Estimating the sediment trap efficiency of intermittently dry reservoirs: lessons from the Kruger National Park,South Africa

The assessment of sediment yield from reservoir siltation requires knowledge of the reservoir's sediment trap efficiency (TE). Widely used approaches for the estimation of the long‐term mean TE rely on the ratio of the reservoir's storage capacity (C) to its catchment size (A) or mean annual inflow (I). These approaches have been developed from a limited number of reservoirs (N ≤ 40), most of them located in temperate climate regions. Their general applicability to reservoirs receiving highly variable runoff such as in semi‐arid areas has been questioned. Here, we examine the effect of ephemeral inflow on the TE of 10 small (≤ 280 × 10³ m³), intermittently dry reservoirs located in the Kruger National Park. Fieldwork was conducted to determine the storage capacity of the reservoir basins. The frequency and magnitude of spillage events was simulated with the daily time step Pitman rainfall–runoff model. Different runoff scenarios were established to cope with uncertainties arising from the lack of runoff records and imperfect input data. Scenarios for the relationship between water and sediment discharge were created based on sediment rating curves. Taking into account uncertainties in hydrological modelling, uncertainties of mean TE estimates, calculated from all scenarios (N = 9), are moderate, ranging from ±6 to ±11% at the 95% confidence level. By comparison, estimating TE from the storage capacity to catchment area (C/A) ratio induces high uncertainty (ranges of 35 to 65%), but this uncertainty can be confined (15 to 33%) when the latter approach is combined with hydrological modelling. Established methods relying on the storage capacity to mean annual inflow (C/I) ratio most probably lead to an overestimation of the TE for the investigated reservoirs. The approach presented here may be used instead to estimate the TE of small, intermittently dry reservoirs in semi‐arid climate regions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transport of moderately sorted gravel at low bed shear stresses: The role of fine sediment infiltration

A reliable estimation of sediment transport in gravel‐bed streams is important for various practical engineering and biological studies (e.g., channel stability design, bed degradation/aggradation, restoration of spawning habitat). In the present work, we report original laboratory experiments investigating the transport of gravel particles at low bed shear stresses. The laboratory tests were conducted under unsteady flow conditions inducing low bed shear stresses, with detailed monitoring of the bed topography using a laser scanner. Effects of bed surface arrangements were documented by testing loose and packed bed configurations. Effects of fine sediments were examined by testing beds with sand, artificial fine sand or cohesive silt infiltrated in the gravel matrix. Analysis of the experimental data revealed that the transport of gravel particles depends upon the bed arrangement, the bed material properties (e.g., size and shape, consolidation index, permeability) and the concentration of fine sediments within the surface layer of moving grains. This concentration is directly related to the distribution of fine particles within the gravel matrix (i.e., bottom‐up infiltration or bridging) and their transport mode (i.e., bedload or suspended load). Compared to loose beds, the mobility of gravel is reduced for packed beds and for beds clogged from the bottom up with cohesive fine sediments; in both cases, the bed shear stress for gravel entrainment increases by about 12%. On the other hand, the mobility of gravel increases significantly (bed shear stress for particle motion decreasing up to 40%) for beds clogged at the surface by non‐cohesive sand particles. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of soil erosion in a monsoon-dominated mountain river basin in India using RUSLE-SDR and AHP

The long-term average annual soil loss (A) and sediment yield (SY) in a tropical monsoon-dominated river basin in the southern Western Ghats, India (Muthirapuzha River Basin, MRB; area: 271.75 km²), were predicted by coupling the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and sediment delivery ratio (SDR) models. Moreover, the study also delineated soil erosion risk zones based on the soil erosion potential index (SEPI) using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique. Mean A of the basin is 14.36 t ha^?1 year^?1, while mean SY is only 3.65 t ha^?1 year^?1. Although the land use/land cover types with human interference show relatively lower A compared to natural vegetation, their higher SDR values reflect the significance of anthropogenic activities in accelerated soil erosion. The soil erosion risk in the MRB is strongly controlled by slope, land use/land cover and relative relief, compared to geomorphology, drainage density, stream frequency and lineament frequency.     

Comparing grain size distribution of sediment and original soil under raindrop detachment and raindrop-induced and flow transport mechanism

The grain size distribution (GSD) of sediment in comparison with the original soil GSD is discussed under different slopes (5, 15 and 25%) and rainfall intensities (30, 60 and 90 mm h^–1 with respective duration of 30, 15 and 10 min) but identical runoff (15 mm). The sediment quantification was carried out by raindrop-induced flow transport (RIFT) or/and transport by flow (FT) using a rainfall simulator and a 6 × 1 m² erosion plot and a silt loam. The results show a high degree of enrichment for size classes of 2–4 and 4–8 μm and a high degree of depletion for size classes of >63 μm under different slopes and rainfall intensities. In addition, the results show that the experimental enrichment ratio (ER) for particle size <16 μm under different slopes and rainfall intensities was greater than 1, while the ER for particle size >32 μm was less than 1.     

Depth of closure: New calculation method based on sediment data

Obtaining depth of closure (DoC) in an accurate manner is a fundamental issue for coastal engineering, since good results for coastal structures and beach nourishment depend mainly on DoC. Currently, there are two methods for obtaining the DoC, mathematical formulations and profile surveys. However, these methods can incur important errors if one does not take into account the characteristics and morphology of the area, or if one does not have a sufficiently long time series. In this work the DoC is obtained from the break in the trend of the sediment with the depth, that is, in general with the increase of the depth a decrease in the size of the sediment takes place. However, at one point this tendency changes and the size increases, and then decreases again. When comparing the point where the minimum sediment size occurs before the increase, it is observed that the error incurred is small compared to other methods. If the Standard Deviation of Depth Change (SDDC) method is considered as the most accurate method, the error incurred by the proposed method is less than 7%. In addition, it can be seen that the dispersion of the sediment method always occurs outside the zone of bar movement. Whereas in the methods of profiles survey (using 2 cm precision profiles), sometimes the DoC is obtained within the active zone of bar movement. In addition, where the relative minimum of the median sediment size is found, and the sizes of 0.063 and 0.125 mm predominate in the composition of the sample. Therefore, this new method allows the precise location of the DoC to be obtained in a fast and simple way. Furthermore, this method has the advantage that it is not affected by the modifications that may be experienced by both the study area and the cross-shore beach profile.     

底泥就地稳定化中零价铁(Fe0)对有机污染物的作用及其对上覆水体水质的影响

在实验室模拟静态湖泊体系条件下,通过向实际底泥中投加零价铁(Fe~0),考察反应前后底泥中有机物数量、种类、总有机质含量以及上覆水体溶解氧(DO)浓度、氧化还原电位(Eh)、pH和化学需氧量(CODCr)浓度等指标的变化,探讨Fe~0对底泥有机物的降解效果以及对上覆水体水质的影响.结果表明,投加Fe~0处理80 d后,(1)经GC-MS检测出底泥中易被降解的小分子有机物(分子量小于200)数量明显增多,底泥总有机去除率为44%.(2)上覆水体的DO浓度、Eh和pH都有不同程度的变化.DO浓度从6.6 mg/L迅速下降至0.2 mg/L,Eh从150 mV左右下降至74 mV,pH升高至8.4,此体系易形成厌氧环境;且上覆水体中CODCr低于纯底泥-水体系,上覆水中DO浓度、Eh及pH与CODCr浓度具有一定相关性.综上,底泥中投加Fe~0可有效降解有机物,且不会对上覆水体产生持久、较大的影响.     

大、小洋山建港总体规划中的水流泥沙问题

水流、泥沙一直是建港中关键问题之一。从现场水文泥沙条件分析和数学模型计算等方面,分析比选了洋山港规划方案,提出了洋山港总体规划以单通道方案为宜,不但能简化现场的复杂的水流,选择合适的口门宽度还能维持深槽水流、水深条件,经计算分析提出了西口门宽度为3．5km的规划方案较好,此外还从平衡水深的角度对单通道方案的维持水深进行了计算。     

长江口滨岸潮滩柱样沉积物与孔隙水中氮的垂直分布特征

对长江口滨岸潮滩柱样沉积物及孔隙水中NH4^ -N、NO3^--N和NO2^--N的剖面进行了分析。结果表明,沉积物和孔隙水中NH4^ -N,NO3^--N和NO2^--N剖面分布基本一致,其中NH4^ -N含量最高,这说明有机质的降解反应主要是在缺氧或无氧环境中进行的;沉积物中有机质含量与NH4^ -N含量线性相关;NO3^--N和NO2^--N在剖面中以0～20cm变化剧烈,说明表层和深层有机质的降解程度发生改变。