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Coarse bedload transport in a mountain river
Author(s) -
Carling P. A.,
Williams J. J.,
Kelsey A.,
Glaister M. S.,
Orr H. G.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9837(199802)23:2<141::aid-esp827>3.0.co;2-j
Subject(s) - bed load , sediment transport , geology , hyperconcentrated flow , bedform , hydrology (agriculture) , hydrograph , hydraulic roughness , sediment , turbulence , suspended load , shear stress , geotechnical engineering , surface finish , geomorphology , surface runoff , meteorology , mechanics , materials science , ecology , physics , composite material , biology
Coarse bedload transport dynamics are investigated utilizing hydrodynamic and sediment transport data obtained in an extensively instrumented study reach located in Squaw Creek, Montana, USA. During 1991 and 1992, a number of discrete bedload transport events associated with the daily rise and fall in stream discharge were investigated. Data show that initiation of sediment transport was accompanied by a reduction in bed roughness and by changes in bulk hydraulic parameters. For larger discharges, coarser fractions of the bed material mobilized, and bedload transport rates and average hydraulic parameters stabilized. As discharge reduced, mobile coarse particles became less frequent and deposited fine particles were removed, resulting in an increase in bed roughness. These observations are attributed to the downstream translation of bar sediments during the passage of a hydrograph. Bedload pulses were aperiodic but spatially variable. Flow turbulence and velocity profile data obtained during low flows allowed comparison between average bed shear stress and apparent bed roughness estimates obtained using different approaches. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.