Premium
Interaction of fine sediment with alluvial streambeds
Author(s) -
Jobson Harvey E.,
Carey William P.
Publication year - 1989
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/wr025i001p00135
Subject(s) - sediment , alluvium , hydrology (agriculture) , silt , environmental science , alluvial plain , hydraulics , flow (mathematics) , sediment transport , bed load , aggradation , alluvial fan , suspended load , flow conditions , sampling (signal processing) , geology , fluvial , geotechnical engineering , geomorphology , engineering , paleontology , geometry , mathematics , electrical engineering , filter (signal processing) , structural basin , aerospace engineering
More knowledge is needed about the physical processes that control the transport of fine sediment moving over an alluvial bed. The knowledge is needed to design rational sampling and monitoring programs that assess the transport and fate of toxic substances in surface waters because the toxics are often associated with silt‐ and clay‐sized particles. This technical note reviews some of the past research in areas that may contribute to an increased understanding of the processes involved. An alluvial streambed can have a large capacity to store fine sediments that are extracted from the flow when instream concentrations are high and it can gradually release fine sediment to the flow when the instream concentrations are low. Several types of storage mechanisms are available depending on the relative size distribution of the suspended load and bed material, as well as the flow hydraulics. Alluvial flow tends to segregate the deposited material according to size and density. Some of the storage locations are temporary, but some can store the fine sediment for very long periods of time.