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Variability of bed load measurement
Author(s) -
Pitlick John
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr024i001p00173
Subject(s) - bed load , sampling (signal processing) , environmental science , geotechnical engineering , channel (broadcasting) , hydrology (agriculture) , sediment , geology , sediment transport , soil science , geomorphology , engineering , electrical engineering , filter (signal processing)
The sampling efficiencies of two slightly different Helley‐Smith‐type bed load samplers were compared under carefully controlled field conditions. The samplers were identical in all respects except for the thickness of the metal used in their construction. The test results indicate that for coarse‐grained sand bed load, the sampler with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm has a sediment trap efficiency that can be as much as two times that of the sampler with walls that are 6.3 mm thick. In a separate test, bed load transport was monitored at a single channel cross section during a 10‐hour period of steady discharge. At individual sampling stations, measurement values ranged from nearly 0 to 3 times the mean. Composite bed load transport rates for full traverses of the channel width varied by a factor of 2.