Stochastic and analytical approaches for sediment accumulation in river reservoirs

ABSTRACT

Sediment accumulation in a river reservoir is studied by stochastic time series models and analytical approach. The first-order moving average process is found the best for the suspended sediment discharge time series of the Juniata River at Newport, Pennsylvania, USA. Synthetic suspended sediment discharges are first generated with the chosen model after which analytical expressions are derived for the expected value and variance of sediment accumulation in the reservoir. The expected value and variance of the volume of sediment accumulation in the reservoir are calculated from a thousand synthetic time series each 38 years long and compared to the analytical approach. Stochastic and analytical approaches perfectly trace the observation in terms of the expected value and variability. Therefore, it is concluded that the expected value and variance of sediment accumulation in a reservoir could be estimated by analytical expressions without the cost of synthetic data generation mechanisms.     

三峡工程运用后坝下游河道泥沙输移变化规律

三峡工程蓄水后"清水"下泄,坝下游河段将会长期处于严重不饱和状态,水流含沙量沿程恢复将会引起坝下游长距离冲刷,本文根据三峡工程蓄水前、后的实测资料分析了坝下游河道泥沙输移变化规律,探索不同粒径组沙量沿程恢复对河床冲刷的影响,得到以下结论:在蓄水初期d≤0.031 mm沙量恢复主要受河床补给与江湖入汇共同的影响,随着水库下泄该粒径组沙量递减,使得各站该粒径组年均输沙量均远小于蓄水前的水平,沙量恢复仍主要受河床补给与江湖入汇的影响,这是造成坝下游河道发生长距离冲刷的主要原因之一;在蓄水初期0.031 mmd≤0.125 mm沙量恢复主要受河床补给的影响,但江湖入汇的影响较大,随着河床补给量逐渐减少,各站该粒径组年均输沙量均小于蓄水前的水平,沙量恢复仍主要受河床补给的影响,江湖入汇的影响逐渐减小,这也是坝下游河道发生长距离冲刷的主要原因之一; d0.125 mm沙量恢复主要受河床补给的影响,蓄水初期该粒径组沙量在宜昌监利河段沿程恢复速率较快,且在监利站达到蓄水前的水平,随着时间推移,在宜昌监利河段沿程恢复且速率仍较快,在监利站达到最大值,其数值逐渐小于蓄水前的水平,这是造成坝下游河道冲刷重点集中在宜昌监利河段的主要原因.     

波浪作用下湖泊底泥的输沙试验研究

湖泊底泥的运动过程产生内源污染,加剧湖泊生态环境的恶化.研究湖泊底泥在波浪作用下的输沙规律,可为研究湖泊的水质变化成因及生态环境治理提供参考依据.利用大型波浪水槽,在波浪作用条件下对太湖、龙感湖、巢湖的底泥进行了起动和输沙试验,对多组波浪水文条件下湖泊底泥的输沙试验结果进行分析,详细地阐述了太湖、龙感湖、巢湖底泥在波浪作用下的输沙变化规律.分析整理试验数据,得出输沙率变化公式,为3个湖泊的水质变化成因分析及生态环境治理提供参考依据.     

青藏高原东南缘高山湖泊藻类响应气候变化和大气沉降的长期特征

高山湖泊远离人类活动直接影响,通常具有面积小、寡营养、食物网单一等特点,对气候变化和营养输入具有较高的敏感性。我国青藏高原东南缘地区氮沉降通量较高、增温幅度显著,已有研究显示该地区可能受湖泊类型、流域特征等影响存在差异性的湖泊响应模式。本研究选择该区域位于树线以下、具有不同水深的3个小型湖泊(盖公错纳、沃迪错、碧沽天池)开展沉积物调查和对比研究,通过钻孔样品测年、理化特征和藻类(硅藻群落、藻类色素)等多指标分析,结合区域气候定量重建和氮沉降等数据收集,评价了过去300年来藻类演替模式的异同特征及湖泊水深的调节作用。结果显示,3个湖泊中硅藻的优势物种与群落组成差异明显。深水型湖泊盖公错纳(最大水深39.4 m)的硅藻群落以浮游种为主(占比达82%),优势种为眼斑小环藻(Pantocsekiolla ocellata)、科曼小环藻(Pantocsekiella comensis);深水型湖泊沃迪错(最大水深20.7 m)的硅藻群落中浮游种和底栖种约各占50%,优势种为眼斑小环藻(Pantocsekiella ocellata)、连结脆杆藻(Saurosira construens);浅水湖...     

云南阳宗海表层沉积物有机质组成结构对磷赋存形态特征的影响

利用连续提取分级的方法定量分析阳宗海表层沉积物磷赋存形态,阐明了沉积物C、N、H和O组成及溶解有机质(DOM)紫外-可见光谱特征,探讨沉积物元素组成及DOM组成结构对不同形态磷含量的影响.结果表明:(1)沉积物潜在可移动磷含量在68.67~124.70 mg/kg之间变化,平均占总磷含量的9.81%,表现为BD-PNa OH-nr PNH_4Cl-P;沉积物稳定磷含量在496.73~908.28 mg/kg之间变化,平均占总磷含量的60.86%.(2)沉积物C、N含量和疏水性DOM光谱参数A_(240-400)表现出北部高、南部低的变化趋势,但H/C、O/C和(N+O)/C摩尔比和亲水性DOM光谱参数A_(240-400)变化趋势则与之恰好相反.(3)沉积物NH4Cl-P含量与C、N和H含量之间呈显著正相关,但与H/C、O/C、(N+O)/C摩尔比和亲水性DOM光谱参数E_2/E_3值之间呈显著负相关;NaOH-rP和BD-P+NaOH-rP含量均与O含量及O/H摩尔比呈显著负相关;NaOH-rP、BD-P+NaOH-rP和HCl-P均与疏水性DOM光谱参数A_(240-400)值之间呈显著正相关.因此,天然有机质元素组成及官能团结构是影响沉积物磷赋存形态的重要因素.     

Artificial neural network simulation for prediction of suspended sediment concentration in the River Ramganga,Ganges Basin,India

The relation between the water discharge (Q) and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) of the River Ramganga at Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, in the Himalayas, has been modeled using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). The current study validates the practical capability and usefulness of this tool for simulating complex nonlinear, real world, river system processes in the Himalayan scenario. The modeling approach is based on the time series data collected from January to December (2008-2010) for Q and SSC. Three ANNs (T1-T3) with different network configurations have been developed and trained using the Levenberg Marquardt Back Propagation Algorithm in the Matlab routines. Networks were optimized using the enumeration technique, and, finally, the best network is used to predict the SSC values for the year 2011. The values thus obtained through the ANN model are compared with the observed values of SSC. The coefficient of determination (R2), for the optimal network was found to be 0.99. The study not only provides insight into ANN modeling in the Himalayan river scenario, but it also focuses on the importance of understanding a river basin and the factors that affect the SSC, before attempting to model it. Despite the temporal variations in the study area, it is possible to model and successfully predict the SSC values with very simplistic ANN models.     

Source and supply of sediment to a shoreline salient in a fringing reef environment

Reef-associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection can make reef-fronted coastlines sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any decline in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, increasing wave energy) could drive the sediment budgets of these systems into a net erosive state. Therefore, knowledge of both the sediment sources and transport mechanisms is required to predict the sensitivity of reef-associated landforms to future climate change. Here, we examine the benthic habitat composition, sediment characteristics (composition, texture, and age), and transport mechanisms and pathways to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and the reef system at Tantabiddi, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Benthic surveys and sediment composition analysis revealed that although live coral accounts for less than 5% of the benthic cover, coral is the dominant sediment constituent (34% on average). Sediment ages (²³⁸U/²³⁰Th) were mostly found to be thousands of years old, suggesting that the primary sediment source is relic reef material (e.g. Holocene reef framework). Sediment transport across the lagoon was quantified through measurements of ripple migration rates, which were found to be shoreward migrating and responsible for feeding the large shoreline salient in the lee of the reef. The derived sediment fluxes were comparable with previously measured rates of sediment production by bioerosion. These results suggest that sediment budgets of systems dependent on old (>10³ years) source materials may be more resilient to climate change as present-day reef health and community composition (i.e. sources of ‘new’ carbonate production) have limited influence on sediment supply. Therefore, the vulnerability of reef-associated landforms in these systems will be dictated by future changes to mechanisms of sediment generation (e.g. bioerosion) and/or physical processes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of submersed aquatic vegetation on the development of river mouth bars

This work is inspired by the sudden resurgence of the submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) bed in the Chesapeake Bay (USA). Because the SAV bed occurs at the mouth of the Bay's main tributary (Susquehanna River), it plays a significant role in modulating sediment and nutrient inputs from the Susquehanna to the Bay. Previous model studies on the impact of submersed aquatic vegetation on the development of river mouth bars lacked a complete mechanistic understanding. This study takes advantage of new advances in 3D computational models that include explicit physical-sedimentological feedbacks to obtain this understanding. Specifically, we used Delft3D, a state-of-the-art hydrodynamic model that provides fine-scale computations of three-dimensional flow velocity and bed shear stress, which can be linked to sediment deposition and erosion. Vegetation is modeled using a parameterization of hydraulic roughness that depends on vegetation height, stem density, diameter, and drag coefficient. We evaluate the hydrodynamics, bed shear stresses, and sediment dynamics for different vegetation scenarios under conditions of low and high river discharge. Model runs vary the vegetation height, density, river discharge, and suspended-sediment concentration. Numerical results from the idealized model show that dense SAV on river mouth bars substantially diverts river discharge into adjacent channels and promotes sediment deposition at ridge margins, as well as upstream bar migration. Increasing vegetation height and density forms sandier bars closer to the river mouth and alteration of the bar shape. Thus, this study highlights the important role of SAV in shaping estuarine geomorphology, which is especially relevant for coastal management. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluvial dynamics and 14C-10Be disequilibrium on the Bolivian Altiplano

Determining sediment transfer times is key to understanding source-to-sink dynamics and the transmission of environmental signals through the fluvial system. Previous work on the Bolivian Altiplano applied the in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be-chronometer to river sands and proposed sediment storage times of ~10–20 kyr in four catchments southeast of Lake Titicaca. However, the fidelity of those results hinges upon isotopic steady-state within sediment supplied from the source area. With the aim of independently quantifying sediment storage times and testing the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be steady-state assumption, we dated sediment storage units within one of the previously investigated catchments using radiocarbon dating, cosmogenic ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al isochron burial dating, and ¹⁰Be-²⁶Al depth-profile dating. Palaeosurfaces appear to preserve remnants of a former fluvial system, which has undergone drainage reversal, reduction in catchment area, and local isostatic uplift since ~2.8 Ma. From alluvium mantling the palaeosurfaces we gained a deposition age of ~580 ka, while lower down fluvial terraces yielded ≤34 ka, and floodplains ~3–1 ka. Owing to restricted channel connectivity with the terraces and palaeosurfaces, the main source of channel sediment is via reworking of the late Holocene floodplain. Yet modelling a set of feasible scenarios reveals that floodplain storage and burial depth are incompatible with the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be disequilibrium measured in the channel. Instead we propose that the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be offset results from: (i) non-uniform erosion whereby deep gullies supply hillslope-derived debris; and/or (ii) holocene landscape transience associated with climate or human impact. The reliability of the ¹⁴C-¹⁰Be chronometer vitally depends upon careful evaluation of sources of isotopic disequilibrium in a wide range of depositional and erosional landforms in the landscape. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.