Bank Height Research Articles

Evaluación de la erosión de riberas de ríos en regiones semiáridas mediante datos de teledetección y SIG: caso del río Rdat (Marrakech, Marruecos)

La erosión de riberas es el proceso de desprendimiento de los granos materiales que constituyen las orillas de los ríos bajo el efecto del agua. En regiones semiáridas, las inundaciones se caracterizan por su irregularidad. Este fenómeno tiene varios impactos ambientales en el ecosistema fluvial, por lo que es esencial realizar estudios al respecto. En este contexto, el propósito de este trabajo es proporcionar un enfoque sencillo que permita estimar las alturas de los bancos con el fin de evaluar la tasa de contribución de la erosión de riberas a la carga sedimentaria de los ríos durante los últimos 32 años y sus consecuencias en el sistema fluvial. La base de datos considerada son las imágenes Landsat de 1984 a 2016 y los datos de elevación ALOS PALSAR de la cuenca del Rdat, que se encuentra en el sureste de Marrakech en Marruecos, así como pruebas de campo. Estos datos se procesaron utilizando herramientas de teledetección y SIG y luego se combinaron para mejorar los resultados. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la ribera de la cuenca del Rdat es, de forma significativa, inestable y contribuye al suministro de sedimentos al río, con una tasa de retroceso en la ribera de 5 m/yr y una tasa de erosión volumétrica anual de 286,82 m3/yr en promedio. Los sedimentos liberados en el río, cuando se erosionan desde las orillas, pueden ser el origen de sedimentos contaminados (fósforo, mercurio...), así como la causa principal del relleno del cauce del río.

Incorporation of sustainability in process control of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional reservoirs

Typically, the term shale oil refers to natural oil trapped in rock of low porosity and ultra-low permeability. What has made the recovery of shale oil and gas economically viable is the extensive use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. Research on the relationship between the distribution of propping agent, called proppant, and shale well performance indicates that uniformity of proppant bank height and suspended proppant concentration across the fracture at the end of pumping determines the productivity of produced wells. However, it is important to note that traditional fracturing fluid pumping schedules have not considered the environmental and economic impacts of the post-fracturing process such as treatment and reuse of flowback water from fractured wells. Motivated by this consideration, a control framework is proposed to integrate sustainability considerations of the post-fracturing process into the hydraulic fracturing process. In this regard, a dynamic model is developed to describe the flow rate and the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) in flowback water from fractured wells. Thermal membrane distillation is considered for the removal of TDS. An optimization problem is formulated to find the optimal process that consists of hydraulic fracturing, storage, transportation, and water treatment, through minimizing annualized cost and water footprint of the process. The capabilities of the proposed approach are illustrated through the simulation results of different scenarios that are performed to examine effects of water availability on the productivity of stimulated wells. Finally, the environmental impact of flowback water treatment is evaluated using TRACI, a tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical and other environmental impacts.

Plant Community Influences on Intermittent Stream Stability in the Great Plains

The composition of the greenline plant community is linked to the stability of riparian ecosystems. Cool season exotic grasses are invading native plant communities across the northern Great Plains, potentially compromising streambank stability and increasing the risk of erosion within riparian ecosystems. To determine how the species composition of the greenline community impacts stream type and the risk of streambank erosion, thirty five reaches across five watersheds were sampled to determine the dominant greenline vegetation. At each reach, a cross-section was sampled to determine stream type, greenline vegetation, and risk of streambank erosion. Channel types were delineated using Rosgen’s classification of natural rivers. Canopy cover and composition was assessed using the line point intercept method along a 30.5 m transect in the greenline community. Plants recorded were grouped by their wetland indicator status for the central Great Plains. The Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BEHI) was used to assess the streams risk of erosion by calculating the difference between the bank height and bank full height, average plant rooting depth and density, bank angle degree, and the dominant texture of the bank material. Bank height ratio (BHR) was assessed as a measure of streambank stability and floodplain connectivity. A Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling ordination was performed to analyze plant community influences. Analysis of the data determined that the most stable stream types (E and C channels), lower BEHI scores, and stable bank height ratios were associated with high amounts of litter and facultative wet species. In comparison, unstable F channels were associated with early successional species and bare ground. Sites with the higher BEHI scores were associated with greenlines comprised of upland and facultative upland and saline tolerant species. Late successional facultative wetland species were found to provide the most protection to intermittent streambanks.

Dynamics of metals bound to suspended sediments in floods and on channel banks of the ephemeral Wadi Sekher, northern Negev desert, Israel

This study examines the variation in the concentration of eight heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, V, Sc) bound on suspended sediments during flow events and those deposited in channel banks. The study was undertaken in Wadi Sekher, an ephemeral flash-flood channel draining the Neot Hovav industrial chemical complex in the semi-arid northern Negev, Israel, at sites varying with bank height and distance from the industrial complex.Metal concentrations were found to be higher in the initial flow and recession than during peak flow. Bound metal concentrations were mainly affected by suspended sediment composition and concentrations. During peak flow the suspended sediment concentration rises and quartz sand is a major constituent. This leads to a decrease in bound metal concentrations, as the larger particles have a weaker affinity to binding. In six sediment samples, taken during the first 15 min of two floods, the bound metal concentrations changed similarly. These changes are suggested to represent variations in the source and cannot be attributed to dilution or binding effects.Six banks were sampled along Wadi Sekher, from the Neot Hovav hydrometric reach downstream to the confluence of Wadi Sekher and Wadi Beer-Sheva, at specified heights, following a bank-full flood. In every cross-section, a significant difference (p < 0.01) was seen in Cu, Cd, Co, V and Sc concentrations with bank height, with highest concentrations at bank-bed intersection. Downstream variations in bound metal concentrations along Wadi Sekher were statistically (p > 0.05) undifferentiated, indicating that the industrial area is not a source point for these metals, and that a constant input exists into the channel from tributaries along the channel.Due to the difficulty in sampling flash floods in ephemeral channels, existing data are not abundant, and our understanding of these environments is therefore limited. This study improves knowledge of interrelated variations in bound metal concentrations in fluvial deposits, in suspended sediment and in water during flash floods.

In-Channel 3D Models of Riverine Environments for Hydromorphological Characterization

Recent legislative approaches to improve the quality of rivers have resulted in the design and implementation of extensive and intensive monitoring programmes that are costly and time consuming. An important component of assessing the ecological status of a water body as required by the Water Framework Directive is characterising the hydromorphology. Recent advances in autonomous operation and the spatial coverage of monitoring systems enables more rapid 3D models of the river environment to be produced. This study presents a Structure from Motion (SfM) semi-autonomous based framework for the estimation of key reach hydromorphological measures such as water surface area, wetted water width, bank height, bank slope and bank-full width, using in-channel stereo-imagery. The framework relies on a stereo-camera that could be positioned on an autonomous boat. The proposed approach is demonstrated along three 40 m long reaches with differing hydromorphological characteristics. Results indicated that optimal stereo-camera settings need to be selected based on the river appearance. Results also indicated that the characteristics of the reach have an impact on the estimation of the hydromorphological measures; densely vegetated banks, presence of debris and sinuosity along the reach increased the overall error in hydromorphological measure estimation. The results obtained highlight a potential way forward towards the autonomous monitoring of freshwater ecosystems.

Morphometric Parameters and Neotectorphometric Parameters and Neotectonics of Kalyani River Basin, Ganga Plain: A Remote Sensing and GIS Approach

ABSTRACT The drainage basin of the Kalyani river, a tributary of Gomati river has been mapped and delineated using Survey of India toposheets (1:50,000 scale) and remote sensing satellite data. The digitization, slope map preparation and statistical calculations have been carried out with the help of geographical information system (Arc GIS 10). Kalyani a fifth order river exhibits meandering behavior having 2.45 sinuosity index (SI). The Kalyani river basin has about 1235 km2area with NW-SE sloping trend. The total number of first, second, third, and fourth order streams are 373, 71, 12 and 2 respectively, showing dominance of first order streams in the basin. The mean bifurcation ratio (Rb) of the entire basin is 4.8, which indicates that the drainage is not much influenced by geological structures and exhibits dendritic drainage pattern. Relief ratio (Rr) indicates low to medium surface run-off, and low stream power for erosion. The analysis of river bank height ‘r’ (escarpment) and longitudinal profile of the river closely reveals neotectonic activity at some locations in the basin. To prepare a comprehensive watershed development and management plan, it is important to understand the topography and drainage characteristics of the region.

Application of MLR Procedure for Prediction of Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spread Displacement

I presented the Kenneth L. Lee lecture at the 2016 Queen Mary Seminar, ASCE Los Angeles Geo-Institute Chapter, and publish it herein. The topic was lateral spread problems I have encountered as a consultant. The first issue was how deep to bury a pipeline at stream crossings to mitigate the lateral spread hazard. My answer is twice the bank height (2H) beneath approaches or 1H beneath the channel. For shallow liquefiable layers, a shear zone would form well above and not harm the pipe. For deep liquefiable layers, nonliquefiable soil above the pipe should buttress the channel against lateral spread. The second issue was finding the thinnest liquefiable layer that is susceptible to lateral spread. In the database of Youd et al. database, the thinnest layer is 1.0 m. For case histories used by Zhang et al. to verify their procedure, the minimum thickness is 0.6 m. Extrapolation to thinner layers adds uncertainty and a tendency for overprediction. The third issue was how to apply multiple linear regression (MLR) at a site with insufficient SPT data. CPT data were used to create ψ profiles; we then applied the criterion that ψ<–0.08 indicates material too dilative for lateral spread to develop. Summing layer thicknesses with ψ>–0.08 yielded estimates of T15 for use with MLR.

Establishing a sediment budget in the newly created “Kleine Noordwaard” wetland area in the Rhine–Meuse delta

Abstract. Many deltas are threatened by accelerated soil subsidence, sea-level rise, increasing river discharge, and sediment starvation. Effective delta restoration and effective river management require a thorough understanding of the mechanisms of sediment deposition, erosion, and their controls. Sediment dynamics has been studied at floodplains and marshes, but little is known about the sediment dynamics and budget of newly created wetlands. Here we take advantage of a recently opened tidal freshwater system to study both the mechanisms and controls of sediment deposition and erosion in newly created wetlands. We quantified both the magnitude and spatial patterns of sedimentation and erosion in a former polder area in which water and sediment have been reintroduced since 2008. Based on terrestrial and bathymetric elevation data, supplemented with field observations of the location and height of cut banks and the thickness of the newly deposited layer of sediment, we determined the sediment budget of the study area for the period 2008–2015. Deposition primarily took place in channels in the central part of the former polder area, whereas channels near the inlet and outlet of the area experienced considerable erosion. In the intertidal area, sand deposition especially takes place at low-lying locations close to the channels. Mud deposition typically occurs further away from the channels, but sediment is in general uniformly distributed over the intertidal area, due to the presence of topographic irregularities and micro-topographic flow paths. Marsh erosion does not significantly contribute to the total sediment budget, because wind wave formation is limited by the length of the fetch. Consecutive measurements of channel bathymetry show a decrease in erosion and deposition rates over time, but the overall results of this study indicate that the area functions as a sediment trap. The total contemporary sediment budget of the study area amounts to 35.7×103 m3 year−1, which corresponds to a net area-averaged deposition rate of 6.1 mm year−1. This is enough to compensate for the actual rates of sea-level rise and soil subsidence in the Netherlands.

Environmental factors and pattern of riparian vegetation along the downstream sections of the Lower Ogun River, Nigeria

The River Continuum Concept (RCC) is an existing theory regarding the distribution of plant communities along riverbanks. This study is concerned with the pattern of riparian vegetation along the Lower Ogun River (LOR) in relation to the observed downstream variation of various environmental factors (bank height, width, gradient, distance, cross‐sectional area and particle size). The LOR transits between undisturbed and disturbed sections. Forty‐eight cross sections were established at bankfull stage along the river channel stretch of about 90 km. Environmental variables distribution were determined using standard field procedures. Gradient was estimated from a 1:50 000 topographical map. At each corridor along the study sites, a 0.1 ha sampling site was chosen, in which 10 transects of 100 m2 were demarcated. In all, 332 individuals stratified under 80 species were recorded across the transects. The study revealed that total species richness (TSR) downstream decreases exponentially. TSR is significantly correlated with channel width, suggesting that hydraulic variable contributes more to the variation in TSR. The downstream total environmental factors revealed that width is inversely significant with downstream distance, suggesting that the river channel is narrower downstream. This affects plant life form distribution downstream and confirms why there is appearance of anthropogenic induced species downstream as against those in the upper course.

Root reinforcement to soils provided by common Ethiopian highland plants for gully erosion control

AbstractGrasses and trees are often used to stabilize gully banks. However, the effectiveness of such biological conservation measures has not been investigated for the Ethiopian highlands. This study investigates the reinforcement that plant roots may provide to strengthen gully banks in Ethiopia. The root systems of 26 indigenous and exotic plant species of 3 plant life forms (grasses, shrubs, and trees) were sampled, and root tensile strength and distribution were determined. The RipRoot model was used to quantify the additional cohesion derived from the plant roots. Among all tested roots, Eleusine floccifolia (grass), Tephrosia vogelii (tree), and Rosa abyssinica (shrub) had the strongest roots for each life form. The root volumetric ratio (root volume divided by soil volume) in the top 0.6 m of soil ranged from 0.03% to 0.46%. Roots of Digitaria abyssinica provided the maximum added cohesion (10.6 kPa) over this depth. For a given plant species, root volumetric ratio had a greater effect on additional cohesion than root tensile strength. Plant species with a fibrous root system provided greater additional cohesion values in the top 0.6 m (on average 3.4 vs. 1.7 kPa for tap root systems) and could potentially enhance gully bank stability for shallow gullies more than plants having a tap root system. To effectively rehabilitate larger gullies, plants should be integrated with other gully rehabilitation measures, such as regrading of gully banks and structural measures such as check dams to trap sediments, thereby reducing the effective gully bank height relative to rooting depth.

Experimental study on influence of bank height to bank erosion by bar formation

一部を拡幅させ河岸浸食が生じるよう浸食域を設けた直線水路を用いて，交互砂州による河岸浸食に関する水理実験を実施した．実験条件は，浸食域の河岸の高さを変えて3ケース設定し，交互砂州を十分に発達させたのちに河岸浸食を許す場合と平坦河床から河岸浸食を許す条件で砂州を形成させた場合の2通り，計6ケースである．その結果，河岸の高さと砂州の発達状況の組み合わせにより，現象が大きく異なることが明らかとなった．河岸が低いほど横断方向への浸食が進む傾向を示すものの，砂州と浸食箇所の位置関係は大きく変化しない．また，河岸高が高い実験では，砂州を発達させたのちに河岸浸食を許す場合は河岸浸食が進行するものの，平坦床から河岸浸食を許す場合には砂州が発達した後も河岸の浸食は生ぜす砂州は下流への進行を続けた．

Feedback control of proppant bank heights during hydraulic fracturing for enhanced productivity in shale formations

In hydraulic fracturing of shale formations, compared to conventional reservoirs, the fracturing fluid injected is of low‐viscosity and hence during pumping the proppant settles significantly, forming a proppant bank. Motivated by this consideration, we initially develop a high‐fidelity process model of hydraulic fracturing to describe the dominant proppant settling behavior during hydraulic fracturing process. Second, a novel remeshing strategy is developed to handle the high computational requirement due to moving boundaries. Third, a section‐based optimization method is employed to obtain key fracture design parameters for enhanced productivity in shale formations subject to given fracturing resources. Fourth, a reduced‐order model is constructed to design a Kalman filter and to synthesize a real‐time model‐based feedback control system by explicitly taking into account actuator limitations, process safety and economic considerations. We demonstrate that the proposed control scheme can regulate the uniformity of proppant bank heights along the fracture at the end of pumping. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical EngineersAIChE J, 64: 1638–1650, 2018

Experimental investigation of flow pattern around repelling and attracting T-head spur dikes on flat bed

Use of T-head spur dikes is one of the common methods to control erosion of riverbanks. Nevertheless, setting spur dikes in the flow direction leads to modification of flow path and local scour in the site of the spur dike. In case of intensification, this can destruct the structure and the riverbank. Therefore, understanding its mechanism and characteristics are crucial. The main objective of this study is to investigate and compare the flow pattern around submerged attracting and repelling T-head spur dikes in a flat bed. The experimental Flume was a rectangular channel with bed width of 92 cm, bank height of 60 cm and length of 8.7 m. around spur dike at 24 cross sections, 16 profiles and 3 depths velocity was measured by 2-D electromagnetic velocimeter. The results showed that downflow in upstream of repelling spur dike is stronger than the downstream part and the Length of downstream circulation zone is larger in attracting spur dike.

Volumetric measurement of river bank erosion from sequential historical aerial photography

Understanding of the relative contribution of bank erosion to sediment budgets in New Zealand is limited. Few measurements of bank erosion rates exist, and this is a major limitation to the development of a locally calibrated model of bank erosion. The New Zealand sediment budget model, SedNetNZ, predicts bank erosion based on preliminary data, and this study aims to underpin the development of an improved model for bank erosion. Photogrammetric techniques and LiDAR were used to collect data on bank erosion rates for five different river reaches, ranging from 3 to 14km in length, in the Kaipara Catchment, Northland, New Zealand. Changing river channel planform between the 1950s and 2015 was assessed using four to five well-spaced dates of historical aerial photographs. Changes in planform were combined with bank height, to calculate erosion and accretion volumes which were compared with SedNetNZ modelled estimates. Erosion and accretion is relatively evenly balanced in the study sites. The largest difference in terms of relative proportions of erosion and accretion are found along the Tangowahine River (13.4km reach length), where 492,000m3 of sediment eroded between 1956 and 2015 compared to 364,000m3 of accretion. Lateral migration rates (erosion) for the five river reaches range between 0.14myr−1 and 0.21m yr−1 and are comparable with those measured by previous assessments in New Zealand. The migration rates in channel widths per year for the three larger rivers (stream order 5–6) range between 0.4% and 0.8% of channel width per year. In contrast, the smaller streams (stream order 3–4) are retreating more rapidly, with width-averaged rates of 1.7% and 3.0%. Current SedNetNZ modelling tends to underestimate the bank height and greatly overestimates the migration rate.

Experimental investigation on cohesionless sandy bank failure resulting from water level rising

In the last decade, sediment replenishment forming cohesionless sandy banks below dams has become an increasingly common practice in Japan to compensate for sediment deficits downstream. The erosion process of the placed cohesionless sediment is a combination of lateral toe-erosion and the following mass failure. To explore cohesionless bank failure mechanisms, a series of experiments was done in a soil tank using a compacted sandy soil mass exposed to an increasing water level. Two types of uniform sand (D50 = 0.40mm and 0.17mm) and two bank heights (50cm and 25cm) were used under the condition of a constant bank slope of 75°. The three dimensional (3D) geometry of the bank after failure was measured using a handheld 3D scanner. The motion of bank failure was captured using the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique, and the matric suction was measured by tensiometers. The compacted sandy soil was eroded by loss of matric suction accompanying the rise in water level which subsequently caused rotational slide and cantilever toppling failure due to destabilization of the bank. The effect of erosion protection resulting from the slumped blocks after these failures is discussed in the light of different failure mechanisms. Tensile strength is analyzed by inverse calculation of cantilever toppling failure events. The tensile strength had non-linear relation with degree of saturation and showed a peak. The findings of the study show that it is important to incorporate the non-linear relation of tensile strength into stability analysis of cantilever toppling failure and prediction of tension crack depth within unsaturated cohesionless banks.

Russia: Stroyspetsmontazha – carbon black from scrap tyres

Sandbanks can occur downdrift of headlands across embayments as a result of tidal currents and wave forcing, and may present a potentially valuable resource of marine aggregate material. Large sandbanks can alter tidal flows and, through refraction and dissipation, increase or decrease wave exposure along the shoreline of an embayment. The impact of offshore sandbanks on shoreline morphodynamics at varying timescales has not been rigorously investigated. Here we show, for the first time, that removing, lowering or raising a headland-associated sandbank can have a significant impact on longshore sediment transport. A Delft3D model of Start Bay and Skerries Bank, UK, validated on hydrodynamic observations, was used to conduct the numerical experiments. Results indicate that removing or lowering the bank generally reduces dissipation and increases wave heights, increasing longshore flux in the lee of the bank. Raising the bank generally has the opposite effect, increasing dissipation and lowering flux. Under oblique waves, the bank may protect the adjacent shoreline by refracting waves away from the coast. Shoreline flux for the region directly onshore of the bank acts as a continuous function of bank height (R2 = 0.7), but correlations for distal regions are increasingly non-linear or absent. A raised bank would reduce transport rates to near-zero across extensive sections of the bay, reversing the long-term net flux at points distal (>5 km from bank) from the bank location, causing currently eroding regions to accrete. Our results demonstrate that moderate (≤5 m) elevation changes to a sandbank will likely produce significant variations in wave power at the shoreline, which will: (i) modify the shoreline response for individual storms; and (ii) substantially change shoreline morphology at decadal timescales. From a broader perspective, this study can be used to inform planning decisions involving naturally varying banks and/or potential mining of sandbanks, aiding shoreline protection strategies for locations with similar embayment-sandbank configurations.

Use of Wind Fetch and Shoreline Relief to Predict Nearshore Substrate Composition in a North Temperate Lake

AbstractSpawning habitat assessments often focus on substrate composition, but few studies have predicted shoal substrates by using environmental factors. We developed a model for predicting shoal substrates in Belle Lake, Minnesota, using wind fetch and shoreline relief characteristics. Percent composition of four substrate classes (silt, sand, gravel, and rock), water depth estimated at 1 m from shore (shoal slope), effective wind fetch measured using a GIS model, and riparian bank height derived from LIDAR imaging were determined at 50 transects. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis grouped substrates into categories, and general additive modeling described the effects of three predictor variables on the percent composition of substrate classes. The CART analysis correctly grouped 39 of 50 transects into four categories, and misclassifications primarily resulted from the movement of sand. Effective fetch most influenced silt (low fetch) and rock (high fetch) substrate classes, shoal slope was predictive of rock, and riparian height was useful in distinguishing sand from gravel. These results demonstrate the utility of a single empirical model for determining shoal substrate composition. Fisheries managers can use this technique to determine potential fish spawning locations and identify potential areas for habitat restoration or protection projects.Received December 5, 2016; accepted May 5, 2017 Published online July 19, 2017

Influences of Wave Climate and Sea Level on Shoreline Erosion Rates in the Maryland Chesapeake Bay

We investigated spatial correlations between wave forcing, sea level fluctuations, and shoreline erosion in the Maryland Chesapeake Bay (CB), in an attempt to identify the most important relationships and their spatial patterns. We implemented the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model and a parametric wave model from the USEPA Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) to simulate wave climate in CB from 1985 to 2005. Calibrated sea level simulations from the CBP hydrodynamic model over the same time period were also acquired. The separate and joint statistics of waves and sea level were investigated for the entire CB. Spatial patterns of sea level during the high wave events most important for erosion were dominated by local north-south winds in the upper Bay and by remote coastal forcing in the lower Bay. We combined wave and sea level data sets with estimates of historical shoreline erosion rates and shoreline characteristics compiled by the State of Maryland at two different spatial resolutions to explore the factors affecting erosion. The results show that wave power is the most significant influence on erosion in the Maryland CB, but that many other local factors are also implicated. Marshy shorelines show a more homogeneous, approximately linear relationship between wave power and erosion rates, whereas bank shorelines are more complex. Marshy shorelines appear to erode faster than bank shorelines, for the same wave power and bank height. A new expression for the rate of shoreline erosion is proposed, building on previous work. The proposed new relationship expresses the mass rate of shoreline erosion as a locally linear function of the difference between applied wave power and a threshold wave power, multiplied by a structure function that depends on the ratio of water depth to bank height.

The Missing Argument: The Article that Changed the Course of History?

In July 1967, one month after Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights, Israel's Military Advocate General (MAG), Colonel Meir Shamgar, appeared before a Knesset committee to discuss the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)’s duties in the areas under its control. Col. Shamgar had led the MAG Corps in the preparations in the event that a future war would find the army occupying beyond Israel's borders. Col. Shamgar began his presentation by stating: In terms of the legal background, our point of departure is that we have to respect both the fundamental pursuits of the State of Israel as its military forces begin to control an area that has been liberated by the IDF, and the rules of public international law that apply to the actions of any military in control of an area that was, until its entry, subject to the sovereignty of a foreign political entity. The guiding rules in this realm are the rules of public international law, which are reflected in The Hague Regulations of 1907 … and in the … Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Times of War.

A Method for Assessing Shoreline Stability of Alpine Lake, West Virginia

AbstractRapid stability assessments are tools commonly applied to stream reaches to evaluate potential for instability and are often used to prioritize management strategies. In this work, a rapid stability assessment was created to evaluate the stability of the shoreline of Alpine Lake in West Virginia, USA. First, the assessment tool was created considering the metrics of bank height, bank angle, erosion, armoring, wind and wave action, unconsolidated materials, protection measures, vegetation, and accretion. The resulting tool was applied to 83 reaches (20–100 m in length) of the lake shoreline. The reaches were rated in terms of potential instability: very low (14%), low (42%), moderate (33%), high (10%), and very high (1%). Second, erosion rates were monitored at eight locations using erosion pins. Average erosion rates up to 0.22 mm/d were observed. Measured erosion rates generally supported the rapid assessment results, but there were some exceptions. Additional categories that consider human activity along the lakeshore for recreation should be added. If used without continued erosion monitoring, the rapid assessment should be completed multiple times because the stability of the banks with little vegetation buffer varied by season. Lastly, reclamation strategies are discussed.