Tributary Drainage Research Articles

ESTIMATING DRAINAGE AREA ON STEEP UNIFORM SLOPES1

ABSTRACT: A study was conducted to derive a simple procedure for estimating the tributary drainage area that may potentially develop at the base of a uniformly graded, steep slope. Data were extracted from a nil development flume study in which 112 rills and their tributary drainage areas were documented. The tributary drainage area for each rill was correlated to the slope length and the slope gradient. The findings are considered applicable to planar, convex, and divergent slopes with lengths of up to 130 m. Field verification is needed to extend the applicability of the relation.

A Performance-Based Regulatory Program for Phosphorus Control to Prevent the Accelerated Eutrophication of Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Following 15 years of data collection, field studies, and modeling efforts, the State of Florida in 1987 legislatively mandated the South Florida Water Management District, a regional water management agency, to create and implement a plan to reduce average annual inputs of total phosphorus to Lake Okeechobee by 40 percent. One element of the resulting plan was the creation and implementation of a performance-based regulatory program that set phosphorus discharge limitations for all parcels of land equal to or greater than 1/2 acre in size in almost all of the 1,735,000 acres of the lake's 31 tributary drainage basins. Owners of non-complying parcels are required to take measures to bring the parcels into compliance. This regulatory program, coupled with concurrent cost-share incentive programs and ongoing research efforts, has resulted in a decrease in phosphorus concentrations from individual properties and at some tributary discharge locations to the lake. This effort demonstrates that where there is sufficient historical information, scientific application of state-of-the-art modeling techniques, a political will, and appropriate powers vested in the institutions to take and enforce actions, such programs can be implemented and have positive effects on reducing non-point source pollutants.

Basinwide sedimentation and the continuum of paleoflow in an ancient river system: Kayenta Formation (Lower Jurassic), central portion Colorado Plateau

Utilizing detailed documentation of alluvial architecture to reconstruct the continuum of paleoflow (perennial, intermittent, ephemeral), a basinwide study of the Kayenta Formation (Lower Jurassic) reveals that the northern half of the basin is characterized by sandy, low-sinuosity fluvial systems which exhibit perennial (Assoc. 1) to intermittent (Assoc. 2) discharge indicators. The rivers had headwaters east of the Uncompahgre Highlands (western Colorado) and flowed southwest across the basin depositing a braidplain of channel sands with well-preserved 3-dimensional macroforms. One significant aspect of the macroform architecture is documentation of macroform climb in both an upstream and downstream direction. The macroforms aggrade vertically by climbing (maximum 10° dip in an upstream direction) and migrating over the backs (upstream ends) of underlying macroforms. The process of macroform climb records a minimum water depth of 8 m and a maximum of 16 m which places the Kayenta perennial waterways (Assoc. 1) within a mesothermal hydrologic regime.The southern portion of the basin contains intermittent (Assoc. 2) to ephemeral (Assoc. 3) fluvial deposits, extensive floodplain preservation and eolian dune and interdune/sandsheet deposition (Assoc. 4). A tributary drainage pattern to the northwest was established by smaller, low- to moderately-sinuous streams. Eolian dune and interdune deposits migrated across this more arid windswept portion of the basin. The range of alluvial architecture present in the Kayenta attests to the diversity that can be found in a small continental sedimentary basin.

A Comparison of Nocturnal Drainage Flow in Three Tributaries

Abstract The characteristics of tributary drainage flow in stable, nocturnal conditions in three closely located tributaries are compared. The orientation of the tributaries with respect to Kimball Creek, into which they drain, appears to be a controlling factor in the tributary flow. In particular, oscillations in the drainage flow are found to be weakest and drainage mass per unit area greatest in the tributary most closely aligned with the main canyon.

Modeling Bulk Atmospheric Drainage Flow in a Valley

Abstract Most simulations of bulk valley-drainage flows depend heavily on parameterizations. The 1984 Atmospheric Studies in Complex Terrain (ASCOT) field experiment in Brush Creek Valley, Colorado, provided an unprecedented density of measurements in a natural valley of simple shape, allowing tests of assumptions and parameterizations developed from laboratory measurements and detailed numerical simulations. This paper uses the ASCOT data to test a model that computes total fluxes of mass (volume) and momentum—determining buoyant and pressure-gradient forces from measured temperature profiles, and parameterizing drag, entrainment, and sidewall and tributary drainage. Computed divergences of volume and momentum flux are within a factor of 2 of the Doppler lidar measurements in Brush Creek Valley. The relative importance of individual terms as parameterized in the model is discussed. A major problem for future work is the treatment of the interaction between valley drainage and ambient flow.

EVALUATION OF SOME APPROACHES TO ESTIMATING NON‐POINT POLLUTANT LOADS FOR UNMONITORED AREAS1

ABSTRACT: Evaluation of the non‐point source pollutant load entering a lake from multiple tributaries requires either that all tributaries be monitored or that some extrapolation method be used to estimate loads originating in areas not monitored. Unmonitored areas include not only watersheds of tributaries that are not monitored, but also portions of a monitored tributary's drainage basin downstream from the monitoring site and areas of direct drainage. Significant portions of large lake drainage basins are often not monitored, and loads for these areas are often estimated by extrapolation. Six simple extrapolation procedures were evaluated by using them to estimate loads for areas that had been monitored and comparing the estimated loads with the monitored loads. Three approaches were based on inter‐basin ratios of area, C‐factor, and discharge. The other approaches used regression relationships between concentration and flow to estimate concentrations for the unmonitored basin. The ratio approaches generally were more reliable than the regression approaches. However, extrapolation by any method tested was not very precise. Some methods also were biased when applied to watersheds of a size different than the monitored one. Extrapolation by any of these methods would compromise the precision of the lake‐wide load estimate, if the unmonitored area were a significant part of the entire basin.

The Accumulation and Pooling of Drainage Flows in a Large Basin

Abstract We describe a sequence of tethersonde and solar measurements showing the effects of the pooling of cold air drainages in a basin located along the Colorado River below the Brush drainage. Results obtained during periods of weak ambient winds show that the basin fills over a period of several hours, then eventually overflows. The depth of the pool is such as to affect tributary drainages, such as that of Brush Creek, and to cause the accumulating drainage jets to become elevated as they flow down the larger drainage channels into the basin.

Downstream Impacts of a Dam on a Bedrock Fluvial System, Brazos River, Central Texas

Impoundment of the Brazos River at Lake Whitney Dam had caused localized aggradation in the bedrock floored channel for over 22 mi (35 km) downstream. Patterns of aggradation are related to input of elastics from steep bedrock controlled, mixed-load tributaries. Surveyed tributary delta systems have shown steady growth since the dam was constructed in 1951. Five of the 21 tributary deltas are shown to affect river gradient, river planform, and channel dimensions. Thresholds of channel erosion on the Brazos River are related to delta planform size: armored tributary deltas with areas over 81,000 ft2 (7,525 m2) which occupy about 68 percent of the main stem width represent the threshold at which channel bank loss begins. Bank loss in these areas ranges from 5–14 ft (1.5–4.3 m) a year. Channel hydraulics at the confluences are inferred from 2D flow models. Five zones of flow are recognized in the confluence areas and appear to be related to delta planform and sediment transport. Delta growth is shown to be related to tributary drainage area and channel slope; most deltas are predicted to double their size in the next 35 years. Six management alternatives were considered for channel bank erosion control. Retention check dams on the tributaries built to retain the coarse bed load sediment are recommended. Mining trapped gravels in the tributaries for local road-base material is also advocated.

The Use of Natural Stream Characteristics for Stream Rehabilitation Works Below the Manitoba Escarpment

Drainage improvement of watersheds draining from the Manitoba escarpment has been based on channel designs which result in nearly straight canals with uniform gradients and trapezoidal cross-sections. These conditions are often associated with environmental degradation, such as loss of fish spawning and rearing habitat, increased erosion and siltation, and changes in water conveyance patterns that can cause property damage. In mobile bed streams, the geometry of the "natural" stream channel in profile and in cross section is determined by the geology of the basin, the extent of the tributary drainage area, and the position of a stream reach in the hierarchical order of the drainage network. Regional stream channel characteristics can be determined from channel surveys in sample reaches that are selected throughout the basin. Selected aspects of the "natural" stream geometry can then be mimicked in rehabilitation schemes that enhance or create physical stream characteristics in the uniform drainage canals that are significant biologically and hydraulically. Experimental rehabilitation and enhancement works have been constructed in Wilson Creek and Mink River. The works have re-stabilized the channels and created new pool and riffle habitats for fish spawning and rearing.

The Development of the River Thames in Central London during the Flandrian

Reconstruction of the pre-urban situation from historical sources and contour mapping of subsurface information demonstrate the existence of a system of eyots and channels within the flood-plain of the Thames in central London. Their formation is explained by predominantly northward migration of the Thames channel during the Flandrian. Analysis of the tributary drainage pattern allows a more precise description of the mechanics of migration and is used to calibrate the northward movement. Five chronological stages (Thames 1-5) are proposed, the position of the Thames and the tributary configuration described at each. Particular attention is paid to the formation of the anomalous Isle of Dogs meander in East London. The succession of events is examined in more detail using the examples of the rivers Tyburn and Fleet for which more historical data are available than other tributaries. Dating flood-plain deposits is discussed and a chronology, derived from Flandrian eustatic change in the Thames estuary, applied to main stream migration in central London. The case for unidirectional migration is debated and comments appended on the relative utility of urban areas for geomorphological investigation. Directions for future research are outlined.

Additions of Nutrients and Major Ions by the Atmosphere and Tributaries to Nearshore Waters of Northwestern Lake Huron

Nutrient additions by the atmosphere and six tributaries to nearshore waters of northwestern Lake Huron were measured at weekly intervals from August 1975 to July 1976. The atmosphere contributed 43% of the nitrogen (N) and 10% of the phosphorus (P) that was added during the year. The 1975–76 atmospheric loading rate of total N to this area (11 kg/ha/yr) was one of the highest found to date in the United States. N was conserved more efficiently than P in the tributary drainage basins. Of the N and P that fell annually on the watersheds under study, 2 to 37% of the N and 31 to 84% of the P was carried with runoff to the lake. From a basin where ditching and clear-cutting occurred, water, P, silica (SiO 2), N, and sodium were lost at higher rates than from five other basins. Most of the N in bulk atmospheric samples (23%) and tributary waters (56%) was dissolved organic N, a form of N not often measured.

Regional geochemical mapping and health in the United Kingdom

Geochemical atlases based on the analysis of sediments from surface tributary drainage have been published for Northern Ireland, and England & Wales; the data are smoothed by computer and show regional patterns for the distribution of 20 and 21 elements respectively. Atlases for parts of Scotland present point-source data for up to 25 elements in stream sediments; additional data have been obtained for pan concentrates and stream waters. Regional surveys to provide point-source information are continuing and it is intended that they will in due course cover the whole of the United Kingdom. Research has been successfully undertaken into the applications of geochemical maps to problems of plant and animal health and production, and maps are currently used to delineate areas of potential trace element deficiency and heavy metal excess, particularly where problems may be of a sub-clinical nature. Applications to human health are illustrated with examples of metal anomalies in old mining areas in Derbyshire (Pb) and Somerset (Cd, Zn). Geochemical atlases continue to provide valuable sources of multi-element data for area selection in food, water and medical surveys, and comprise useful base-line information for epidemiological studies.

Water Renewal Efficiency of Watershed and Lake Combinations in the ELA Region of the Precambrian Shield

Individual components of lakewater budgets in the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) are highly variable through time. Direct field measurements combined with empirical relationships for unmeasurable components are required to achieve balanced lakewater budgets over short intervals of several hours or days. However, annual variations in the hydrological regime are related to a few simple characteristics of the lake and surrounding watershed. In the 1969–77 period the annual ratios of terrestrial evapotranspiration/precipitation and lake evaporation/precipitation showed little variation and were of a similar magnitude. As a result, the potential for water renewal or replacement in the lake basins annually can be characterized by only four factors: the annual precipitation, the tributary drainage basin area, the lake area, and the lake volume. The potential has been expressed as the Annual Watershed Efficiency (AWE), the reciprocal of the water renewal time, to obtain a linear relationship between the four variables. The AWE i a measure of the extent to which a particular watershed and lake combination can renew the lake water under various annual precipitation conditions. A general graphical relationship for the AWE has been prepared for small headwater lakes similar to those of the ELA for a range of annual precipitations.Key words: watershed hydrology, water renewal, water residence, precipitation/runoff ratios, water budgets, evaporation, watershed efficiency

DISSOLVED OXYGEN IN INTRAGRAVEL WATER OF THREE TRIBUTARIES TO REDWOOD CREEK, HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA1

ABSTRACT: As part of a study of Redwood National Park in north‐western California, an investigation was conducted from June to November 1974 on intragravel dissolved oxygen and sediment in three tributaries to Redwood Creek, a major coastal stream that flows through Redwood National Park. Of concern was whether the intragravel environment of streams in logged and unlogged redwood‐forested drainage basins was different. The tributary in the unlogged drainage basin had lower percentages of fine streambed sediment than either of the tributaries in logged drainage basins. Concentration and percentage saturation of dissolved oxygen of intragravel water were highest in the stream in the unlogged drainage basin, intermediate in the stream in the patch‐cut drainage basin, and lowest in the stream in the clear‐cut drainage basin. The differences in intragravel dissolved‐oxygen conditions among the three tributaries are attributed chiefly to differences in their interchange of surface and intragravel water. The larger quantities of fine streambed sediment in the two streams in logged basins may have reduced the permeability of the streambeds and hence their capacity to interchange surface and intragravel water. However, differences in the lithology of the three tributary drainage basins examined may contribute to the differences in the percentage of fine sediments observed among the streams, even in the absence of logging.

On the Inundation Disasters by the Heavy Rainfall on August 4th through 7th, 1979, in the Kitakami Drainage Basin, Iwate Prefecture

From the 4th to the 7th of August, 1979, the active “Bai-u” front passing through Iwate Prefecture in Northeast Japan brought about a heavy intermittent rainfall and it caused inundation disasters along the main stream of the Kitakami River. The damage by the inundation amounted to over 11 billion yen the whole prefecture.The inundation brought about two types of damage along the main stream of the Kitakami. One of these is directly due to the rising of the Kitakami, which caused a flood over a wide area, stagnant for a long time. This type of damage typically occurred at the lower reaches of the Kitakami Basin, especially in the Ichinoseki area.The other type is inundation disasters on account of the countercurrents of tributaries and the unworkable draining of channels. Such damage is rather artificial in that the residential sections have been constructed in marshy areas of flood plains, back swamps and abandoned channels. This type of damage typically occurred in the Hanamaki area.Considering these damages by inundation disasters, the writers will point out some important problems as given below concerning the development of the Kitakami River.1. The dams constucted at the tributaries drain off to control the water level of their dam-reservoir during a heavy rainfall. This raises the water level of the main stream of the Kitakami. The heavier it rains in the drainage of tributaries, the more damage is caused by inundation disasters along the main stream. In Constructing dams, we need to consider the balance of the water level of all the drainage basins.2. We can appreciate the value of the “Yusui-chi” project in the Ichinoseki area (“Yusui-chi” means a land for pooling flood water). It should be kept in mind secondary inundation disasters such as the countercurrents of tributaries of the flood through the unworkable draining of channels may be caused by the construction of artificial embankments.3. The more urbanization progresses and the more residential sections are formed in marshy areas, the greater damage of inundation disasters will occure. It is therefore necessary that the local public bodies consider how to keep off such disasters.

Peach cultivation and use among the Canyon de Chelly Navajo

The Navajo of Canyon de Chelly, Arizona, learned peach cultivation from the Hopi in the eighteenth century. Navajos plant volunteer seedings and seeds. Slip planting, grafting, budding, pruning living branches, and fruit thinning, which had no precedents in Navajo agriculture, were rejected. Navajos protect their orchards against mammalian pests, and now practice spring spraying. Mapping of present orchards showed them to be located on alluvial terraces receiving runoff from cliffs and small tributary drainages; irrigation is occasionally practiced. Peaches are eaten fresh, boiled, or dried and stewed, and are used as a ceremonial purgative. Kernels are used in polishing stone griddles and in witchcraft.

Effect of volcanic activity on fluvial-deltaic sedimentation in a modern arc-trench gap, southwestern Guatemala

The Pacific coastal plain in Central America forms the subaerial part of an arc-trench gap that is terminated as much as 60 km inland from the Pacific shoreline by the steep slopes of a row of active Quaternary volcanoes. The Samala fluvial-deltaic system, which heads inland from the volcanic arc, displays a combination of all of the Holocene features (frequently shifting braided channel, flanking elongate dendritically branched lakes, and a high-destructive wave-dominated arcuate delta) that characterize the coastal plain in southwestern Guatemala. Historical records indicate that the catastrophic eruption of Santa Maria Volcano in 1902 dramatically increased the amount of sediment supplied to the Samala River. Within a few years, deposition of sand and gravel raised the river bed 10 to 15 m, blocking the drainage of the river's tributaries to produce flanking lakes and allowing the river to easily shift its channel. Frequently, the braided system was diverted laterally into a flanking lake, interrupting deposition of organic-rich muds and locally filling the lake with prograding deltaic deposits. Continued channel shifting and aggradation of sand and gravel on the lower 25 km of the coastal plain have contributed to the growth of an elongate alluvial fan that probably originated during the Pleistocene. Contemporaneous with aggradation of the fluvial system, an elongate deltaic platform prograded about 7 km seaward, between 1902 and 1922, in response to the deposition of approximately 4 km3 of deltaic sediments. However, with waning sediment supply, the delta entered a destructive phase, and sands were redistributed laterally to prograding shoreface and beach environments, developing the present arcuate shoreline. The position of the arcuate shoreline has remained essentially unchanged since sometime before 1947; the volume of sediment derived from the active Santiaguito–Santa Maria volcanic complex and contributed to the shore zone by the Samala River has been sufficient, since that time, to prevent further shoreline retreat. A new constructive phase of deltation would begin in the event of another great eruption. Fluvial-deltaic sedimentation in arc-trench geologic settings, under conditions of torrential rainfall, differs significantly from fluvial-deltaic sedimentation in other geologic settings. This difference may be attributed to periodic catastrophic volcanic eruptions, which locally produce high-relief unvegetated slopes and allow extremely high local rates of erosion and subsequent fluvial-deltaic sedimentation.

Spatial Variation in Ordered Tributary Basins—A Proposed Classification

The location of tributary drainage basins nested within higher order systems forms the basis for a proposed classification into order-formative and order-excess subsystems. The significance of thes...

Geochemical studies in several rivers and estuaries used for oyster rearing

Base-line studies have been carried out on the trace metal content of bottom sediments and waters of five estuaries and their catchment drainage, representing both contaminated and relatively uncontaminated environments. Relationships have been established between the composition of water and sediments in tributary drainage and those in the estuary. In particular, regional contamination of the hinterland with one or more of the elements As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn and Sn from mining and smelting activity was reflected by enhancement in estuarine muds in relation to the proportion of the catchment affected and the degree of contamination. Preliminary observations on young oysters showed that in general metal accumulation reflected the geochemical status of the estuary. These investigations have confirmed the potential use of geochemical reconnaissance maps based on stream sediment analysis as a means of focussing attention on rivers and estuaries affected by regional metal pollution.

Arsenic in stream sediments and waters of South West England

Past mining and smelting of arsenical and associated metalliferous ores in South-west England has led to widespread contamination of soils and surface drainage. The regional distribution of arsenic in both sediments and waters of tributary drainage shows anomalies in those areas underlain by mineralised granites and their metamorphic aureoles. High concentrations of arsenic in waters correspond with high concentrations in associated sediments. Detailed studies in three river systems illustrate the large degree of variation in arsenic values between individual sampling stations but confirm the relationship between sediments and waters. The work provides evidence of the potential use of geochemical reconnaissance surveys to water quality assessment.