Suspended-sediment Flux in the San Francisco Estuary; Part II: the Impact of the 2013–2016 California Drought and Controls on Sediment Flux

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. N. Livsey ◽  
M. A. Downing-Kunz ◽  
D. H. Schoellhamer ◽  
A. Manning
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Tidal Asymmetry in Ocean-Boundary Flux and In-Estuary Trapping of Suspended Sediment Following Watershed Storms: San Francisco Estuary, California, USA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen A. Downing-Kunz ◽  
Paul A. Work ◽  
David H. Schoellhamer
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Sediment Resuspension ◽  
San Francisco Estuary ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Golden Gate ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
Field Campaigns ◽  
Ocean Boundary

AbstractSuspended-sediment flux at the ocean boundary of the San Francisco Estuary—the Golden Gate—was measured over a tidal cycle following peak watershed runoff from storms to the estuary in two successive years to investigate sediment transport through the estuary. Observations were repeated during low-runoff conditions, for a total of three field campaigns. Boat-based measurements of velocity and acoustic backscatter were used to calculate water and suspended-sediment flux at a location 1 km landward of the Golden Gate. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) and salinity data from up-estuary sensors were used to track watershed-sourced sediment plumes through the estuary. Estimates of suspended-sediment load from the watershed and net suspended-sediment flux for one up-estuary subembayment were used to infer in-estuary trapping of sediment. For both post-storm field campaigns, observations at the ocean boundary were conducted on the receding limb of the watershed hydrograph. At the ocean boundary, peak instantaneous suspended-sediment flux was tidally asymmetric and was greater on flood tides than on ebb tides for all three field campaigns, due to higher average SSC in the cross-section on flood tides. Shear-induced sediment resuspension was greater on flood tides and suggests the presence of an erodible pool outside the estuary. The storms in 2016 led to less export of discharge and sediment from the watershed and greater sediment trapping within one up-estuary subembayment compared to that observed in 2017. Results suggest that substantial trapping of watershed sediments occurred during both storm events, likely due to the formation of estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM) at different locations in the estuary. ETM locations were forced nearer the ocean boundary in 2017. Additional measurements and modeling are required to quantify the long-term sediment flux at the Golden Gate.

scholarly journals Suspended sediment fluxes in an Indonesian river draining a rainforested basin subject to land cover change

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 7137-7175 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Buschman ◽  
A. J. F. Hoitink ◽  
S. M. de Jong ◽  
P. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Sediment Fluxes ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Forest clearing for reasons of timber production, open pit mining and the establishment of oil palm plantations generally results in excessively high sediment loads in the tropics. The increasing sediment fluxes pose a threat to coastal marine ecosystems such as coral reefs. This study presents observations of suspended sediment fluxes in the Berau river (Indonesia), which debouches into a coastal ocean that can be considered the preeminent center of coral diversity. The Berau is an example of a small river draining a mountainous, relatively pristine basin that receives abundant rainfall. Flow velocity was measured over a large part of the river width at a station under the influence of tides, using a Horizontal Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (HADCP). Surrogate measurements of suspended sediment concentration were taken with an Optical Backscatter Sensor (OBS). Tidally averaged suspended sediment concentration increases with river discharge, implying that the tidally averaged suspended sediment flux increases non-linearly with river discharge. Averaged over the 6.5 weeks observations covered by the benchmark survey, the tidally averaged suspended sediment flux was estimated at 2 Mt y−1. Considering the wet conditions during the observation period, this figure may be considered as an upper limit of the yearly averaged flux. This flux is significantly smaller than what could have been expected from the characteristics of the catchment. The consequences of ongoing clearing of rainforest were explored using a plot scale erosion model. When rainforest, which still covered 50–60 % of the basin in 2007, is converted to production land, soil loss is expected to increase with a factor between 10 and 100. If this soil loss is transported seaward as suspended sediment, the increase in suspended sediment flux in the Berau river would impose a severe sediment stress on the global hotspot of coral reef diversity. The impact of land cover changes will largely depend on the degree in which the Berau estuary acts as a sediment trap.

scholarly journals How do modeling choices and erosion zone locations impact the representation of connectivity and the dynamics of suspended sediments in a multi-source soil erosion model?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-144
Author(s):  
Magdalena Uber ◽  
Guillaume Nord ◽  
Cédric Legout ◽  
Luis Cea
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Suspended Sediment Transport ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Flux Variability ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Soil erosion and suspended sediment transport understanding is an important issue in terms of soil and water resources management in the critical zone. In mesoscale watersheds (>10 km2) the spatial distribution of potential sediment sources within the catchment associated with rainfall dynamics is considered to be the main factor in the observed suspended sediment flux variability within and between runoff events. Given the high spatial heterogeneity that can exist for such scales of interest, distributed physically based models of soil erosion and sediment transport are powerful tools to distinguish the specific effect of structural and functional connectivity on suspended sediment flux dynamics. As the spatial discretization of a model and its parameterization can crucially influence how the structural connectivity of the catchment is represented in the model, this study analyzed the impact of modeling choices in terms of the contributing drainage area (CDA) threshold to define the river network and of Manning's roughness parameter (n) on the sediment flux variability at the outlet of two geomorphologically distinct watersheds. While the modeled liquid and solid discharges were found to be sensitive to these choices, the patterns of the modeled source contributions remained relatively similar when the CDA threshold was restricted to the range of 15 to 50 ha, with n restricted to the range 0.4–0.8 on the hillslopes and to 0.025–0.075 in the river. The comparison of the two catchments showed that the actual location of sediment sources was more important than the choices made during discretization and parameterization of the model. Among the various structural connectivity indicators used to describe the geological sources, the mean distance to the stream was the most relevant proxy for the temporal characteristics of the modeled sedigraphs.

scholarly journals How do modeling choices impact the representation of structural connectivity and the dynamics of suspended sediment fluxes in distributed soil erosion models?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Uber ◽  
Guillaume Nord ◽  
Cédric Legout ◽  
Luis Cea
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Suspended Sediment Transport ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Flux Variability ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Soil erosion and suspended sediment transport understanding is an important issue in terms of soil and water resources management in the critical zone. In mesoscale watersheds (> 10 km2) the spatial distribution of potential sediment sources within the catchment associated to the rainfall dynamics are considered as the main factors of the observed suspended sediment flux variability within and between runoff events. Given the high spatial heterogeneity that can exist for such scales of interest, distributed physically based models of soil erosion and sediment transport are powerful tools to distinguish the specific effect of structural and functional connectivity on suspended sediment flux dynamics. As the spatial discretization of a model and its parameterization can crucially influence how structural connectivity of the catchment is represented in the model, this study analyzed the impact of modeling choices in terms of contributing drainage area (CDA) threshold to define the river network and of Manning's roughness parameter (n) on the sediment flux variability at the outlet of two geomorphological distinct watersheds. While the modelled liquid and solid discharges were found to be sensitive to these choices, the patterns of the modeled source contributions remained relatively similar when the CDA threshold was restricted to the range of 15 to 50 ha, n on the hillslopes to the range 0.4–0.8 and to 0.025–0.075 in the river. The comparison of both catchments showed that the actual location of sediment sources was more important than the choices made during discretization and parameterization of the model. Among the various structural connectivity indicators used to describe the geological sources, the mean distance to the stream was the most relevant proxy of the temporal characteristics of the modelled sedigraphs.

Muted responses of streamflow and suspended sediment flux in a wildfire-affected watershed

Geomorphology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 128-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.N. Owens ◽  
T.R. Giles ◽  
E.L. Petticrew ◽  
M.S. Leggat ◽  
R.D. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux

scholarly journals Energy Dissipation During Subglacial Abrasion at Nisqually Glacier, Washington, U.S.A.

1979 ◽  
Vol 23 (89) ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Energy Balance ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Water Flux ◽  
Gravitational Energy ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Normal Stresses ◽  
Mount Rainier ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
Basal Sliding ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

AbstractThis study examines the effect of subglacial abrasion on the basal sliding term of the gravitational energy balance of the dynamic, temperate Nisqually Glacier on Mount Rainier, Washington, U.S.A. Subglacial water flux is estimated as 3 × 107 m3 a–1 and suspended sediment flux as 3 × 107 kg a–1. Suspended-sediment flux is assumed to represent, within an order of magnitude, the annual mass eroded by subglacial abrasion.Subglacial abrasion involves both brittle fracture and plastic deformation. Field observations of bas-relief and grooved depression striations appear to have exact counterparts in rock mechanics experiments approximating subglacial velocities and normal stresses. Boulton's ([Cl974]) abrasion model and a new attritivity model proposed herein are shown to predict subglacial abrasion-rates within the limits of natural variability and the error range of measurements. The first crude gravitational energy balance for lower Nisqually Glacier (1.96 km2) is attempted and probably has only order-of-magnitude accuracy. The importance of subglacial abrasion in dissipating basal sliding energy at Nisqually Glacier is confirmed.

scholarly journals Conceptual model of sedimentgraph from flood events in a small agricultural watershed

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazimierz Banasik ◽  
J. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Sediment Routing ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
Lag Times

Conceptual model of sedimentgraph from flood events in a small agricultural watershed A procedure for predicting the sediment graph (i.e. the suspended sediment flux), from a small river catchment by heavy rainfall, has been developed using the concept of an instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH) and dimensionless sediment concentration distribution (DSCD). A formula for instantaneous unit sedimentgraph (IUSG) is presented, and a procedure for estimating the sediment routing coefficient, which is a key parameter of the IUSG, based on measured data of rainfall-runoff-suspended sediment is applied. Field data from a small, field sized agricultural basin, lacated in center of Illinois has been used for analizing lag times for runoff (LAG) and sediment yield (LAGs). Assumptions about sediment generated during rainfall events are discussed.

scholarly journals Climatic and geologic controls on suspended sediment flux in the Sutlej River Valley, western Himalaya

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 2193-2217 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Wulf ◽  
B. Bookhagen ◽  
D. Scherler
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Western Himalaya ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Hydropower Generation ◽  
Spatiotemporal Trends ◽  
Suspended Sediment Flux ◽  
Geologic Controls

Abstract. The sediment flux through Himalayan rivers directly impacts water quality and is important for sustaining agriculture as well as maintaining drinking-water and hydropower generation. Despite the recent increase in demand for these resources, little is known about the triggers and sources of extreme sediment flux events, which lower water quality and account for extensive hydropower reservoir filling and turbine abrasion. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal trends in suspended sediment flux based on daily data during the past decade (2001–2009) from four sites along the Sutlej River and from four of its main tributaries. In conjunction with satellite data depicting rainfall and snow cover, air temperature and earthquake records, and field observations, we infer climatic and geologic controls of peak suspended sediment concentration (SSC) events. Our study identifies three key findings: First, peak SSC events (≥ 99th SSC percentile) coincide frequently (57–80%) with heavy rainstorms and account for about 30% of the suspended sediment flux in the semi-arid to arid interior of the orogen. Second, we observe an increase of suspended sediment flux from the Tibetan Plateau to the Himalayan Front at mean annual timescales. This sediment-flux gradient suggests that averaged, modern erosion in the western Himalaya is most pronounced at frontal regions, which are characterized by high monsoonal rainfall and thick soil cover. Third, in seven of eight catchments, we find an anticlockwise hysteresis loop of annual sediment flux variations with respect to river discharge, which appears to be related to enhanced glacial sediment evacuation during late summer. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of unconsolidated sediments in the high-elevation sector that can easily be mobilized by hydrometeorological events and higher glacial-meltwater contributions. In future climate change scenarios, including continuous glacial retreat and more frequent monsoonal rainstorms across the Himalaya, we expect an increase in peak SSC events, which will decrease the water quality and impact hydropower generation.

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