Analysis of Bedforms in the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi, for Select Flows 2011–2016

Abstract

Quantification of sediment transport rates is necessary for river management but remains difficult due to large volumes of sediment in motion, spatiotemporal heterogeneity in discharge, depth, and morphology, the need for expensive equipment, and personnel costs. During efforts to quantify sediment bed load in the Mississippi (MS) River near Vicksburg, MS, US, the US Army Corps of Engineers-Engineer Research and Development Center (USACE-ERDC) collected acoustic multibeam topographic data during the 2011 MS River flood. Bed topography data were analyzed to quantify the effect of changing flow rates on bed topography. Bedforms were much higher and longer in the center section than near either bank, and superimposed bedforms were found during the falling limb of the 2011 flood hydrograph. Bedform amplitudes and lengths were positively correlated with flow depths, but amplitudes were typically higher and lengths shorter than predicted in previous research. Topography data from three lower flows are included to illustrate the morphometric variation induced by a wide range of discharges.