increase in base flow weakened the flood contribution to the annual discharge by nearly 20%. However, the relative suspended sediment load contribution during flood events was much higher than the discharge contribution, and was little impacted by the dam. At seasonal and monthly scales, more than 80% of the suspended sediment was transported by ~65% of the water discharge in the summer and early autumn. The monthly SSC–Q relationship changed from a figure-eight to an anti-clockwise pattern after the construction of the TGD. For single flood events, the TGD operations significantly modified the downstream SSC–Q hysteresis patterns, increasing the frequency of anti-clockwise loops and the lag time between peak Q and peak SSC. These adjustments were mainly caused by differences in the propagation velocities of flood and sediment waves and the sediment ‘storage–mobilization–depletion’ process, whereas the influence of lateral diversions was small. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Empirical assessment of flood wave celerity–discharge relationships at local and reach scales

ABSTRACT

An accurate comprehension of celerity (flood wave speed) dynamics is a key step for understanding flood wave propagation in rivers. We present the results of empirically estimated celerity values in 12 Brazilian rivers, and analyse the behaviour of celerity–discharge relationships (CxQ). Celerity was estimated with a reach-scale (RS) method, based on the peak travel time between stations; and with a local-scale (LS) method, based on the derivative of discharge–cross-section area relationships surveyed at gauging stations. The results indicate that the magnitudes of celerity values obtained by the methods are reasonably comparable, and can rarely be considered constant, varying with river discharge. Three reaches presented differing CxQ relationships at local and reach scales, which suggests that in situ cross-sections at gauging stations should not be extrapolated as representative of the whole reach for flood routing studies, and that CxQ relationship assessments might provide relevant insights for hydrological modelling.     

Use of composite fingerprints to determine the provenance of the contemporary suspended sediment load transported by rivers

Sediment fingerprinting appears to offer a valuable alternative to direct monitoring for elucidating the provenance of suspended sediment and the relative importance of spatial zones or subcatchments comprising larger (>500 km²) drainage basins. Against this background, a quantitative composite fingerprinting technique, incorporating both statistically verified multicomponent signatures and a multivariate sediment-mixing model, has been employed to determine the spatial origin of contemporary suspended sediment transported from the upper and middle reaches of the River Exe (601 km²) and River Severn (4325 km²) basins, UK. Spatial origin is addressed in terms of the relative contribution from three distinct geological subareas constituting each study basin. The consistency of the composite fingerprinting approach is examined using the estimates for mean and seasonal variations in source area contributions and also a comparison between the results obtained for individual flood events and alternative lines of evidence provided by flood travel times and the spatial distribution of precipitation. It is argued that fingerprinting estimates for sediment provenance are consistent with existing information on suspended sediment yields from different subcatchments within the study basins, although in the Severn, the role of storage and remobilization in producing signature ‘averaging’ may complicate comparison of the fingerprinting data with typical floodwater routing times. Validation represents the greatest problem for the cost–benefit of fingerprinting and scope still exists for further refinement of the procedures involved. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamics of suspended sediment transport and yield in a large agricultural catchment,southwest France

The dynamics of suspended sediment transport were monitored continuously in a large agricultural catchment in southwest France from January 2007 to March 2009. The objective of this paper is to analyse the temporal variability in suspended sediment transport and yield in that catchment. Analyses were also undertaken to assess the relationships between precipitation, discharge and suspended sediment transport, and to interpret sediment delivery processes using suspended sediment‐discharge hysteresis patterns. During the study period, we analysed 17 flood events, with high resolution suspended sediment data derived from continuous turbidity and automatic sampling. The results revealed strong seasonal, annual and inter‐annual variability in suspended sediment transport. Sediment was strongly transported during spring, when frequent flood events of high magnitude and intensity occurred. Annual sediment transport in 2007 yielded 16 614 tonnes, representing 15 t km^?2 (85% of annual load transport during floods for 16% of annual duration), while the 2008 sediment yield was 77 960 tonnes, representing 70 t km^?2 (95% of annual load transport during floods for 20% of annual duration). Analysis of the relationships between precipitation, discharge and suspended sediment transport showed that there were significant correlations between total precipitation, peak discharge, total water yield, flood intensity and sediment variables during the flood events, but no relationship with antecedent conditions. Flood events were classified in relation to suspended sediment concentration (SSC)–discharge hysteretic loops, complemented with temporal dynamics of SSC–discharge ranges during rising and falling flow. The hysteretic shapes obtained for all flood events reflected the distribution of probable sediment sources throughout the catchment. Regarding the sediment transport during all flood events, clockwise hysteretic loops represented 68% from river deposited sediments and nearby source areas, anticlockwise 29% from distant source areas, and simultaneity of SSC and discharge 3%. Copyright © 2010 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.     

Determining suspended sediment loads from turbidity records / La détermination des charges en suspension des rapports sur la turbidité

Abstract

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the US Geological Survey are cooperating in several field studies to evaluate sediment control measures used during highway construction. Among the parameters being monitored are suspended sediment concentration and turbidity. Sediment loads are calculated from suspended sediment and water discharge data, but some sediment loads must be determined indirectly because it is virtually impossible to obtain sufficient suspended sediment samples to define all runoff conditions adequately. Sediment discharge-water discharge correlation curves have proved unreliable for streams affected by highway construction, so an alternative method using the turbidity record was developed during these studies.

The field data reveal a good correlation between daily mean discharge-weighted turbidity and daily mean discharge-weighted suspended sediment concentration. Turbidity is monitored and recorded continuously, and the daily mean discharge-weighted turbidity is calculated from the turbidity and water discharge data. During periods when there are insufficient suspended sediment data, the daily mean discharge-weighted suspended sediment concentration is determined from the turbidity-sediment correlation and used with the daily mean water discharge to calculate a daily sediment load.

This method of determining sediment loads from the turbidity record suggests a possiblity for computation of sediment loads by computer. Instrumentation now in use for recording water quality parameters on digital punch tape could be used to record the output from a turbidimeter. Then, for streams having a good correlation between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity, simultaneous water discharge and turbidity data could be used to determine sediment loads by computer.     

Interannual variation of suspended sediment load and sediment yield in an alpine catchment

Abstract

The results are described of 16 years operation of a measuring station for the automatic recording of water discharge, bed load and suspended sediment transport in the Rio Cordon catchment, a small alpine basin (5 km²) located in northeastern Italy. Hillslope erosion processes were investigated by surveying individual sediment sources repeatedly. Annual and seasonal variations of suspended sediment load during the period 1986–2001 are analysed along with their contribution to the total sediment yield. The results show that suspended load accounted for 76% of total load and that most of the suspended sediment transport occurred during two flood events: an extreme summer flash flood in September 1994 (27% of the 16-years total suspended load) and a snowmelt-induced event in May 2001 accompanied by a mud flow which fed the stream with sediments. The role of active sediment source areas is discussed in relation to the changes in flood peak—suspended load trends which became apparent after both the 1994 and the 2001 events.     

Complex behaviour of suspended sediment grain size downstream from a reservoir: an example from the Hanjiang River,China

Abstract

A study on the suspended sediment transportation downstream from the Danjiangkou Reservoir in China has shown that the dynamics of suspended sediment grain size are complicated. During the period when the reservoir was used for flood retention, the suspended sediment median size decreased gradually; after entering the period when the reservoir was used for water storage, the median size started to increase, reaching a maximum, and then decreased again. These variations correspond to different stages of channel adjustment. At the stage with dominant downcutting, most of the downstream reservoir sediment comes from bed downcutting, and thus the suspended sediment median size becomes coarser and coarser; at the succeeding stage with dominant channel widening, a majority of the suspended sediment comes from bank erosion, and so its median size becomes finer. This phenomenon can be regarded as a reflection of the complex response of channel adjustment in the characteristics of suspended sediment transportation downstream from a reservoir.     

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.     

Real-time flood forecasting by relating local stage and remote discharge

Abstract

The rating curve model (RCM) proposed by Moramarco and co-authors is modified here for flood forecasting purposes without using rainfall information. The RCM is a simple approach for discharge assessment at a river site of interest based on relating the local recorded stage and the remote discharge monitored at an upstream gauged river site located some distance away. The proposed RCM for real-time application (RCM-RT), involves only two parameters and can be used for river reaches where significant lateral flows occur. The forecast lead time depends on the mean wave travel time of the reach. The model is found to be accurate for a long reach of the Po River (northern Italy) and for two branches of the Tiber River (central Italy) characterized by different intermediate drainage areas and wave travel times. Moreover, the assessment of the forecast uncertainty coming from the model parameters is investigated by performing a Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, the model capability to accurately forecast the exceedence of fixed hydrometric thresholds is analysed.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor C. Perrin     

Sediment transport in a highly regulated fluvial system during two consecutive floods (lower Ebro River,NE Iberian Peninsula)

The transfer of sediment through a highly regulated large fluvial system (lower Ebro River) was analysed during two consecutive floods by means of sediment sampling. Suspended sediment and bedload transport were measured upstream and downstream of large reservoirs. The dams substantially altered flood timing, particularly the peaks, which were advanced downstream from the dams for flood control purposes. The suspended sediment yield upstream from the dams was 1 700 000 tonnes, which represented nearly 99 per cent of the total solid yield. The mean concentrations were close to 0·5 g l^?1. The sediment yield downstream from the dams was an order of magnitude lower (173 000 tonnes), showing a mean concentration of 0·05 g l^?1. The dams captured up to 95 per cent of the fine sediment carried in suspension in the river channel, preventing it from reaching the lowermost reaches of the river and the delta plain. Total bedload transport upstream from the dams was estimated to be about 25 000 tonnes, only 1·5 per cent of the total load. The median bedload rate was 100 gms^?1. Below the dams, the river carried 178 000 tonnes, around 51 per cent of the total load, at a mean rate of 250 g ms^?1. The results of sediment transport upstream and downstream from the large dams illustrate the magnitude of the sediment deficit in the lower Ebro River. The river mobilized a total of 350 000 tonnes in the downstream reaches, which were not replaced by sediment from upstream. Therefore, sediment was necessarily entrained from the riverbed and channel banks, causing a mean incision of 33 mm over the 27 km long study reach, altogether a significant step towards the long‐term degradation of the lower Ebro River. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hysteresis‐based flood‐wave analysis using the concept of strain

Hysteresis represents a loop in a rating curve and is a phenomenon which closely resembles that occurring in stress–strain curves used for studying the elastic properties of solid substances in engineering mechanics. Earlier hysteresis‐based studies used for defining floodwave propagation in open channels have qualitatively shown that hysteresis is an index of energy loss during floodwave propagation. Using the concept of elasticity, this paper introduces a new term called flow strain (defined as the ratio of change in discharge to the initial discharge) for investigating hysteresis. The usefulness of this new term is evaluated with use of four dam‐break studies. The study reveals that:

• 1 flow strain is a function of three wave speeds, Seddon speed, Lagrange speed, and elastic speed;
• 2 a single linear reservoir concept frequently used in flood routing is a specific variant of the Seddon speed formula;
• 3 the non‐linear storage–discharge relationship, widely used in overland flow modelling, is a variant of the kinematic wave representation;
• 4 the discharge ordinates on the recession part of a hydrograph follow a simple first‐order autoregressive form;
• 5 the hysteresis, phase difference and logarithmic decrement all define attenuation and are indices of energy loss during floodwave propagation.

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting suspended sediment concentrations in the Meuse river using a supply‐based rating curve

A rating curve provides a reasonable estimate of the suspended sediment concentration at a given discharge. However, analysis of a detailed 9‐year time‐series of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and discharge Q of the Meuse River in The Netherlands indicates that SSC is (besides discharge) controlled by exhaustion and replenishment of different sediment sources. Clockwise hysteresis and other effects of sediment exhaustion can be observed during and after flood events, and the effects of stockpiling of sediment in the river bed during low‐discharge periods are obvious in the SSC of the next flood. In a single regression equation we have implemented a parameter that represents the presence or absence of stock for sediment uptake. In comparison with a rating curve of SSC and Q, adding this parameter is shown to be a more reliable and comprehensive method to predict SSCs at all discharge regimes with all preceding discharge conditions, for single‐peaked and multi‐peaked runoff events as well as for low flow conditions. The method is probably applicable to other small‐ to medium‐scaled river basins. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration in the Saint John River using rating curves and a machine learning approach

ABSTRACT

Sedimentation in navigable waterways and harbours is of concern for many water and port managers. One potential source of variability in sedimentation is the annual sediment load of the river that empties in the harbour. The main objective of this study was to use some of the regularly monitored hydro-meteorological variables to compare estimates of hourly suspended sediment concentration in the Saint John River using a sediment rating curve and a model tree (M5?) with different combinations of predictors. Estimated suspended sediment concentrations were multiplied by measured flows to estimate suspended sediment loads. Best results were obtained using M5? with four predictors, returning an R² of 0.72 on calibration data and an R² of 0.46 on validation data. Total load was underestimated by 1.41% for the calibration period and overestimated by 2.38% for the validation period. Overall, the model tree approach is suggested for its relative ease of implementation and constant performance.

EDITOR M.C. Acreman; ASSOCIATE EDITOR B. Touaibia     

Trends in suspended sediment grain size in the upper Yangtze River and its tributaries,as influenced by human activities

Abstract

Based on data from five hydrometric stations, Pingshan station on the Jinshajiang River, Gaochang station on the Minjiang River, Wulong station on the Wujiang River, Wusheng station on the Jialingjiang River and Yichang station on the Yangtze River, a study has been made of the temporal variation in grain size of suspended sediment load in the upper Yangtze River. The results show that in the past 40 years, the grain size of the suspended sediment load in the main stem and major tributaries of the upper Yangtze River has had a decreasing trend, that can be explained by the effect of reservoir construction and implementation of soil conservation measures. The reservoirs in the upper Yangtze River Basin, all used for water storage for hydro-electric generation and/or irrigation, have trapped coarse sediment from the drainage area above the dam and, thus, the sediment released now is much finer than before the construction of the reservoirs. The downstream channels are all gravel-bedded or even in bedrock, with little fine sediment, and thus, the released flow can hardly get a supply of fine sediment through eroding the bed. Then, after the downstream adjustment, the grain size of suspended sediment is still fine. Large-scale soil conservation measures have significantly reduced sediment yield in some major sediment source areas. The relatively coarse sediment is trapped and, thus, the sediment delivered to the river becomes finer.     

Assessment of intermediate fine sediment storage in a braided river reach (southern French Prealps)

This paper presents a field investigation on river channel storage of fine sediments in an unglaciated braided river, the Bès River, located in a mountainous region in the southern French Prealps. Braided rivers transport a very large quantity of bedload and suspended sediment load because they are generally located in the vicinity of highly erosive hillslopes. Consequently, these rivers play an important role because they supply and control the sediment load of the entire downstream fluvial network. Field measurements and aerial photograph analyses were considered together to evaluate the variability of fine sediment quantity stored in a 2·5‐km‐long river reach. This study found very large quantities of fine sediment stored in this reach: 1100 t per unit depth (1 dm). Given that this reach accounts for 17% of the braided channel surface area of the river basin, the quantities of fine sediment stored in the river network were found to be approximately 80% of the mean annual suspended sediment yields (SSYs) (66 200 t year^?1), comparable to the SSYs at the flood event scale: from 1000 t to 12 000 t depending on the flood event magnitude. These results could explain the clockwise hysteretic relationships between suspended sediment concentrations and discharges for 80% of floods. This pattern is associated with the rapid availability of the fine sediments stored in the river channel. This study shows the need to focus on not only the mechanisms of fine sediment production from hillslope erosion but also the spatiotemporal dynamics of fine sediment transfer in braided rivers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DYNAMICS OF DIFFERENT PARTICLE SIZE OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT IN THE LIU RIVER CATCHMENTS,CHINA

1 INTRODUCTION The particle size of sediment eroded from basins can provide basic information about erosion processes (Meyer et al., 1980), which can be divided into sheet wash sediment processes on hill slopes and fluvial sediment processes in rivers. In…     

ANALYTICAL HAYAMI SOLUTION FOR THE DIFFUSIVE WAVE FLOOD ROUTING PROBLEM WITH LATERAL INFLOW

The diffusive wave equation is generally used in flood routing in rivers. The two parameters of the equation, celerity and diffusivity, are usually taken as functions of the discharge. If these two parameters can be assumed to be constant without lateral inflow, the diffusive wave equation may have an analytical solution: the Hayami model. A general analytical method, based on ‘Hayami’s hypothesis, is developed here which resolves the diffusive wave flood routing equation with lateral inflow or outflow uniformly distributed over a channel reach. Flood routing parameters are then identified using observed inflow and outflow and the Hayami model used to simulate outflow. Two examples are discussed. Firstly, the prediction of the hydrograph at a downstream section on the basis of a knowledge of the hydrograph at an upstream section and the lateral inflow. The second example concerns lateral inflow identification between an upstream and a downstream section on the basis of a knowledge of hydrographs at the upstream and downstream sections. The new general Hayami model was applied to flood routing simulation and for lateral inflow identification of the River Allier in France. The major advantages of the method relate to computer simulation, real-time forecasting and control applications in examples where numerical instabilities, in the solution of the partial differential equations must be avoided.     

Channel change,bankfull and effective discharges on a vertically accreting,meandering, gravel‐bed river

Along the lower reaches of the Waipaoa River, New Zealand, cross‐section survey data indicate there was a 23 per cent decrease in bankfull width and a 22 per cent reduction in channel cross‐section area between 1948 and 2000, as the channel responded to increased inputs of fine (suspended) sediment following deforestation of the headwaters in late C19 and early C20. We determined the bankfull discharge within a ～39 km long reach by routing known discharges through the one‐dimensional MIKE 11 flow model. The model runs suggest that the bankfull discharge varies between ～800 and ～2300 m³ s^?1 and that the average recurrence interval is 4 ± 2 years on the annual maximum series; by contrast, the effective flow (360 m³ s^?1) is equaled or exceeded three times a year. The variability in bankfull discharge arises because the banks tend to be lower in places where flood flows are constricted than in reaches where overbank flow is dispersed over a wide area, and because scour has counteracted aggradation in some locations. There is no downstream variation in Shields stress, or in relative shear stress, within the study reach. Bankfull shear stress is, on average, five times greater than the shear stress required to initiate motion. At the effective discharge it is more than twice the threshold value. The effective discharge probably has more relevance than the bankfull discharge to the overall picture of sediment movement in the lower reaches of the Waipaoa River but, because width is constrained by the stability and resistance of the bank material to erosion during high flows that also scour the bed, the overall channel geometry is likely determined by discharges at or near bankfull. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi-layer perceptrons with Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm for suspended sediment concentration prediction and estimation / Prévision et estimation de la concentration en matières en suspension avec des perceptrons multi-couches et l’algorithme d’apprentissage de Levenberg-Marquardt

Abstract

Abstract The prediction and estimation of suspended sediment concentration are investigated by using multi-layer perceptrons (MLP). The fastest MLP training algorithm, that is the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, is used for optimization of the network weights for data from two stations on the Tongue River in Montana, USA. The first part of the study deals with prediction and estimation of upstream and down-stream station sediment data, separately, and the second part focuses on the estimation of downstream suspended sediment data by using data from both stations. In each case, the MLP test results are compared to those of generalized regression neural networks (GRNN), radial basis function (RBF) and multi-linear regression (MLR) for the best-input combinations. Based on the comparisons, it was found that the MLP generally gives better suspended sediment concentration estimates than the other neural network techniques and the conventional statistical method (MLR). However, for the estimation of maximum sediment peak, the RBF was mostly found to be better than the MLP and the other techniques. The results also indicate that the RBF and GRNN may provide better performance than the MLP in the estimation of the total sediment load.