Sediment-laden Streams Research Articles

Examining Storage Capacity Loss and Sedimentation Rate of Large Reservoirs in the Central U.S. Great Plains

Reservoirs created by impounding sediment-laden streams infill over time, reducing storage capacity and altering water quality. Increasing freshwater demand on a limited supply is adding pressure on reservoir water storage and management across much of the western and central U.S. Determining sedimentation rates is helpful to ensure a reliable and sustainable clean water supply for drinking, irrigation and recreation purposes. In the state of Kansas, located in the central Great Plains, bathymetric surveys have been completed recently for many major state and federally constructed reservoirs. In this paper, we examine sediment infill rate and storage capacity loss for all 24 federally operated reservoirs in Kansas. As of 2016, these reservoirs have an average age of 52 years and collectively have lost approximately 17% of their original capacity, with the highest single-reservoir loss of 45%, the highest annual loss rate of 0.84%, and the highest annual sediment yield of 1688 m3/km2/year. Results from this paper provide baseline information pertinent to the development, prioritization and assessment of remediation and mitigation strategies for addressing the sediment infill problem in Kansas, with general implications for other large reservoirs across the Great Plains as well as other climatologically and ecologically similar regions around the world.

Development and evaluation of a self-cleaning custom-built auto sampler controlled by a low-cost RaspberryPi microcomputer for online enzymatic activity measurements

A fully automated on-site device (SAMP-FIL) that enables water sampling with simultaneous filtration and effective cleaning procedures of the device's components was developed and field-tested. The SAMP-FIL was custom-built using commercially available components and was controlled by a RaspberryPi single-board computer operating open-source software. SAMP-FIL was designed for sample pre-treatment with minimal sample alteration to meet the requirements of on-site measurement devices that cannot handle coarse suspended solids within the measurement procedure or cycle. A highly effective cleaning procedure provides a fresh and minimally altered sample for the connected measurement device. The construction and programmed software facilitates the use of SAMP-FIL for different connected measurement devices. The SAMP-FIL sample pretreatment was tested for over one year for rapid and on-site enzymatic activity (beta-d-glucuronidase, GLUC) determination (BACTcontrol) in sediment-laden stream water. The formerly used proprietary sampling set-up was assumed to lead to significant damping of the measurement signal due to its susceptibility to clogging, debris accumulation and bio-film accumulation. The implementation of SAMP-FIL considerably increased the error-free running time and measurement accuracy of BACTcontrol devices. This paper describes how low-cost microcomputers, such as the RaspberryPi, can be used by operators to substantially improve established measuring systems via effective sampling devices. Furthermore, the results of this study highlight the importance of adequate sample pretreatment for the quality of on-site measurements.

Real-time monitoring of beta-d-glucuronidase activity in sediment laden streams: A comparison of prototypes

Detection of enzymatic activities has been proposed as a rapid surrogate for the culture-based microbiological pollution monitoring of water resources. This paper presents the results of tests on four fully automated prototype instruments for the on-site monitoring of beta-d-glucuronidase (GLUC) activity. The tests were performed on sediment-laden stream water in the Hydrological Open Air Laboratory (HOAL) during the period of March 2014 to March 2015. The dominant source of faecal pollution in the stream was swine manure applied to the fields within the catchment. The experiments indicated that instrument pairs with the same construction design yielded highly consistent results (R2 = 0.96 and R2 = 0.94), whereas the results between different designs were less consistent (R2 = 0.71). Correlations between the GLUC activity measured on-site and culture-based Escherichia coli analyses over the entire study period yielded R2 = 0.52 and R2 = 0.47 for the two designs, respectively. The correlations tended to be higher at the event scale. The GLUC activity was less correlated with suspended sediment concentrations than with E. coli, which is interpreted in terms of indicator applicability and the time since manure application. The study shows that this rapid assay can yield consistent results over a long period of on-site operation in technically challenging habitats. Although the use of GLUC activity as a proxy for culture-based assays could not be proven for the observed habitat, the study results suggest that this biochemical indicator has high potential for implementation in early warning systems.

Record of Historical Gulf of Mexico Storms Preserved In the Stratigraphy of Gum Hollow Delta, Nueces Bay, Texas, U.S.A.: An Example of Tropical-Cyclone-Induced Hyperpycnal Deposition

Abstract Gum Hollow Delta is a small microtidal, aggradational to slightly progradational, hyperpycnal, tropical-cyclone-dominated delta in Nueces Bay (Texas). The delta formed over the past 80 years following anthropogenically diverted, high sediment-laden stream runoff through Gum Hollow Creek into Nueces Bay. Gum Hollow Delta formed episodically due to high runoff and increased discharge in Gum Hollow Creek and temporarily elevated sea level during Gulf of Mexico tropical cyclones. The delta is 600 m long, 1000 m wide, and 1.6 m thick. Fifty-one vibracores were taken along four dip transects and two strike transects to delineate the internal sedimentology, architecture, and geochronology of the delta. The delta consists of nine bedsets (tempestites) representing deltaic growth events. Internal stratigraphic correlations were constrained by the identification of significant widespread flooding surfaces and by 137Cs geochronology. Flooding surfaces formed as storm surges produced short-term base-level rises in Nueces Bay, which were followed by rapid hyperpycnal sedimentation events. Tropical cyclones such as the 1933 Hurricane (Hurricane Eleven), 1945 Hurricane (Hurricane Five), and the 1949 Hurricane (Hurricane Ten) and named hurricanes Alice (1954), Carla (1961), Beulah (1967), Celia (1970), Allen (1980), and Bret (1999) produced significant base-level rises and deltaic depositional events. Distributary-channel avulsions are also associated with the landfall of these tropical cyclones. Comparison of the timing of the deposition of these hyperpycnal tempestites, constrained by 137Cs geochronology, historical aerial photographs, and the historical record of Gulf of Mexico tropical cyclones indicate that the Gum Hollow Delta preserves an 80-year record of storminess.

Roadless areas and clean water

C lean water, like biodiversity, is most closely linked to undisturbed natural ecosystems. When undisturbed watersheds in roadless and protected areas (e.g., national parks, state parks, wilderness areas, national monuments) are fragmented by roads, logging, and intensive recreation development, both water quality and biodiversity decline as hydrological integrity is lost (USFS 1972, 1979, 2001; Alexander and Gorte 2008; Anderson 2008). In the United States, inventoried roadless areas (IRAs) are lands without roads exceeding 2,000 ha (5,000 ac) that have been inventoried by the USDA Forest Service. IRAs collectively amount to approximately one third of the 77 million ha (193 million ac) of the 155 national forests but are disproportionately concentrated in western states (figure 1) (Trout Unlimited 2004; Anderson 2008). The roaded, intensively managed landscapes of the other national forest lands have been closely correlated with heavily sediment-laden streams and dramatic changes in flow regimes (Espinosa et al. 1997; Trombulak and Frissell 2000; CBD et al. 2001; Coffin 2007; Frissell and Carnefix 2007). While the biodiversity benefits of IRAs are well documented (DeVelice and Martin 2001; Strittholt and DellaSala 2001; Loucks et al. 2003; Strittholt et al. 2004; Gelbardi and Harrison 2005), little has been made of the importance of IRA…

Sequence stratigraphic analysis of the first layer, upper second submember, Shahejie formation in Pucheng oilfield

In view of the high accuracy and predictability, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy had been extensively applied to oil exploration and gotten prominent practicable results. This article takes the first layer, upper second submember, Shahejie (沙河街) Formation from Pucheng (濮城) oilfield as an example to analyze the application of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy in reservoir study on the basis of a comprehensive study of core log data. Firstly, facies analysis of this area reveals the corresponding terminal fan system occurring where sediment-laden streams decrease in size and vanish as a result of evaporation and transmission losses. The model includes a tripartite zonation of terminal fan into feeder, distributary, and basinal zones. Secondly, electrofacies were made by well-log analysis and then matched with sedimentary facies defined by core analysis. Four electrofacies characterizing the main sedimentary facies association and depositional environments within target area are defined (channel, lag deposit, lake or flood-plain, and overflow deposits). Thirdly, related correlations based on high-resolution sequence stratigraphy were established. By observing the stacking arrangement of genetic sequences, different scales of stratigraphic cycle can be identified. Within scale and duration, the stratigraphic cycles are termed as genetic sequences, genetic sequence sets, and minor cycles.

Application of a flow-measurement structure for sediment-laden streams

Generally, measurement of flow in natural streams is accomplished by measuring the flow depth. Hence, the relationship between the water level and discharge should be obtained in advance. However, in streams with high sediment load, the bottom level may change due to sediment deposition, preventing the single relation between water level and discharge. This paper summarizes the application of a flow-measurement structure for sediment-laden streams. The proposed structure is designed and built in Turkey and has been under operation since 1998 without any sedimentation problem. The agreement between the real data obtained from the structure and the theoretical rating curve is quite reasonable.

THE LOWER EOCENE RODA SANDSTONE (SOUTH-CENTRAL PYRENEES):AN EXAMPLE OF A FLOOD-DOMINATED RIVER-DELTA SYSTEMIN A TECTONICALLY CONTROLLED BASIN

The lower Eocene Roda Sandstone (Figols Group, south-central Pyrenees) mainly consists of mouth bars and delta-front sandstone lobes deposited in a flood-dominated river-delta system. The deposition of these bodies was strongly controlled by an interaction between flood-dominated gravity flows entering seawater, topographic confinement and tidal currents. The Roda Sandstone is made up of six depositional sequences of different hierarchical order each of which is characterized by a basal deltaic sandstone wedge (R1 to R6) that passes upward into a siltstone and mudstone interval. Each basal deltaic sandstone wedge is composed of three types of facies association and respective facies tract ( sensu Mutti 1992) that, from proximal to distal zones, are indicated as T1, T2 and T3. These three facies tracts are created by the downcurrent evolution of different types of sediment-laden stream flows entering seawater and related hyperpycnal flows. Their deposits are constituted by three different types of coarse-grained mouth bars and corresponding fine-grained delta-front sandstone lobes. The tidal influence is present in facies tract T3 in the R5 and R6 sandstone units, where the passage between flood-dominated mouth bars and the delta-front sandstone lobes occurs through intermediate facies characterized by different types of sigmoidal-cross stratification whose meaning will be discussed. The basal deltaic sandstone wedges of Roda sandstone are characterized by a progressive forestepping culminating in the R6 unit that erodes the underlying R5 unit and by an overlying backstepping unit indicated as R7. The erosive surface at the base of R6 unit is interpreted as a sequence boundary that divides the Roda Sandstone into two parts: 1) an underlying highstand system tract (HST) and falling stage system tract (FSST) (units R1 to R5) and 2) an overlying low-stand delta (the R6 unit) that passes upward into highstand mudstone through a transgressive system tract represented by the R7 unit. Pdf

Transport of reactive chemicals in sediment-laden streams

This paper deals with the transport of chemicals in a turbulent stream when both sorbing suspended load and decay reactions are present. These conditions, which can be found quite commonly in rivers, give rise to interesting behaviour. Important and not trivial processes are added and interact with the classical diffusive, advective, and dispersive mechanisms. Due to the sorption process, the chemical divides into an aqueous and a sorbed phase which follow different evolutions: the aqueous phase is regulated by turbulent diffusion, advection and shear, while the sorbed one undergoes the same fluid dynamic mechanisms but through the evolution of suspended sediment, which is also subjected to sedimentation. The evolutions of the two phases are not separate, as the sorption–desorption exchanges between the aqueous and sorbed phases connect their dynamics. In turn, the decay reactions, being able to modify the concentrations in the two phases, influence the sorption process and therefore the entire transport dynamics. A complex picture results where several nonlinear interactions occur. The main objective of the work is to obtain the one-dimensional partial differential equation that describes the temporal and spatial dynamics of the depth-averaged concentration of the chemical. Due to the existence of three well separated time scales in the whole transport process, the mathematical homogenization theory is adopted to average the two-dimensional model, and the most general case is dealt with in which sediment transport is unsteady while the reactions are nonlinear and different for the aqueous and sorbed phases. Finally, some examples of real cases are discussed where the influence of unsteady suspended sediment dynamics and the nonlinearity of reactions is analyzed, while the role of the several nonlinear differential terms in the model is highlighted.

Terminal fans—a review with reference to Devonian examples

Terminal fans occur where sediment-laden streams decrease in size and vanish as a result of evaporation and transmission losses. They tend to form in arid or semi-arid regions which are characterized by a moisture deficit. Distributary channel patterns are characteristic of terminal fans, and reflect both loss of stream power and spatially/temporally fluctuating discharge.In a number of Devonian basins, terminal fan sediments form conspicuous sequences with examples from Spitsbergen, England, Ireland and Greenland. Examples of terminal fan systems from the Northeast Greenland Basin and the Munster Basin in Ireland are presented in this paper.The ancient examples are used in combination with modern distributary systems to construct a simple facies model for terminal fans and their deposits. The model includes a tripartite zonation of terminal fans into feeder, distributary and basinal zones. The feeder zone is characterized by large channel bodies associated with interchannel fines. An increase in channel body frequency may occur at the transition from the feeder zone to the distributary zone, reflecting the downstream multifurcation of channels. The distributary zone is characterized by a downstream decrease in both the scale and frequency of channel deposits, which are mainly replaced by sheetflood deposits. This is the result of the decline of both water depth and stream power downslope. Further evidence of terminal fan systems is the downstream transition from distal to basinal zone deposits of floodbasin, playa mudflat or aeolian origin, reflecting the absence of a terminal base level in the form of a lake or the sea.

Sedimentation on the Front of Eocene Gilbert-type Deltas, Washakie Basin, Wyoming

ABSTRACT The transition from alluvial to lacustrine rocks in the Laney Member of the Green River Formation includes Gilbert-type deltas whose depositional features provide information about the history and nature of Lake Gosiute, and document proximal to distal sedimentation on the delta fronts. Gilbert-type deltaic rocks in the Laney are composed of cycles each consisting of constructional and destructional phases. The constructional phases are represented by an upward-coarsening sequence produced by lakeward progradation of delta topset and foreset beds over prodeltaic sediments. During the destructional phase erosion and reworking of delta-plain and -slope beds resulted in formation of an erosional surface, and locally, a sandstone shoreline veneer. These features of Laney deltaic deposits re similar to constructional and destructional phases of late Quaternary and modern Gilbert-type delta deposits of the Truckee River at Pyramid Lake, Nevada. They are attributed to fluctuation in lake level or shifting of the stream mouth entering the lake. The most characteristic feature of the delta deposits is foreset bedding with depositional dips of up to 20 degrees. The maximum thicknesses of foreset deposits range from 10 to 25 meters. The geometry of the foreset deposits suggests that the lake was shallow with maximum depths of 25 meters where deltas were constructed. Foreset beds grade upward into flat-lying sandstone and mudrock topset beds, and grade downward into flat-lying mudrock bottomset beds. The delta fronts consist of repetitive sequences of sandstone and mudrock with sporadic, thick, massive sandstone beds. In the Bridger and Washakie Basins local foundering of deltaic sandstone and mudrock into lacustrine oil shale resulted in large load casts, slump folds, and sandstone pillows that partly or wholly obliterated orig nal bedding features of topset, foreset, and bottomset beds. Proximal to distal delta-front sedimentation patterns include: thinning of stratigraphic intervals of 50 to 70 percent; increase in the ratio of mudrock to sandstone; and decrease in the total number of beds in a stratigraphic interval. Bedding sequences in delta-front rocks are 1) ripple-bedded fine-grained sandstone overlain by parallel-laminated mudrock; 2) ripple-bedded fine-grained sandstone, parallel-laminated fine-grained sandstone, and parallel-laminated mudrock; and 3) parallel-laminated fine-grained sandstone overlain by parallel-laminated mudrock. These sequences were produced by interflow and mixing of sediment-laden stream water in lake water of equal density, and by wave action on the delta front.

Turbidite Origin of Glaciolacustrine Sediments, Woodcock Lake, Pennsylvania

ABSTRACT Laminated silt- and clay-size sediments exposed in cutbanks along Woodcock Creek in northwestern Pennsylvania are of glaciolacustrine origin. The presence of convolutions and graded laminae indicate that deposition of these sediments was by turbidity currents. Small-scale cross-bedding in some of the coarser sediments within the laminae suggests that deposition of an individual graded lamination required no more than a few days' time. Thus, although these sediments superficially appear to be annual varves, they are in fact rhythmites. The turbidity currents primarily responsible for the deposition and deformation of the laminated sediments probably originated from an outwash stream which flowed into an ice-dammed lake which temporarily occupied Woodcock. Creek Valley sometime during Pleistocene time. As the sediment-laden stream entered the lake, sand- and gravel-size sediments were deposited, forming a delta-kame which presently exists. along the valley wall about km from the exposed lake sediments. When the stream currents which flowed across the delta reached the delta front, they had a higher density (suspended-sediment load) than the lake water. Thus, the stream currents flowed down the delta face onto the prodelta slope as turbidity currents. These turbidity c rrents are believed to have deposited the graded laminae now exposed along the valley bottom.

Base surges and their deposits: Capelinhos and Taal Volcanoes

Volcanic base surges from Taal volcano (1965, 1966) and Capelinhos volcano (1957–1958) showed all transitions from: (1) small radial surges of nearly pure white steam puffing out from the base of tall, vertically rising eruption columns charged with abundant black particles, to (2) much larger, dark gray, particle-laden base surges fed by subsidence of the eruption column. Radial dispersal of volcanic base surges occurs essentially in three stages: (1) Surges of white steam with only a few solid particles spread immediately from the base of the emerging eruption column as water vapor concentrated along its periphery escapes and condenses; (2) Black plumes of solid particles shoot radially on ballistic trajectories from the walls of the rising eruption column as it is torn apart by internal steam bursts; and (3) The turbulent mixture of solid particles, water, and air tumbles en masse to the ground, and much of it flows away on the heels of the steam surge and incorporates it. Deposits from the particle-laden surges consist mainly of chilled sideromelane accumulated in characteristically cross-bedded dunelike layers with poor sorting. These alternate with air-fall layers, many of which are rich in accretionary lapilli. At Taal, cross bedding developed from the deposition of dunelike bed forms that were eroded and buried by the debris of the next passing base surge. The dune shapes and form of internal cross bedding resemble antidunes that develop in high-flow regimes on sandy beds of sediment-laden streams, and from underwater density currents simulated in flumes. The cohesiveness of base-surge deposits, shown by bedding sags and mud-plastered walls and trees, is a major factor in preserving the antidune bed forms, but is not a factor in their initial development.

Statistical Model of Turbulence in Sediment-Laden Streams

Turbulent flow in a sediment laden stream is described by a random walk model which simulates the behavior of sediment particles, fluctuating in depth near the surface of the stream down to the stream bed. The basic aspect of this model is the probability laws which govern the transfer of mass for both water and sediment from one level to another throughout the total depth. The downstream velocity at each level is introduced to convert mass to momentum. Three sources of momentum loss are taken into account. The downstream velocities at the various levels, which are unknown, are determined from a set of equations based on the assumption that the expected momentum at a given level equals the sum of the expected momentum contributed at time Δt previous from all levels and by gravity. The solution of these equations in the limit where the distance between levels goes to zero leads to the vertical velocity distribution of the sediment-water mixture which is dependent upon four parameters.

Closure to “Resistance Properties of Sediment-Laden Streams”

Closure to “Resistance Properties of Sediment-Laden Streams”