Suspended-sediment transport rates at the 1.5-year recurrence interval for ecoregions of the United States: transport conditions at the bankfull and effective discharge?

Abstract

Historical flow and suspended-sediment transport data from more than 2900 sites across the United States have been analyzed in the context of estimating flow and suspended-sediment transport conditions at the 1.5-year recurrence interval flow ( Q 1.5). This is particularly relevant with the renewed focus on stream restoration activities and the urgency in developing water-quality criteria for sediment. Data were sorted into the 84 Level III ecoregions to identify spatial trends in suspended-sediment concentrations and yields to meaningfully describe suspended-sediment transport rates across the United States. Arguments are developed that in lieu of form-based estimates of say the bankfull level, a flow of a given recurrence interval ( Q 1.5) is more appropriate to integrate suspended-sediment transport ratings for the purpose of defining long-term transport conditions at a site (the “effective discharge”). The use of the Q 1.5 as a measure of the effective discharge for suspended-sediment transport is justified on the basis of literature reports and analytic results from hundreds of sites in 17 ecoregions that span a diverse range of hydrologic and topographic conditions (i.e., Coast Range, Arizona/New Mexico Plateau, Mississippi Valley Loess Plains, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain). There is sufficient data to also develop regional curves for the Q 1.5 in all but eight of the ecoregions. At the Q 1.5 the highest median suspended-sediment concentrations occur in semiarid environments (Southwest Tablelands, Arizona/New Mexico Plateau and the Mojave Basin and Range); the highest yields occur in humid regions with erodible soils and steep slopes or channel gradients (Mississippi Valley Loess Plains [MVLP] and the Coast Range). Suspended-sediment yields for stable streams are used to determine “background” or “reference” sediment transport conditions in eight ecoregions where there is sufficient field data. The median value for stable sites within a given ecoregion are generally an order of magnitude lower than for nonstable sites.