The fluvial morphology of a river channel is a function of the river’s hydrologic and sediment regime. Within-channel river benches are a fluvial feature widely identified in the international literature as geomorphically and ecologically important. Despite this recognition the relationship between bench morphology and the flow regime is poorly understood. The aim of this thesis is to identify the components of the flow regime responsible for the formation and destruction of within-channel benches. / Opinions on the formative flows for benches are highly varied with reports that benches are formed by flows which just inundate the bench; to low-flow periods and sub-bankfull flows; bankfull flows and the annual flood; and moderate, medium and catastrophic sized floods. A large body of research also treats benches as a static morphology. Opinions on destructive flows are similarly varied. There is little empirical evidence for these suggestions. / A bench is most commonly referred to as comprising a horizontal (planar) surface which results from within-channel deposition, but the term is also used to describe bars, floodplains and erosional features. The inability of researchers to agree on the relationships between bench morphology and river hydrology is influenced by the lack of a consistent definition and classification for benches. To adequately address the aim this thesis is presented in two parts: Part A addresses bench nomenclature and provides a sound basis for Part B which addresses the processes of bench formation and destruction. (for complete abstract open document)

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) sediment is a leading cause of water quality impairment (US EPA, 2002). The annual costs of sediment pollution in North America alone are estimated to range between $20 and $50 billion (Pimentel et al., 1995; Osterkamp et al, 1998, 2004). Due to the large spatial and temporal variations inherent in sediment transport, suspended sediment measurement is challenging. The overall goal of this research was to develop and test an inexpensive sensor for continuous suspended sediment monitoring in streams. This study was designed to determine if the gain and phase components of permittivity could be used to predict suspended sediment concentrations (SSC). A bench-scale suspension system was designed and tested to guarantee that there were no significant differences in the sediment suspension vertically or horizontally within the system. This study developed prediction models for SSC with input variables of temperature, specific conductivity, and gain and/or phase at multiple frequencies. The permittivity sensor is comprised of an electrode, power source, and a control box or frequency generator. Fixed and mixed effect, multiple, linear regression models were created and compared for target frequencies. However, it was not possible to meet the normality requirements for prediction accuracy. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression techniques were also applied to gain and phase data for 127 of the 635 frequencies. The three models with the lowest error between predicted and actual values of SSC for validation were further tested with nine levels of independent validation data. The largest model error (error>50%) occurred for the top three models at 0 and 500 mg/L. At the higher concentrations error varied from 1-40%. Once the treatment levels, of the independent validation data set, were near 1000 mg/L the prediction accuracy increased for the top three models. Model 3A, a phase based model, preformed the best. Model 3A was able to predict six of the nine independent validation treatment levels within 300 mg/L. Future research will provide additional laboratory and field testing of the prototype sensor. / Ph. D.

This research incorporates streambank erosion and failure processes into a distributed watershed model and evaluates the impacts of climate change on the processes driving streambank sediment mobilization at a watershed scale. Excess sediment and nutrient loading are major water quality concerns for streams and receiving waters. Previous work has established that in addition to surface and road erosion, streambank erosion and failure are primary mechanisms that mobilize sediment and nutrients from the landscape. This mechanism and other hydrological processes driving sediment and nutrient transport are likely to be highly influenced by anticipated changes in climate, particularly extreme precipitation and flow events. This research has two primary goals: to develop a physics-based watershed model with more inclusive representation of sediment by including simulation of streambank erosion and geotechnical failure; and to investigate the impacts of climate change on unstable streams and suspended sediment mobilization by overland erosion, erosion of roads, and the erosion as well as failure of streambanks. This advances mechanistic simulation of suspended sediment mobilization and transport from watersheds, which is particularly valuable for investigating the impacts of climate and land use changes, as well as extreme events. Model development involved coupling two existing physics-based models: the Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM) and the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM). This approach simulates streambank erosion and failure in a spatially explicit environment. The coupled model is applied to the Mad River watershed in central Vermont as a test case. I then use the calibrated Mad River model to predict the response in watershed sediment loading to future climate scenarios that specifically represent local temperature and precipitation trends for the northeastern US, particularly changing trends in the frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation. Overall the streambank erosion and failure processes are captured in the coupled model approach. Although the presented calibration of the model underestimates suspended sediment concentrations resulting from relatively small storm/flow events, it still improves prediction of cumulative loads and in some cases suspended sediment concentrations during elevated flow events in comparison to model results without including BSTEM. Increases in temperature affect the timing and magnitude of snow melt and spring flows, as well as associated sediment mobilization, in the watershed. Increases in annual precipitation and in extreme precipitation events produce increases in annual as well as peak discharge and sediment loads in the watershed. This research adds to the body of evidence indicating that streambank erosion and failure can be a major source of suspended sediment, and thereby a major source of phosphorus as well. It also shows that local climate trends in the Northeast are likely to result in higher peak discharges and sediment yields from meso-scale, high-gradient watersheds that encompass headwater forested streams and agricultural floodplains. One limitation was that we could not drive the model with meteorological data that represented changes in both temperature and precipitation, highlighting the need for improved climate predictions. This coupled model approach could be parameterized for alternative watersheds and be re-applied to answer various questions related to erosion processes and sediment transport in a watershed. These findings have important implications for resource allocation and targeted watershed management strategies.

No description available.

A pesquisa teve como objetivo principal estimar o aporte sedimentar em suspensão na baía da Babitonga a partir de um setor de sua área de contribuição hidrográfica, com base em uma análise geomorfológica da relação entre precipitação, relevo e uso da terra. Adotou-se como referências teórico-metodológicas principais os trabalhos de Ab?Saber, sobre os níveis de tratamento para pesquisas em geomorfologia, e de Tricart, que propõe a classificação dos ambientes segundo seu funcionamento ecodinâmico. Efetuou-se em campo monitoramento mensal das vazões dos dez rios que compõem a área da pesquisa e coletas de amostras de água para quantificação de sedimentos em suspensão em laboratório. Os resultados obtidos indicaram um nítido diferencial no comportamento hidrológico e hidrossedimentológico entre as bacias hidrográficas, que se reflete em distintas parcelas de contribuição de cada bacia no aporte sedimentar em suspensão na baía. Estimou-se que são lançadas na Baía da Babitonga, a partir da área da pesquisa, cerca de 7.624 toneladas/ano de sedimentos em suspensão, estando 77,8% deste volume concentrado na foz do Rio Cubatão. / The research had as main goal to estimate the suspended sediment yield into the Babitonga Bay from a sector of its hydrographic contribution area and was based on a geomorphological approach of the relationship among precipitation, relief and land use. The theorical methodological references were the works from Ab?Saber, about treatment levels for geomorphological research, and from Tricart, which proposes environmental classification based on its ecodynamic behavior. Field monitoring of discharge values was accomplished once a month for all ten rivers of the research área, as well as water sample collecting for laboratory suspended sediment quantification. Results indicate a clear distinct hydrological and hydrossedimentological behavior of the watersheds, which reflect the distinguished suspended sediment yield of each individual watershed into the bay. It was estimated that ca. 7,624 year/tons of suspended sediment are introduced into the Babitonga Bay, with 77.8% of that volume concentrated at the Cubatão river estuary.

<p>The Earth’s surface contains of 71% oceans and a large part of the global carbon cycle takes place in the oceans. In the aquatic environment, the sediment-water interface plays an important role for the mineralisation of organic material. One factor that can affect the mineralisation is resuspension. Resuspension cause mixing of surface sediments and bottom water and result in a redistribution of the sediment when it settles again. Resuspension also increases the transport of oxygen into the sediment, reduces the diffusive boundary layer surrounding particles, and enhance the nutrient uptake. Resuspension can be induced by both wave action and bottom currents and is a common physical process in both shallow coastal areas and in the deep ocean. Human impacts, such as dredging and trawling, can also cause resuspension.</p><p>The effect of resuspension on mineralisation of organic material was studied in two experiments ex situ during December to April 2004/2005. The aim for Experiment 1 was to investigate how the intensity of the resuspension event affects the degradation rate. The aim for Experiment 2 was to investigate how different concentrations of resuspended sediment affect the degradation rate of organic matter. Sediment samples were collected in December and late March at a marine field station, Askö, Sweden. Sediment and bottom water were transferred to and incubated in sealed bottles. For Experiment 1, resuspension was created in bottles with a specially designed rotary table, creating different intensity of water movements. In Experiment 2, bottles with different concentrations of sediment were put on an ordinary rotary table. The mineralisation rates were in both experiments monitored by daily sampling of sediment-water slurry, and analysed for total inorganic carbon by a gas chromatography with a thermal detector, GC-TCD.</p><p>Results from Experiment 1 did not show any clear patterns regarding inorganic carbon formation. Experiment 2 did show clear patterns for two of six replicates of mineralisation of organic material. For these replicates the mineralisation rate were low according to previous studies. However, the sediment concentration seems to not affect the mineralisation rate. For both experiments, valuable information on how to better design experiments to investigate the importance of resuspension and the effect of mineralisation of organic material was yielded. Hence, further studies are needed to continue the investigation of the importance of resuspension for the mineralisation rate of organic material, and its impacts on the nutrient fluxes in the oceans.</p>

Rainfall, snow-, and glacial melt throughout the Himalaya control river discharge, which is vital for maintaining agriculture, drinking water and hydropower generation. However, the spatiotemporal contribution of these discharge components to Himalayan rivers is not well understood, mainly because of the scarcity of ground-based observations. Consequently, there is also little known about the triggers and sources of peak sediment flux events, which account for extensive hydropower reservoir filling and turbine abrasion. We therefore lack basic information on the distribution of water resources and controls of erosion processes. In this thesis, I employ various methods to assess and quantify general characteristics of and links between precipitation, river discharge, and sediment flux in the Sutlej Valley. First, I analyze daily precipitation data (1998-2007) from 80 weather stations in the western Himalaya, to decipher the distribution of rain- and snowfall. Rainfall magnitude frequency analyses indicate that 40% of the summer rainfall budget is attributed to monsoonal rainstorms, which show higher variability in the orogenic interior than in frontal regions. Combined analysis of rainstorms and sediment flux data of a major Sutlej River tributary indicate that monsoonal rainfall has a first order control on erosion processes in the orogenic interior, despite the dominance of snowfall in this region. Second, I examine the contribution of rainfall, snow and glacial melt to river discharge in the Sutlej Valley (s55,000 km2), based on a distributed hydrological model, which covers the period 2000-2008. To achieve high spatial and daily resolution despite limited ground-based observations the hydrological model is forced by daily remote sensing data, which I adjusted and calibrated with ground station data. The calibration shows that the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 rainfall product systematically overestimates rainfall in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing with aridity. The model results indicate that snowmelt-derived discharge (74%) is most important during the pre-monsoon season (April to June) whereas rainfall (56%) and glacial melt (17%) dominate the monsoon season (July-September). Therefore, climate change most likely causes a reduction in river discharge during the pre-monsoon season, which especially affects the orogenic interior. Third, I investigate the controls on suspended sediment flux in different parts of the Sutlej catchments, based on daily gauging data from the past decade. In conjunction with meteorological data, earthquake records, and rock strength measurements I find that rainstorms are the most frequent trigger of high-discharge events with peaks in suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) that account for the bulk of the suspended sediment flux. The suspended sediment flux increases downstream, mainly due to increases in runoff. Pronounced erosion along the Himalayan Front occurs throughout the monsoon season, whereas efficient erosion of the orogenic interior is confined to single extreme events. The results of this thesis highlight the importance of snow and glacially derived melt waters in the western Himalaya, where extensive regions receive only limited amounts of monsoonal rainfall. These regions are therefore particularly susceptible to global warming with major implications on the hydrological cycle. However, the sediment discharge data show that infrequent monsoonal rainstorms that pass the orographic barrier of the Higher Himalaya are still the primary trigger of the highest-impact erosion events, despite being subordinate to snow and glacially–derived discharge. These findings may help to predict peak sediment flux events and could underpin the strategic development of preventative measures for hydropower infrastructures. / Regen, Schnee- und Gletscherschmelze speisen die Flüsse des Himalajas, die eine große Bedeutung für die Landwirtschaft, Trinkwasserversorgung und Wasserkraftnutzung in Südasien aufweisen. Welchen Anteil die einzelnen Abflusskomponenten am Gesamtabfluss in Raum und Zeit besitzen, ist jedoch kaum quantifiziert, da es in der entlegenen Region an Bodenmessstationen mangelt. Aus diesem Grund ist auch wenig über die Auslöser und Herkunftsgebiete von hohen Sedimentaustragsereignissen bekannt, die im erheblichen Maße dazu beitragen, dass die Kapazität vonWasserkraftreservoiren abnimmt undWasserkraftturbinen abradieren. Daher fehlen bisher grundlegende Informationen zur räumlichen Verteilung von Wasserressourcen und zu den Ursachen von Erosionsprozessen. In dieser Arbeit benutze ich verschiedene Methoden um die Eigenschaften von und die Beziehungen zwischen Niederschlag, Abflussmenge und Sedimentaustrag im Sutlej-Tal zu untersuchen. In einer ersten Studie analysiere ich Tagesniederschläge (1998-2007) von 80 Wetterstationen aus dem westlichen Himalaja, um die räumliche Verteilung von Regen- und Schneeniederschlägen zu charakterisieren. Die weitere Analyse der Magnituden-Häufigkeitsverteilung von Regenfällen zeigt, dass 40% der sommerlichen Niederschläge auf monsunale Starkregenereignisse zurückgehen, die eine höhere Variabilität im Gebirgsinneren aufweisen als an der Gebirgsfront. Die Kombination von Niederschlagsdaten mit Sedimentaustragsdaten für einen der größten Zuflüsse des Sutlejs zeigt, dass monsunaler Niederschlag der primäre Auslöser von Erosionsprozessen im Gebirgsinneren ist, ungeachtet größerer Abflussmengen durch Schnee- und Gletscherschmelze. In einer zweiten Studie untersuche ich den Beitrag von Regen, Schnee- und Gletscherschmelze zur Abflussmenge im Sutlej-Tal (s55.000 km2) mit Hilfe eines hydrologischen Modells für den Jahreszeitraum 2000-2008. Um trotz der begrenzten Bodenmessungen eine hohe räumliche und zeitliche Auflösung zu erzielen, basiert das Modell auf täglichen Fernerkundungsdaten, die ich mit allen verfügbaren Bodenstationsdaten kalibriert und an diese angepasst habe. Die Kalibrierung zeigt, dass das Regenniederschlagsprodukt 3B42 der „Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission“ (TRMM) den Bodenniederschlag in den semi-ariden bis ariden Gebirgsregionen mit zunehmender Trockenheit systematisch überschätzt. Die Modellierungsergebnisse verdeutlichen, dass die Schneeschmelze den bedeutendsten Beitrag zur Abflussmenge (74 %) zwischen April und Juni aufbringt, während Regen (56%) und Gletscherschmelze (17%) die Monsunsaison (Juli-September) prägen. Daher ist anzunehmen, dass der Klimawandel zu einer Verringerung der Abflussmenge zwischen April und Juni führen wird, was sich besonders auf das Gebirgsinnere auswirkt. In einer dritten Studie untersuche ich mit Hilfe von täglichen Messdaten der letzten Dekade die Ursachen und Eigenschaften des Sedimentaustrags in verschiedenen Bereichen des Sutlej-Einzugsgebietes. Auf der Grundlage von meteorologischen Daten, Erdbebenaufzeichnungen und Gesteinsfestigkeitsmessungen identifiziere ich Starkregenereignisse als häufigste Ursache für extreme Erosionsereignisse, die einen Großteil des gesamten Sedimentaustrags ausmachen. Großräumig betrachtet nimmt der Sedimentaustrag flussabwärts zu, was hauptsächlich auf den Anstieg der Abflussmenge zurückzuführen ist. Zur Monsunzeit treten Erosionsprozesse entlang der Himalajafront besonders häufig auf, während im Gebirgsinneren die Erosion auf einzelne Extremereignisse beschränkt ist. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit untersteichen die Bedeutung von Schnee- und Gletscherschmelze im westlichen Himalaja, in dem große Gebiete nur vereinzelt von monsunalen Niederschlägen erreicht werden. Diese Gebiete sind daher besonders anfällig für den Klimawandel mit weitreichenden Konsequenzen für den Wasserhaushalt in der Region. Die Analyse von Sedimentaustragsdaten zeigt jedoch, dass vereinzelte monsunale Regenstürme, welche die topographische Barriere des Himalaja überqueren, die primäre Ursache von extremen Erosionsereignissen sind, trotz der größeren Abflussmengen von Schnee- und Gletscherschmelze im Gebirgsinneren. Diese Ergebnisse können dazu beitragen, große Erosionsereignisse vorherzusagen und vorbeugende Maßnahmen zum Schutz von Wasserkraftanlagen zu entwickeln.

The Earth’s surface contains of 71% oceans and a large part of the global carbon cycle takes place in the oceans. In the aquatic environment, the sediment-water interface plays an important role for the mineralisation of organic material. One factor that can affect the mineralisation is resuspension. Resuspension cause mixing of surface sediments and bottom water and result in a redistribution of the sediment when it settles again. Resuspension also increases the transport of oxygen into the sediment, reduces the diffusive boundary layer surrounding particles, and enhance the nutrient uptake. Resuspension can be induced by both wave action and bottom currents and is a common physical process in both shallow coastal areas and in the deep ocean. Human impacts, such as dredging and trawling, can also cause resuspension. The effect of resuspension on mineralisation of organic material was studied in two experiments ex situ during December to April 2004/2005. The aim for Experiment 1 was to investigate how the intensity of the resuspension event affects the degradation rate. The aim for Experiment 2 was to investigate how different concentrations of resuspended sediment affect the degradation rate of organic matter. Sediment samples were collected in December and late March at a marine field station, Askö, Sweden. Sediment and bottom water were transferred to and incubated in sealed bottles. For Experiment 1, resuspension was created in bottles with a specially designed rotary table, creating different intensity of water movements. In Experiment 2, bottles with different concentrations of sediment were put on an ordinary rotary table. The mineralisation rates were in both experiments monitored by daily sampling of sediment-water slurry, and analysed for total inorganic carbon by a gas chromatography with a thermal detector, GC-TCD. Results from Experiment 1 did not show any clear patterns regarding inorganic carbon formation. Experiment 2 did show clear patterns for two of six replicates of mineralisation of organic material. For these replicates the mineralisation rate were low according to previous studies. However, the sediment concentration seems to not affect the mineralisation rate. For both experiments, valuable information on how to better design experiments to investigate the importance of resuspension and the effect of mineralisation of organic material was yielded. Hence, further studies are needed to continue the investigation of the importance of resuspension for the mineralisation rate of organic material, and its impacts on the nutrient fluxes in the oceans.

In the past, the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was mainly measured by the optical backscattering device (OBS) and water sample filtration. However, there has been a new development that user is based on the acoustics backscattering (ABS) to measure the SSC in the world. The acoustic instruments have some advantages that the optical ones do not have. For example, acoustic instruments are not effected by high turbidity, biofouling and high viscosity in the water. Acoustic instruments have high spatial and temporal resolutions. And they can immediately indicate the SSC changes than the water sample filtration method. Therefore, in this study we used the multi-frequency acoustics instrument (AQUAscat-1000) to investigate the relations of the suspended sediment size and concentration to the acoustic characteristics. The results are separated into two parts: (1) The calibration process in the flume. (2) The acoustic results in the field experiment. In the first part, we examined the range of preferred bin size with respect to the different frequencies as well as the condition in the flume, and determine that conclude the 20 mm is the best range for our case. In addition, the gain should be used when the maximum SSC is less than 100 mg/l and vice versa. Therefore, in the field case around the river mouth, the signal gain should be turned off due to high concentrations. According to the sensitivity of the backscatter intensity of different frequencies to the suspended particle sizes, multiple frequencies are needed to derive the SSC when the sediment size becomes smaller. The last point in this part is the comparison of the results between the acoustics and optical instruments. When the suspended particles in the water column are transparent, the optical measurement of the SSC is underestimated, but the acoustic method is not. The result of the field experiment in 2009 showed that the AQUAscat-1000 is a better instrument to quantify SSC than the optical instruments. The SSC increase caused by the bottom sediment re-suspension was due to the wave shear. In the 2011 experiment, although the acoustic results overestimated the SSC at some points but they still had higher relation and significance with water sample data than the optical measurements. The SSC increase caused by the bottom sediment re-suspension was due to the current shear.

Στην παρούσα εργασία μελετάται η συμπεριφορά ιζήματος σε αιώρηση που προκαλείται λόγω θραύσης κύματος σε πυθμένα σταθερής κλίσης. Η αριθμητική προσομοίωση επιτυγχάνεται με παράλληλη επίλυση των εξισώσεων κίνησης (Navier-Stokes και Συνέχειας) και της εξίσωσης Μεταγωγής-Διάχυσης για τη μεταφορά ιζήματος σε αιώρηση. Επιλέγονται οι κατάλληλες οριακές συνθήκες ελεύθερης επιφάνειας, εισόδου και εξόδου, ενώ για την οριακή συνθήκη πυθμένα χρησιμοποιούνται εμπειρικοί τύποι που συνδέουν τη διατμητική τάση πυθμένα με τη συγκέντρωση πυθμένα. Οι εξισώσεις μετασχηματίζονται κατάλληλα ώστε το υπολογιστικό πεδίο να γίνει ανεξάρτητο του χρόνου. Για τη χρονική διακριτοποίηση χρησιμοποιείται ένα σχήμα κλασματικής μεθόδου ολοκλήρωσης με σταθερό χρονικό βήμα. Για τη χωρική διακριτοποίηση χρησιμοποιείται ένα υβριδικό σχήμα, το οποίο περιλαμβάνει διακριτοποίηση των εξισώσεων με χρήση πεπερασμένων διαφορών κατά τη διεύθυνση της ροής και εφαρμογή της φασματικής μεθόδου παρεμβολής με πολυώνυμα Chebyshev για την κατακόρυφη διεύθυνση. Μελετώνται περιπτώσεις κόκκων ιζήματος με διάμετρο κανονικοποιημένη ως προς το χαρακτηριστικό βάθος ροής, =10-4, =2∙10-4 και =5∙10-4. Κατά την θραύση παρατηρείται σημαντική ανύψωση του ιζήματος πυθμένα στη στήλη του ύδατος και για τις τρεις περιπτώσεις. Η καθαρή παροχή ιζήματος σε αιώρηση παρουσιάζει τη τάση να κινείται προς τα ανάντη της ροής με τη μέγιστη τιμή να εμφανίζεται μετά τη θραύση. Τέλος, διαπιστώνεται ότι η καθαρή παροχή αιωρούμενου ιζήματος είναι σημαντικά μεγαλύτερη από αυτή του ιζήματος κλίνης. / The simulations are based on the coupled numerical solution of the flow equations (continuity and Navier-Stokes) with the transport equation for suspended sediment load subject to the fully nonlinear free-surface boundary conditions and appropriate bottom, inflow and outflow boundary conditions. The equations are properly transformed so that the computational domain becomes time-independent. A hybrid scheme is used for the spatial discretization with finite differences in the streamwise direction and a pseudospectral approximation with Chebyshev polynomials in the vertical direction. A fractional time-step scheme is used for the temporal discretization. We seek results for the behavior of the suspended sediment load induced by broken waves for different particle sizes of bed material. The aim is to identify critical particle sizes for strong uplift and transport of sediment.