The effects of river restoration on catchment scale flood risk and flood hydrology

A rising exposure to flood risk is a predicted consequence of increased development in vulnerable areas and an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change. In the face of this challenge, a continued reliance on engineered at‐a‐point flood defences is seen as both unrealistic and undesirable. The contribution of ‘soft engineering’ solutions (e.g. riparian forests, wood in rivers) to integrated, catchment scale flood risk management has been demonstrated at small scales but not larger ones. In this study we use reduced complexity hydrological modelling to analyse the effects of land use and channel changes resulting from river restoration upon flood flows at the catchment scale. Results show short sections of river‐floodplain restoration using engineered logjams, typical of many current restoration schemes, have highly variable impacts on catchment‐scale flood peak magnitude and so need to be used with caution as a flood management solution. Forested floodplains have a more general impact upon flood hydrology, with areas in the middle and upper catchment tending to show reductions in peak magnitude at the catchment outflow. The most promising restoration scenarios for flood risk management are for riparian forest restoration at the sub‐catchment scale, representing 20–40% of the total catchment area, where reductions in peak magnitude of up to 19% are observed through de‐synchronization of the timings of sub‐catchment flood waves. Sub‐catchment floodplain forest restoration over 10–15% of total catchment area can lead to reductions in peak magnitude of 6% at 25 years post‐restoration. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Banking carbon: a review of organic carbon storage and physical factors influencing retention in floodplains and riparian ecosystems

Rivers are dynamic components of the terrestrial carbon cycle and provide important functions in ecosystem processes. Although rivers act as conveyers of carbon to the oceans, rivers also retain carbon within riparian ecosystems along floodplains, with potential for long‐term (> 10² years) storage. Research in ecosystem processing emphasizes the importance of organic carbon (OC) in river systems, and estimates of OC fluxes in terrestrial freshwater systems indicate that a significant portion of terrestrial carbon is stored within river networks. Studies have examined soil OC on floodplains, but research that examines the potential mechanistic controls on OC storage in riparian ecosystems and floodplains is more limited. We emphasize three primary OC reservoirs within fluvial systems: (1) standing riparian biomass; (2) dead biomass as large wood (LW) in the stream and on the floodplain; (3) OC on and beneath the floodplain surface, including litter, humus, and soil organic carbon (SOC). This review focuses on studies that have framed research questions and results in the context of OC retention, accumulation and storage within the three primary pools along riparian ecosystems. In this paper, we (i) discuss the various reservoirs for OC storage in riparian ecosystems, (ii) discuss physical conditions that facilitate carbon retention and storage in riparian ecosystems, (iii) provide a synthesis of published OC storage in riparian ecosystems, (iv) present a conceptual model of the conditions that favor OC storage in riparian ecosystems, (v) briefly discuss human impacts on OC storage in riparian ecosystems, and (vi) highlight current knowledge gaps. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved simulation of river water and groundwater exchange in an alluvial plain using the SWAT model

Hydrological interaction between surface and subsurface water systems has a significant impact on water quality, ecosystems and biogeochemistry cycling of both systems. Distributed models have been developed to simulate this function, but they require detailed spatial inputs and extensive computation time. The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model is a semi‐distributed model that has been successfully applied around the world. However, it has not been able to simulate the two‐way exchanges between surface water and groundwater. In this study, the SWAT‐landscape unit (LU) model – based on a catena method that routes flow across three LUs (the divide, the hillslope and the valley) – was modified and applied in the floodplain of the Garonne River. The modified model was called SWAT‐LUD. Darcy's equation was applied to simulate groundwater flow. The algorithm for surface water‐level simulation during flooding periods was modified, and the influence of flooding on groundwater levels was added to the model. Chloride was chosen as a conservative tracer to test simulated water exchanges. The simulated water exchange quantity from SWAT‐LUD was compared with the output of a two‐dimensional distributed model, surface–subsurface water exchange model. The results showed that simulated groundwater levels in the LU adjoining the river matched the observed data very well. Additionally, SWAT‐LUD model was able to reflect the actual water exchange between the river and the aquifer. It showed that river water discharge has a significant influence on the surface–groundwater exchanges. The main water flow direction in the river/groundwater interface was from groundwater to river; water that flowed in this direction accounted for 65% of the total exchanged water volume. The water mixing occurs mainly during high hydraulic periods. Flooded water was important for the surface–subsurface water exchange process; it accounted for 69% of total water that flowed from the river to the aquifer. The new module also provides the option of simulating pollution transfer occurring at the river/groundwater interface at the catchment scale. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling wetland connectivity during overbank flooding in a tropical floodplain in north Queensland,Australia

Hydrological connectivity between floodplain wetlands and rivers is one of the principal driving mechanisms for the diversity, productivity and interactions of the major biota in river–floodplain systems. This article describes a method of quantifying flood‐induced overbank connectivity using a hydrodynamic model (MIKE 21) to calculate the timing, the duration and the spatial extent of the connections between several floodplain wetlands and rivers in the Tully–Murray catchment, north Queensland, Australia. Areal photogrammetry and field surveyed stream cross data were used to reproduce floodplain topography and rivers in the model. Laser altimetry (LiDAR)–derived fine resolution elevation data, for the central floodplain, were added to the topography model to improve the resolution of key features including wetlands, flow pathways and natural and artificial flow barriers. The hydrodynamic model was calibrated using a combination of in‐stream and floodplain gauge records. A range of off‐stream wetlands including natural and artificial, small and large were investigated for their connectivity with two main rivers (Tully and Murray) flowing over the floodplain for flood events of 1‐, 20‐ and 50‐year recurrence intervals. The duration of the connection of individual wetlands varied from 1 to 12 days, depending on flood magnitude and location in the floodplain, with some wetlands only connected during large floods. All of the wetlands studied were connected to the Tully River for shorter periods than they were to the Murray River because of the higher bank heights and levees on the Tully River and wetland proximity to the Murray River. Other than hydrology, land relief, riverbank elevation and levee banks along the river were found key factors controlling the degree of connectivity. These variations in wetland connectivity could have important implications for aquatic biota that move between rivers and off‐stream habitats during floods. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Upstream control of river anastomosis by sediment overloading,upper Columbia River,British Columbia,Canada

Anastomosing rivers, systems of multiple interconnected channels that enclose floodbasins, constitute a major category of rivers for which various sedimentary facies models have been developed. While the sedimentary products of anastomosing rivers are relatively well‐known, their genesis is still debated. A rapidly growing number of ancient alluvial successions being interpreted as of anastomosing river origin, including important hydrocarbon reservoirs, urge the development of robust models for the genesis of anastomosis, to facilitate better interpretation of ancient depositional settings and controls. The upper Columbia River, British Columbia, Canada, is the most‐studied anastomosing river and has played a key role in the development of an anastomosing river facies model. Two hypotheses for the origin of upper Columbia River anastomosis include the following: (i) downstream control by aggrading cross‐valley alluvial fans; and (ii) upstream control by excessive bedload input from tributaries. Both upstream and downstream control may force aggradation and avulsions in the upper Columbia River. In order to test both hypotheses, long‐term (millennia‐scale) floodplain sedimentation rates and avulsion frequencies are calculated using ¹⁴C‐dated deeply buried organic floodplain material from cross‐valley borehole transects. The results indicate a downstream decrease in floodplain sedimentation rate and avulsion frequency along the anastomosed reach, which is consistent with dominant upstream control by sediment overloading. The data here link recent avulsion activity to increased sediment supply during the Little Ice Age (ca 1100 to 1950 ad ). This link is supported by data showing that sediment supply to the upper Columbia study reach fluctuated in response to Holocene glacial advances and retreats in the hinterland. Upstream control of anastomosis has considerable implications for the reconstruction of the setting of interpreted ancient anastomosing systems. The present research underscores that anastomosing systems typically occur in relatively proximal settings with abundant sediment supplied to low‐gradient floodplains, a situation commonly found in intermontane and foreland basins.     

Using cosmogenic beryllium–7 as a tracer in sediment budget investigations

Recent advances in the use of the environmental radionuclides caesium–137 and unsupported lead–210 to quantify medium– and longer–term rates of erosion and sediment accumulation have proved of considerable value in catchment sediment budget investigations. However, there remains a need to explore the potential for using other shorter–lived radionuclides to provide evidence of sediment mobilisation, transport and storage over shorter timescales and particularly for individual events. This contribution reports the results of a study aimed at exploring the potential for using beryllium–7 (⁷Be, t _½= 53.3 days) to meet this requirement. The study investigated the use of ⁷Be as a sediment tracer in three key components of the sediment budget, namely, soil erosion and sediment mobilisation from slopes, the transport, storage and remobilisation of fine sediment in river channels and overbank deposition on river floodplains. The results presented clearly demonstrate the potential for using ⁷Be to obtain information on short–term and event–based sediment redistribution rates for use in catchment sediment budget investigations.     

长江漫滩沉积特征与地震效应的工程研究

基于多年大量的长江漫滩勘察实际资料，结合地势、地貌和沉积特征，从空间分布、物理力学性质等方面，系统研究总结了岩土工程地质特性，分析了场地地震效应，并从场地建筑持力层的选择、地摹的处理和基础类型的确定、基坑开挖与支护等方面进行了工程对策分析讨论，以促进城市规划和建设中地质环境的充分合理开发利用。     

引渗疏干技术在复杂水文地质条件下深大基坑降水中应用

长江漫滩地区第四系松散层是一个巨厚的、复杂的含水体,具有典型的二元地质结构特征,含薄层状夹层,导致垂向透水性远小于水平向,对深基坑工程降水影响极大。南京梅子洲过江通道及青奥轴线地下交通系统及相关工程充分利用引渗技术,成功地对基底上部的地层进行疏干,达到干燥安全的作业环境,满足基坑开挖要求,为工程节省了大量的成本,对类似水文地质条件的深基坑工程具有很好的借鉴意义。     

The suitability of floodplain sediment as a global sampling medium: evidence from China

Research undertaken by IGCP 259 (International Geochemical Mapping) indicates that wide-spaced sampling is a fundamental concept of international geochemical mapping as it appears to provide the only practical way to obtain a relative rapid (10–20 years) overview of global geochemistry. The main aim of this study is to test the suitability of floodplain sediment as a global sampling medium.Thirteen floodplain sediment samples and 13 stream sediment samples were taken at the exit of 13 super large drainage basins (SCB). The areal extents of these basins are in the order of 1000–10,000 km². Within each SCB, 3–11 stream sediment samples each representing a component catchment basin (CCB) of 100–1000 km² were also taken. Fourty nine elements were analyzed. The results were compared with the average values derived from calculating thousands of stream sediment data available from China's National Geochemical Mapping (RGNG) program. Strong similiarities were demonstrated in distribution and trends among the three levels of data. The set of floodplain sediment data shows great coincidence with RGNR stream sediment data.