Recurrent shoaling and channel dredging, Middle and Upper Mississippi River, USA

A 34-year record of dredging in a 484-km reach of the Middle and Upper Mississippi River documents the spatial and temporal patterns of bed aggradation in an intensively engineered river. Between 1964 and 1997, 183  million m³ was removed from the study reach, with 112.6 km of the channel undergoing dredging of some kind, 12.1 km requiring ≥5 dredgings during this period, 2.6 km requiring ≥10 dredgings, and one site requiring 29 dredgings in 34 years. Forty-three sites were identified where dredging volume was exceptionally high and/or were frequently repeated. These sites occur in five settings: (1) where flow is divided through chutes or side channels; (2) at the mouths of largely unregulated tributary streams; (3) at thalweg crossings in meander bends; (4) in long, straight reaches of the channel; and (5) near problematic engineered structures, the principal one in the study area being the outlet of the Chain of Rocks Canal. In the pooled reach of the Upper Mississippi, impoundment has had a major influence on shoaling, with 80% of dredged volume required in the upstream halves of the pools. Although past engineering modifications have reduced sediment aggradation in the Mississippi channel, structural solutions to continuing shoaling can adversely impact the river's ecology, flood response, or hydrological function, and many structural solutions appear to be approaching their effective limits. The exception to this may be at highly localized shoaling locations, such as the Chain of Rocks Canal outlet, where flaws in the original design may still be remedied by structural means Targeted structural solutions may be effective at solving limited local shoaling problems, but we suggest that more sweeping new engineering modifications to reduce or eliminate dredging requirements are likely to be ineffective and/or outweighed by their adverse effects on the river system.     

Fish assemblages in forest drainage ditches: Degraded small streams or novel habitats?

Artificial drainage of forested wetlands to increase timber production has profoundly altered the hydrology of North-European landscapes during the 20th century. Nowadays, drainage ditches and small dredged streams can comprise most fluvial water bodies there, but the resulting ecological effects are poorly documented. In the current study, we explored, using fish as an indicator group, consequences of the transformation of natural stream networks to a mixture of natural and artificial watercourses. We asked whether the transformation results in impoverishment, enrichment or re-assembling of the communities both at watercourse and the landscape scales. We sampled fish in 98 sites in five well-forested regions in Estonia where ditches formed 83–92%, dredged streams 4–7%, and natural streams 3–10% of the total length of small watercourses. Based on a total of 6370 individual fish of 20 species, we found that, compared to natural streams, ditches had an impoverished fauna at both scales and both in terms of species richness and assemblage composition. Only natural streams hosted characteristic species (with Barbatula barbatula, Lampetra planeri and Lota lota emerging as significant indicators), while dredged streams had intermediate assemblages. The habitat factors explaining those drainage-related differences included a reduced flow velocity, loss of stream channel variability, less transparent water, and abundant aquatic vegetation. Hence, for stream-dwelling fish, drained forest landscapes represent degraded habitats rather than novel ecosystems, which contrasts with the transformation of terrestrial assemblages. Future studies should address whether that reflects the situation for whole aquatic assemblages, and how is the functioning of the hydrological systems affected. We suggest that the critical management issues for environmental mitigation of ditching effects on fish include basin scale spatial planning, protecting of the remaining natural streams, and rehabilitation of ditch channels in flat landscapes lacking beavers.     

Using a GIS to Examine Changes in the Bathymetry of Borrow Pits and in Lower Bay,New York Harbor,USA

Standard analyses with geographic information systems (GIS) and the publicly available GEODAS database were used to highlight bathymetric changes in the Lower Bay complex of New York Harbor. Dredging operations have deepened much of the Lower Bay complex. Approximately 6,580 hectares, or 20% of the bay bottom surveyed in 1934, was deeper in 1979/1982 than during 1934. Half of this deepening, 3,219 hectares or 10% of the bay bottom surveyed during 1934, was deeper by at least 2 m. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of three borrow pits in the central part of the Lower Bay complex were used to examine sedimentation over a 16-year period from 1979 to 1995. Results were consistent with studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s that show the pits function as sediment traps. Between 1979 and 1995, sediment accumulated at rates of 6 to 12 cm per year in many portions of the borrow pits.     

Using a GIS to Examine Changes in the Bathymetry of Borrow Pits and in Lower Bay, New York Harbor, USA

Standard analyses with geographic information systems (GIS) and the publicly available GEODAS database were used to highlight bathymetric changes in the Lower Bay complex of New York Harbor. Dredging operations have deepened much of the Lower Bay complex. Approximately 6,580 hectares, or 20% of the bay bottom surveyed in 1934, was deeper in 1979/1982 than during 1934. Half of this deepening, 3,219 hectares or 10% of the bay bottom surveyed during 1934, was deeper by at least 2 m. Surveys conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of three borrow pits in the central part of the Lower Bay complex were used to examine sedimentation over a 16-year period from 1979 to 1995. Results were consistent with studies conducted during the 1970s and 1980s that show the pits function as sediment traps. Between 1979 and 1995, sediment accumulated at rates of 6 to 12 cm per year in many portions of the borrow pits.     

环保疏浚底泥改良用于绿化种植土技术研究

为有效解决环保疏浚底泥资源化利用难题,以武汉某湖泊环保疏浚底泥为研究对象,现场取样测试分析了其主要理化性质,以脱硫石膏及有机肥作为改良物料,配制了3种底泥改良用于绿化种植土的改良剂。通过淋溶试验,分析了淋溶量对改良底泥理化性质的影响规律。淋溶试验结果表明,添加了合适的改良剂并经过淋溶的环保疏浚底泥,其理化指标得到了明显改善,有机质、有效磷、速效钾等营养元素含量显著提升,满足绿化种植土相关技术要求。通过盆栽试验,研究了不同改良剂对供试植物生长状况的影响。盆栽种植试验结果显示,供试植物在改良底泥中生长良好,其中有机质含量最高的改良物料改良效果最佳,验证了环保疏浚底泥改良用于绿化种植土的可行性。     

Monitoring the effects of disposal of fine sediments from maintenance dredging on suspended particulate matter concentration in the Belgian nearshore area (southern North Sea)

The impact of continuous disposal of fine-grained sediments from maintenance dredging works on the suspended particulate matter concentration in a shallow nearshore turbidity maximum was investigated during dredging experiment (port of Zeebrugge, southern North Sea). Before, during and after the experiment monitoring of SPM concentration using OBS and ADV altimetry was carried out at a location 5 km west of the disposal site. A statistical analysis, based on the concept of populations and sub-sampling, was applied to evaluate the effect. The data revealed that the SPM concentration near the bed was on average more than two times higher during the dredging experiment. The disposed material was mainly transported in the benthic layer and resulted in a long-term increase of SPM concentration and formation of fluid mud layers. The study shows that SPM concentration can be used as an indicator of environmental changes if representative time series are available.     

华能岳阳电厂泵房取水头部水下施工测量

文章通过该工程泵房取水头部水下施工过程,简述水下施工测量方法。     

唐岛湾清淤工程整体动床物理模型试验研究

针对唐岛湾内清淤工程,开展了唐岛湾整体动床物理模型试验。通过试验资料分析了在SW(西南)向极限波的作用下,波流动力调整以及湾内泥沙冲淤变化。试验表明,当水位高于平均高潮位时,方案一有效波高相对现状平均增大0.3m,方案二有效波高相对现状平均增大0.6m左右;工程区域内各测点的底流速变化基本上都具有周期性和非对称性,变化周期大约为10s,接近SW向入射波的波周期的2倍;方案二的动力环境与冲淤变化程度,好于方案一。试验研究成果可供类似工程应用时参考。     

FLUVIAL PROCESS OF THE DREDGING TEST REACH IN THE LOWER YELLOW RIVER

1THETESTREACHANDDREDGINGIN1997~1998TheYellowRiverhasextended38kmfartherintotheseaeversincethechangeoftherivercourseattheestuarytotheQingshuigouflowpathin1976.InMay1996therivercoursewaschangedtoabranchatthepointof950mabovetheCSQSandtheriverlengthwas16kmshorterthanbefore.Conditionsofincomingwaterandsedimentduringthefloodseasonof1996werefavorablesuchthat3].6milliontonsofsedimentwerescouredbelowLain.Amongthem,11.6milliontonswerescouredbetweenakinandXihekou(47.5km)and2040milliontonswe…     

Laboratory analyses of nutrient release processes from Haihe River sediment

Sediment samples were collected from the heavily contaminated Haihe River to conduct static nutrient release experiments with tap water,and to evaluate the effect of dredging depths,salinity and light ...