Assessment of erosion and settling properties of fine sediments stored in cobble bed rivers: the Arc and Isère alpine rivers before and after reservoir flushing

Cohesive sediment dynamics in mountainous rivers is poorly understood even though these rivers are the main providers of fine particles to the oceans. Complex interactions exist between the coarse matrix of cobble bed rivers and fine sediments. Given that fine sediment load in such environments can be very high due to intense natural rainfall or snowmelt events and to man‐induced reservoir or dam flushing, a better understanding of the deposition and sedimentation processes is needed in order to reduce ecohydrological downstream impacts. We tested a field‐based approach on the Arc and Isère alpine rivers combining measurements of erosion and settling properties of river bed deposits before and after a dam flushing, with the U‐GEMS (Gust Erosion Microcosm System) and SCAF (System Characterizing Aggregates and Flocs), respectively. These measurements highlight that critical shears, rates of erosion, settling velocities and propensity of particles to flocculate are highly variable in time and space. This is reflective of the heterogeneity of the hydrodynamic conditions during particle settling, local bed roughness, and nature and size of particles. Generally the deposits were found to be stable relative to what is measured in lowland rivers. It was, however, not possible to make a conclusive assessment of the extent to which the dynamics of deposits after reservoir flushing were different from those settled after natural events. The absence of any relationships between erosion and deposition variables, making it impossible to predict one from another, underlined the need to measure all of them to have a full assessment of the fine sediment dynamics and to obtain representative input variables for numerical models. While the SCAF was found to be effective, an alternative to the U‐GEMS device will have to be found for the erodibility assessment in cobble bed rivers, in order to make more rapid measurements at higher shears. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bankfull Discharge Recurrence Interval in Gravel-bed Rivers

Bankfull discharge was identified in some 30 gravel-bed rivers representing in total c. 40 gauging stations. The catchment sizes cary from 4km² to nearly 2700km². Bankfull discharge value increases with basin size. In the case of gravel-bed rivers developed on an impermeable substratum, the following equation emerges: Q_b=0·087 A^1·044. Bankfull discharge recurrence interval was determined by fitting maximum annual floods (T_a) into Gumbel's distribution and then using the partial duration series (T_p) in this same distribution. Recurrence interval is below 0·7 years (T_p) for small pebble-bed rivers developed on an impermeable substratum; it reaches 1·1 to 1·5 years when the catchment size of these rivers exceeds 250km². Rivers incised in the soft schists of the Famenne show larger channel capacity at bankfull stage, a small width/depth ratio and thus higher recurrence intervals (1·4–5·3 years with T_a and 1–4·4 years with T_p). Baseflow-dominated gravel-bed streams and sandy or silty rivers experience less frequent bankfull discharges, with a recurrence interval higher than 2 or even 3 years (T_p). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

浅析广安华蓥山区山水林田湖综合治理措施——以高顶山矿区为例

高顶山矿区位于广安华蓥市城区东南约5km处。长期的采矿活动,导致区内矿山地质环境问题突出,严重影响华蓥山地区人民的生命财产安全。矿山地质环境问题亟待解决。本文通过分析区内主要存在的矿山地质环境问题,提出通过矿山地质灾害、矿山土地恢复、矿山地形地貌景观恢复治理,河道综合整治、道路修复、生态保育、产业提升等措施;消除安全隐患,保障区内人民生命财产安全;改善生态环境,实现华蓥山地区生态环境全面恢复,生态环境质量提升,提高环境承载力,实现区内"山青、水秀、林美、田良"的目标。并对区内的产业转型升级进行了探讨,提出将高顶山矿区建设成具有科普和教育价值的旅游景观目的地;利用矿区独具特色工业人文景观和别致的自然景观,将高顶山矿区建设成集"科普、休闲、康养、户外、探秘"五大功能于一体的矿山公园,推动矿业经济转型升级,促进产业结构转型和经济社会可持续发展。     

Sediment flux-driven channel geometry adjustment of bedrock and mixed gravel–bedrock rivers

Sediment supply (Q_s) is often overlooked in modelling studies of landscape evolution, despite sediment playing a key role in the physical processes that drive erosion and sedimentation in river channels. Here, we show the direct impact of the supply of coarse-grained, hard sediment on the geometry of bedrock channels from the Rangitikei River, New Zealand. Channels receiving a coarse bedload sediment supply are systematically (up to an order of magnitude) wider than channels with no bedload sediment input for a given discharge. We also present physical model experiments of a bedrock river channel with a fixed water discharge (1.5 l min⁻¹) under different Q_s (between 0 and 20 g l⁻¹) that allow the quantification of the role of sediment in setting the width and slope of channels and the distribution of shear stress within channels. The addition of bedload sediment increases the width, slope and width-to-depth ratio of the channels, and increasing sediment loads promote emerging complexity in channel morphology and shear stress distributions. Channels with low Q_s are characterized by simple in-channel morphologies with a uniform distribution of shear stress within the channel while channels with high Q_s are characterized by dynamic channels with multiple active threads and a non-uniform distribution of shear stress. We compare bedrock channel geometries from the Rangitikei and the experiments to alluvial channels and demonstrate that the behaviour is similar, with a transition from single-thread and uniform channels to multiple threads occurring when bedload sediment is present. In the experimental bedrock channels, this threshold Q_s is when the input sediment supply exceeds the transport capacity of the channel. Caution is required when using the channel geometry to reconstruct past environmental conditions or to invert for tectonic uplift rates, because multiple configurations of channel geometry can exist for a given discharge, solely due to input Q_s. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Evaluation of aquatic ecological systems through dynamics of ichthyofaunal diversity in a Himalayan torrential river,Murti

The biodiversity hotspot region of the Eastern Himalayas consists of a vast freshwater network enriched with species diversity. Many small-scale torrential rivers and water reaches contribute to the species pool of all the major rivers by converging downstream. These reaches are most likely to be degraded at a faster rate as compared to the large-scale rivers following an increased rate of urbanization, habitat alterations, and changing climatic conditions. Therefore, this study aims to explore River Murti, which is a representative small scale river system characterized by a large altitudinal gradient and a diverse watershed area. Ichthyofaunal diversity (i.e., diversity, evenness & richness) and 21 environmental variables are measured through a tri-seasonal sampling effort conducted along 14 selected locations. A total of 41 fish species (including species belonging to 4 Near Threatened, 8 Vulnerable, and 1 Endangered) are found inhabiting this river. Ichthyofaunal assemblage is found to be primarily modulated by habitat diversity and landscape variables. Three Aquatic Ecological Systems (AES) have been identified along this river in a top-down approach based on recorded environmental variables. We have calculated an observed/expected ratio for each diversity indices along 14 locations based on predicted temporal variability using boosted regression (BRT) models. The evaluation of diversity status has been kept at 0.5 to account for a 50% loss or deviation from observed (O/E50). This evaluation has been successfully used to delineate AES1 with majorly “Impaired” status and thus ensures its importance in terms of species conservation. Our study indicates the contribution of 11 major environmental drivers modulating the species assemblage patterns in these AES. Amongst them, altitude, substrate coarseness, river morphology, and shelter availability are strongly associated with species diversity as per the BRT models. These underlying factors are also correlated with “basin pressure,” suggesting that anthropogenic disturbances, as well as the changing climate, might play an important role in the gradual change in environmental conditions, which in turn could cause a shift in species assemblage structure.     

Low‐temperature thermochronological database of bedrock in the Japanese Islands

To provide better access to thermochronological data and understand the long‐term denudation history of the Japanese Islands, we compiled a low‐temperature thermochronological dataset of fission‐track (FT) and (U–Th–Sm)/He (He) ages for apatite and zircon in bedrocks. These thermochronometric ages are compiled from 90 literature sources and 1,096 localities, and include 418 apatite FT ages, 851 zircon FT ages, 42 apatite He ages, and 30 zircon He ages. Many FT ages have been reported previously; however, the number of He ages is limited in the Japanese Islands. The compiled data are spatially biased; for instance, more data are reported for the Chubu and Kinki districts and the Pacific coast of the Shikoku Island, whereas less data were available for the Tohoku and Chugoku districts. For better understanding arc‐scale uplift‐denudation history, further thermochronological research in the lesser‐studied regions and more He thermochronometric measurements are desired. This compilation will be updated and provided on the website of the Fission‐Track Research Group in Japan ( http://ftrgj.org/index.html ).     

Revisiting the morphological method in two-dimensions to quantify bed-material transport in braided rivers

Research in the 1990s showed that bed-material transport rates could be estimated at the reach scale in both one-dimension and, over small spatial scales (10s of m), in two-dimensions. The limit on the latter was the spatial scale over which it was possible to obtain distributed data on morphological change. Here, we revisit the morphological method given progress in both topographical data acquisition and hydraulic modelling. The bed-material transport needed to conserve mass is calculated in both one and two dimensions for a 1600 m × 300 m Alpine braided river “laboratory”. High-resolution topographical data were acquired by laser scanning to quantify Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), and morphological changes caused by the flushing of the water intake were derived from repeated surveys. Based on DEMs of differences, 1D bed-material transport rates were calculated using the morphological method. Then, a 2D hydraulic model was combined with a topographic correction to route sediment through the network of braided channels and to obtain a spatially variable estimate of transport in both downstream and cross-stream directions. Monte Carlo simulation was applied to the routing model parameters, allowing identification of the most probable parameter values needed to minimize negative transport. The results show that within-section spatial compensation of erosion and deposition using the 1D treatment leads to substantial local errors in transport rate estimates, to a degree related to braiding intensity. Even though the 2D application showed that a large proportion of the total transport was actually concentrated into one main channel during the studied low flow event, the proportion of transport in secondary anabranches is substantial when the river starts braiding. Investigations of the effects of DEM resolution, competent flow duration and survey frequency related to ‘travelling bedload’ and sequential erosion-deposition emphasized the critical importance of careful data collection in the application of the morphological method. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flow resistance and hydraulic geometry in bedrock rivers with multiple roughness length scales

Many models of incision by bedrock rivers predict water depth and shear stress from discharge; conversely, palaeoflood discharge is sometimes reconstructed from flow depth markers in rock gorges. In both cases, assumptions are made about flow resistance. The depth–discharge relation in a bedrock river must depend on at least two roughness length scales (exposed rock and sediment cover) and possibly a third (sidewalls). A conceptually attractive way to model the depth–discharge relation in such situations is to partition the total shear stress and friction factor, but it is not obvious how to quantify the friction factor for rough walls in a way that can be used in incision process models. We show that a single flow resistance calculation using a spatially averaged roughness length scale closely approximates the partitioning of stress between sediment and rock, and between bed and walls, in idealized scenarios. Both approaches give closer fits to the measured depth–discharge relations in two small bedrock reaches than can be achieved using a fixed value of Manning's n or the Chézy friction factor. Sidewalls that are substantially rougher or smoother than the bed have a significant effect on the partitioning of shear stress between bed and sidewalls. More research is needed on how best to estimate roughness length scales from observable or measurable channel characteristics. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on the lateral channel-migration rate of braided channel systems in coarse non-cohesive sediment

Lateral movements of alluvial river channels control the extent and reworking rates of alluvial fans, floodplains, deltas, and alluvial sections of bedrock rivers. These lateral movements can occur by gradual channel migration or by sudden changes in channel position (avulsions). Whereas models exist for rates of river avulsion, we lack a detailed understanding of the rates of lateral channel migration on the scale of a channel belt. In a two-step process, we develop here an expression for the lateral migration rate of braided channel systems in coarse, non-cohesive sediment. On the basis of photographic and topographic data from laboratory experiments of braided channels performed under constant external boundary conditions, we first explore the impact of autogenic variations of the channel-system geometry (i.e. channel-bank heights, water depths, channel-system width, and channel slope) on channel-migration rates. In agreement with theoretical expectations, we find that, under such constant boundary conditions, the laterally reworked volume of sediment is constant and lateral channel-migration rates scale inversely with the channel-bank height. Furthermore, when channel-bank heights are accounted for, lateral migration rates are independent of the remaining channel geometry parameters. These constraints allow us, in a second step, to derive two alternative expressions for lateral channel-migration rates under different boundary conditions using dimensional analysis. Fits of a compilation of laboratory experiments to these expressions suggest that, for a given channel bank-height, migration rates are strongly sensitive to water discharges and more weakly sensitive to sediment discharges. In addition, external perturbations, such as changes in sediment and water discharges or base level fall, can indirectly affect lateral channel-migration rates by modulating channel-bank heights. © 2019 The Author. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 The Author. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内陆河流生态环境需水量定量研究

在有限的水资源中,必须维持合理的生态环境需水量,以满足国民经济持续发展和生态平衡维护的需要,以内陆河流为对象,以生态学理论和水环境容量理论为基础,从维持河流系统水生生物生存、维持水体一定量稀释自净能力以及防止河流水面净蒸发损失的角度出发,分析计算了河流系统的生态环境需水量,以期为水资源合理配置提供科学依据。