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

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

Supply limited sediment transport in a high-discharge event of the tropical Burdekin River, North Queensland, Australia

Interactions between catchment variables and sediment transport processes in rivers are complex, and sediment transport behaviour during high‐flow events is not well documented. This paper presents an investigation into sediment transport processes in a short‐duration, high‐discharge event in the Burdekin River, a large sand‐ and gravel‐bed river in the monsoon‐ and cyclone‐influenced, semi‐arid tropics of north Queensland. The Burdekin's discharge is highly variable and strongly seasonal, with a recorded maximum of 40 400 m³ s^?1. Sediment was sampled systematically across an 800 m wide, 12 m deep and straight reach using Helley‐Smith bedload and US P‐61 suspended sediment samplers over 16 days of a 29‐day discharge event in February and March 2000 (peak 11 155 m³ s^?1). About 3·7 × 10⁶ tonnes of suspended sediment and 3 × 10⁵ tonnes of bedload are estimated to have been transported past the sample site during the flow event. The sediment load was predominantly supply limited. Wash load included clay, silt and very fine sand. The concentration of suspended bed material (including very coarse sand) varied with bedload transport rate, discharge and height above the bed. Bedload transport rate and changes in channel shape were greatest several days after peak discharge. Comparison between these data and sparse published data from other events on this river shows that the control on sediment load varies between supply limited and hydraulically limited transport, and that antecedent weather is an important control on suspended sediment concentration. Neither the empirical relationships widely used to estimate suspended sediment concentrations and bedload (e.g. Ackers & White, 1973) nor observations of sediment transport characteristics in ephemeral streams (e.g. Reid & Frostick, 1987) are directly applicable to this river.     

Discriminating between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load: a new porosity‐based method,exemplified for the river Rhine

Sediments contained in the river bed do not necessarily contribute to morphological change. The finest part of the sediment mixture often fills the pores between the larger grains and can be removed without causing a drop in bed level. The discrimination between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load, therefore, is of practical importance for morphological predictions. In this study, a new method is proposed to estimate the cut‐off grain size that forms the boundary between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load. The method evaluates the pore structure of the river bed geometrically. Only detailed grain‐size distributions of the river bed are required as input to the method. A preliminary validation shows that the calculated porosity and cut‐off size values agree well with experimental data. Application of the new cut‐off size method to the river Rhine demonstrates that the estimated cut‐off size decreases in a downstream direction from about 2 to 0·05 mm, covariant with the downstream fining of bed sediments. Grain size fractions that are pore‐filling load in the upstream part of the river thus gradually become bed‐structure load in the downstream part. The estimated (mass) percentage of pore‐filling load in the river bed ranges from 0% in areas with a unimodal river bed, to about 22% in reaches with a bimodal sand‐gravel bed. The estimated bed porosity varies between 0·15 and 0·35, which is considerably less than the often‐used standard value of 0·40. The predicted cut‐off size between pore‐filling load and bed‐structure load (D_c,p) is fundamentally different from the cut‐off size between wash‐load and bed‐material load (D_c,w), irrespective of the method used to determine D_c,p or D_c,w. D_c,w values are in the order of 10^?1 mm and mainly dependent on the flow characteristics, whereas D_c,p values are generally much larger (about 10⁰ mm in gravel‐bed rivers) and dependent on the bed composition. Knowledge of D_c,w is important for the prediction of the total sediment transport in a river (including suspended fines that do not interact with the bed), whereas knowledge of D_c,p helps to improve morphological predictions, especially if spatial variations in D_c,p are taken into account. An alternative to using a spatially variable value of D_c,p in morphological models is to use a spatially variable bed porosity, which can also be predicted with the new method. In addition to the morphological benefits, the new method also has sedimentological applications. The possibility to determine quickly whether a sediment mixture is clast‐supported or matrix‐supported may help to better understand downstream fining trends, sediment entrainment thresholds and variations in hydraulic conductivity.     

细颗粒对粗颗粒床沙质输沙率影响的初步研究

考虑高含沙紊流涡团中细颗粒絮凝形成网络结构对粗颗粒运动影响后,建立了粗颗粒悬移质泥沙的输沙率计算方法.该方法中包含的细颗粒影响项反映了流域因素对粗颗粒泥沙输沙的影响,证明细颗粒的影响是引起多沙河流中“多来多排”现象的一个重要因素.与黄河实测资料的对比表明,该计算方法能够反映高含沙紊流输沙时随流域细颗粒增多粗颗粒悬移质输沙率相对增大的现象,并具有较好的计算精度     

Steady-state vertical distribution of cohesive sediments in a flow

Settling velocity of diluted suspended aggregates is examined under steady-state conditions. It is shown that if the local settling velocity of the suspended mass of sediments at the bottom is gamma distributed, then, the vertical variation of the local mean settling velocity $\overline{W}$ is proportional to a power $1/r$ of the local concentration C, where r is the gamma distribution parameter. That is a consequence of the suspended-sediment sorting produced by the vertical dynamics. The parameter r characterizes the range of settling velocity values for all the aggregates simultaneously in suspension. To cite this article: M. Sánchez et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Sediment production and transport in a proglacial stream: Hilda Glacier, Alberta, Canada

Hilda Glacier, a small cirque glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, yields two principal types of sediment: ablation till, deficient in fine material and produced by rockfalls and avalanches falling on to the glacier surface, and basal lodgement till, rich in fines and formed mainly by subglacial erosion. Recent recession from its Neoglacial maximum has exposed large areas of basal till with thin veneers of ablation till which, when combined with present subglacial and supraglacial debris, provide abundant material for erosion and transport by the mcltwatcr stream. Sediment transport measurements over two summers (1977–1978) showed that bed load and suspended load occur in approximately equal proportions and that dissolved loads are minor. Local source variations, especially bank slumps, are a major cause of scatter in sediment rating curves. Suspended-sediment concentrations are greater early in the melt season due to availability of loose sediment produced by freezing and thawing. Other contributors to scatter in suspended-sediment rating curves include rain showers and diurnal hysteretic effects. Although the distinction between bed load and suspended load is never sharp, available data suggest that the sand/ gravel grain-size boundary (-1ø) approximates the suspendcd-load/bed-load division for characteristic Hilda flows transporting gravel. This approximation, combined with till grain-size analyses, suspended-sediment measurements, and spatial distributions of till types, leads to the following computations of fluvial sediment sources: for suspended load - 6% supraglacial, 47% subglacial, 47% channel banks; for bed load - 46% supraglacial, 27% each subglacial and channel banks. Supraglacial debris provides only about one-fourth of all fluvial sediment, but nearly half of the bed load.     

泥沙扬动临界条件研究

研究泥沙交换的临界条件对探讨河床变形机理以及河床演变的模拟计算都具有实际意义.通过考虑近底紊流对泥沙颗粒扬动的影响,导出了泥沙颗粒扬动的临界条件.利用所提出的以扬动概率表示的扬动标准对现有研究成果进行了分析比较.     

黄河下游河道悬移质泥沙与床沙交换计算研究

在前人研究成果的基础上,根据挟沙水流任一粒径组泥沙在输移过程中质量守恒原理,建立了一维非恒定挟沙水流悬移质泥沙和床沙交换基本方程;通过引入平衡冲淤物粒径的概念,建立了河床处于淤积与冲刷时冲淤物粒径的计算公式,并提出了一套完整的一维非恒定挟沙水流悬移质泥沙和床沙交换计算方法。将该成果引入黄河下游一维扩展泥沙数学模型中,采用黄河下游1977年高含沙洪水与1999年汛后至2002年汛前冲刷系列进行了验证。结果表明,该方法能较好地模拟悬沙与床沙的交换过程,克服分组挟沙力方法的缺陷,使得非均匀沙计算理论上更加完善,应用上更加方便。     

Neotectonics and seismic hazard assessment in Hengchun Peninsula,southern Taiwan

Neotectonic data may indicate whether stored elastic energy will be dissipated or released destructively. The Hengchun Peninsula of Taiwan is the southern extremity of the Central Range of Taiwan and thus an emergent part of the accretionary wedge resulting from subduction of Eurasia beneath the Philippine Sea plate at the Manila Trench. Radiocarbon dating of fossil shorelines on the peninsula shows that it has been uplifted at an average rate of 3.8 mm/yr during the Holocene. About $1/3$ of the uplift is due to deformation along the Hengchun reverse fault but, in contrast with the Chelungpu and other low angle reverse faults west of the Central Range, it accommodates strain principally by aseismic creep. To cite this article: C. Vita-Finzi, J.-C. Lin, C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Définition de la perméabilité équivalente des massifs fracturés par des méthodes d'homogénéisationDefinition of the permeability of fractured rock masses by homogenisation methods

In the methods used for determination of the hydraulic behaviour at large scale of fractured rock masses, based on the simulation of flow in a fracture network, the mean flux and the mean pressure gradient in the network are not rigorously determined. A method is given for deriving these quantities, in a heterogeneous permeable block, from pressure and flux values on the boundary of the block. A block conductivity tensor is then defined, based on the condition of linear variation of the pressure on the boundary of the block. It is shown that this conductivity tensor is symmetric and positive-definite. An example of application to a model of fractured medium is given. To cite this article: A. Pouya, A. Courtois, C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 975–979.     

Uncertainty analysis in bed load transport prediction of gravel bed rivers by ANN and ANFIS

River flow is a complex dynamic system of hydraulic and sediment transport. Bed load transport have a dynamic nature in gravel bed rivers and because of the complexity of the phenomenon include uncertainties in predictions. In the present paper, two methods based on the Artificial neural networks (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) are developed by using 360 data points. Totally, 21 different combination of input parameters are used for predicting bed load transport in gravel bed rivers. In order to acquire reliable data subsets of training and testing, subset selection of maximum dissimilarity (SSMD) method, rather than classical trial and error method, is used in finding randomly manipulation of these subsets. Furthermore, uncertainty analysis of ANN and ANFIS models are determined using Monte Carlo simulation. Two uncertainty indices of d factor and 95% prediction uncertainty and uncertainty bounds in comparison with observed values show that these models have relatively large uncertainties in bed load predictions and using of them in practical problems requires considerable effort on training and developing processes. Results indicated that ANFIS and ANN are suitable models for predicting bed load transport; but there are many uncertainties in determination of bed load transport by ANFIS and ANN, especially for high sediment loads. Based on the predictions and confidence intervals, the superiority of ANFIS to those of ANN is proved.     

Effets de la vitesse d'écoulement sur le transport et la cinétique de dépôt de particules en suspension en milieu poreux saturé

We study in this paper the transport and deposition of suspended particles in saturated porous media. Some chromatographic short-pulse tests were performed in a laboratory column with a tracer and two types of suspended particles. A mathematical model was used to determine the hydrodispersive parameters and deposition rates from the breakthrough curves. The results show that the fitted parameters obtained vary with the flow rate and the characteristics of the suspended particles. We also observe, at high flow rates, that particles have a migration velocity higher than that of the conservative tracer. To cite this article: A. Benamar et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Evaluating the support vector machine for suspended sediment load forecasting based on gamma test

Due to the various influencing factors on river suspended sediment transportation, determining an appropriate input combination for developing the suspended sediment load forecasting model is very important for water resources management. The influence of pre-processing of input variables by Gamma Test (GT) was investigated on performance of Support Vector Machine (SVM) with two kernels; Radial Basis Function (RBF) and polynomial in order to forecast daily suspended sediment amount in the period between 1983 and 2014 at Korkorsar basin, northern Iran. The best input combination was identified using GT and correlation coefficient analysis. Then, the SVM model was developed and the suspended sediment amount was forecasted with RBF and polynomial kernels. The obtained results in testing phase showed that GT-SVM (RBF kernel) model can estimate suspended sediment more accurately with the lowest RMSE (14.045 ton/day), highest correlation coefficient (0.88) and highest NSEC coefficient (0.88) than SVM (RBF kernel) model (RMSE?=?18.36ton/day, \( {R}^2=0.79, \) \( NSEC=0.73 \)) and had a better performance than the other models. The results indicated that in forecasting the first nine maximum values of suspended sediment load, GT-SVM (RBF) had a higher capability than the other models and could provide a more accurate estimation from the maximum rate of suspended sediment. The results of this study showed the capability of identifying the priority of the input parameters can change GT to a useful and technical test for input variables pre-processing to forecast the amount of suspended sediments.     

Large earthquake-triggered landslides and mountain belt erosion: The Tsaoling case,Taiwan

The 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake triggered the catastrophic Tsaoling landslide in central Taiwan. We mapped the landslide area and estimated the landslide volume, using high-resolution digital elevation model from airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), satellite images, aerial photographs and topographic maps. The comparison between cut and fill volumes, about 0.126 and 0.150 km³, respectively, suggests a volume increase of 19% due to decompaction during landsliding. In April 2002, the cut and fill volumes were about 0.137 and 0.116 km³, respectively. These estimates suggest that 2.5 years after the event, the volume of landslide debris removed by river erosion was nearly 0.045 km³. Such a large value highlights the importance of landslide processes for erosion and long-term denudation in the Taiwan mountain belt. To cite this article: R.-F. Chen et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

Premiers résultats d'une étude géophysique sur le flanc nord des glissements de Storegga (Norvège)

The Storegga slides, off Norway, are among the largest submarine slides ever known on a continental slope. The HYDRATECH cruise on N/O Le Suroît aimed at a high-resolution survey of an area at the northern boundary of the slides. This survey images in great detail the bottom simulating reflector (BSR) extent and properties, the various fluid escape structures and the sediment deformations. The combination and the quality of the data help to understand the still poorly constrained relationships between fluid escapes, gas hydrates and slope stability in the survey area. To cite this article: H. Nouzé et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Modeling the influence of settling velocity on cohesive sediment transport in Tanshui River estuary

Settling velocities of suspended cohesive sediment in estuaries vary over a range of several orders in magnitude. Variations in the suspended sediment concentration are often considered as the principal cause. Turbulence and the suspended sediment concentration, as well as other factors such as salinity, dissolved organic substances, flocculation ability, and the rate of floc growth affect setting velocities. A laterally–averaged finite difference model for hydrodynamics and cohesive sediment transport is developed and applied in the Tanshui River estuary, Taiwan. The model has been calibrated and verified with water surface elevation, longitudinal velocity, salinity, and cohesive sediment measured. The overall performance of the model is in qualitative agreement with the available data. The model is used to investigate the influence of settling velocity on cohesive sediment transport dynamics. The simulation indicates that the turbidity maximum zone is near Kuan–Du. When settling velocities increase the surface cohesive sediment concentration at Kuan–Du station trends to decrease and bottom cohesive sediment concentration increases. Both surface and bottom cohesive sediment concentrations decrease at Taipei Bridge and Pa–Ling Bridge. This implies that suspended sediment advected seaward and deposited. There is consequently a net seaward flux of suspended sediment near surface, and a net landward flux near the bed.     

Enrichissement en uranium authigène dans les sédiments glaciaires de l'océan AustralEnrichments in authigenic uranium in glacial sediments of the Southern Ocean

Four sediment cores from the Polar frontal zone and the Antarctic zone in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean present an increase of authigenic uranium during glacial periods. We show that this increase in uranium is due to a combination of (i) an increase in the lateral transport of organic matter, (ii) a decrease in the oxygen in deep waters, and (iii) a process of diagenesis. It appears that uranium concentration cannot be used as a proxy of palaeoproductivity in the Southern Ocean, as previously suggested by Kumar et al. in 1995. To cite this article: L. Dezileau et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 1039–1046.     

河床粗化过程中推移质输移特征试验研究

为了研究河床粗化破坏与形成过程中推移质的输移特征,基于一套新型的接沙系统,在上游无来沙条件下,进行了3组不同床沙级配的水槽试验,研究了递增梯级流量作用下河床粗化破坏与形成的过程,采集到一套高精度（0.1 g）、高频率（1 Hz）的实时推移质输沙率及分时段输沙级配数据,分析了累积输沙量、输沙率及输沙级配的变化特征。结果表明,粗化过程中累积输沙量随时间基本呈幂函数规律增长,且"粗化破坏再形成"的累积输沙量曲线出现明显转折点;推移质输沙率表现出明显的非恒定性,其粗化形成阶段的耗时要远大于粗化破坏阶段的时间,两者之比范围为3.5~20.5;推移质输沙级配中粗颗粒比例随时间变化趋势与输沙率相似,在输沙率达到峰值附近时,输沙级配与原始床沙级配相同。     

The isotopic composition of particulate organic carbon in mountain rivers of Taiwan

Small rivers draining mountain islands are important in the transfer of terrestrial particulate organic carbon (POC) to the oceans. This input has implications for the geochemical stratigraphic record. We have investigated the stable isotopic composition of POC (δ¹³C_org) in rivers draining the mountains of Taiwan. In 15 rivers, the suspended load has a mean δ¹³C_org that ranges from −28.1±0.8‰ to −22.0±0.2‰ (on average 37 samples per river) over the interval of our study. To investigate this variability we have supplemented suspended load data with measurements of POC in bedrock and river bed materials, and constraints on the composition of the terrestrial biomass. Fossil POC in bedrock has a range in δ¹³C_org from −25.4±1.5‰ to −19.7±2.3‰ between the major geological formations. Using coupled δ¹³C_org and N/C we have found evidence in the suspended load for mixing of fossil POC with non-fossil POC from the biosphere. In two rivers outside the Taiwan Central Range anthropogenic land use appears to influence δ¹³C_org, resulting in more variable and lower values than elsewhere. In all other catchments, we have found that 5‰ variability in δ¹³C_org is not controlled by the variable composition of the biomass, but instead by heterogeneous fossil POC.In order to quantify the fraction of suspended load POC derived from non-fossil sources (F_nf) as well as the isotopic composition of fossil POC (δ¹³C_fossil) carried by rivers, we adapt an end-member mixing model. River suspended sediments and bed sediments indicate that mixing of fossil POC results in a negative trend between N/C and δ¹³C_org that is distinct from the addition of non-fossil POC, collapsing multiple fossil POC end-members onto a single mixing trend. As an independent test of the model, F_nf reproduces the fraction modern (F_mod) in our samples, determined from ¹⁴C measurements, to within 0.09 at the 95% confidence level. Over the sampling period, the mean F_nf of suspended load POC was low (0.29 ± 0.02, n = 459), in agreement with observations from other mountain rivers where physical erosion rates are high and fossil POC enters river channels. The mean δ¹³C_fossil in suspended POC varied between −25.2±0.5‰ and −20.2±0.6‰ from catchment to catchment. This variability is primarily controlled by the distribution of the major geological formations. It also covers entirely the range of δ¹³C_org found in marine sediments which is commonly thought to derive from mixing between marine and terrigenous POC. If land-sourced POC is preserved in marine sediments, then changes in the bulk δ¹³C_org observed offshore Taiwan could instead be explained by changes in the onshore provenance of sediment. The range in δ¹³C_org of fossil organic matter in sedimentary rocks exposed at the surface is large and given the importance of these rocks as a source of clastic sediment to the oceans, care should be taken in accounting for fossil POC in marine deposits supplied by active mountain belts.     

Caractérisation des variations lithologiques saisonnières des sédiments de la baie de Seine orientale ; impact des crues de la Seine (France)Characterisation of seasonal lithological variations of the superficial sediment in the eastern part of the Bay of Seine: impact of floods Seine River (France)

This paper presents the first results obtained during cruises since 1995 in the southeastern part of the Bay of Seine. New sedimentological data concerning sediment samples, box cores and water column measurements have been obtained recently in the framework of the Research Programme PNEC (French National Coastal Environment Programme). Fine sediments are deposited on form of temporary veneers of fluid-to-soft mud formed during high floods episodes. In the subtidal area (<10 m water depth), mobility of fine sediments is important and temporary mud deposited during high discharge period composes part of the distal estuarine system of the Seine River. To cite this article: S. Garnaud et al., C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 323–330.