Seasonal hydrological and suspended sediment transport dynamics and their future modelling in the Orwell Glacier proglacial stream, Signy Island, Antarctica

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Tim Stott ◽  
Peter Convey

Abstract Climate change in the Antarctic over the past 50+ years has caused contraction of ice and snow cover, longer melt seasons and intensified glacier melting. These changes affect erosion and sediment redistribution processes that are vital to our understanding of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and sediment input to oceans. This 79 day study of the Orwell Glacier meltwater stream on Signy Island (5 December 2019–21 February 2020) used 5 min recordings of turbidity, stream discharge (Q) and air temperature (AT), supplemented by 454 water samples from which suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was gravimetrically determined, to calculate daily suspended sediment loads (SSLs). Qmean was 47.8 ± 3.5 l s-1, SSCmean was 71.0 ± 15.9 mg l-1 and daily SSLmean was 75 ± 8 kg day-1 with a suspended sediment yield of 43.6 t km-2 yr-1. A multiple regression model predicted SSLs reliably (multiple r = 0.95, r2 = 0.91, n = 79) and, when run with ATmean + 1°C (expected on Signy Island by 2060) and ATmean + 2°C (expected by 2100) scenarios, the model predicted 7% and 13% increases in SSLs, respectively. The SSLs estimated in this study are low when compared with others from around the world.

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Arabkhedri ◽  
F. S. Lai ◽  
I. Noor-Akma ◽  
M. K. Mohamad-Roslan

Suspended sediment transport in river for a particular period is a timescale finite population. This population shows natural aggregation tendencies in sediment concentration particularly during floods. Adaptive cluster sampling (ACS) can be potentially conducted for sampling from this rare clustered population and estimating total load. To illustrate the performance of ACS in sediment estimation, a comparative study was carried out in the Gorgan-Rood River, Iran, with around a 5 year daily concentration record. The total sediment loads estimated by ACS were statistically compared to the observed load, estimations of selection at list time (SALT) and conventional sediment rating curve with and without correction factors. The results suggest that none of the sediment rating curves produced accurate estimates, while both ACS and SALT showed satisfactory results at a semi-weekly sampling frequency. The best estimation obtained by the rating curves did not show a percent error better than −40%; however, ACS and SALT underestimated the load at less than 5%. The results of this study suggest ACS could improve river monitoring programs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Cavalcanti de Melo ◽  
José Coelho de Araújo Filho ◽  
Renata Maria Caminha Mendes de Oliveira Carvalho

RESUMOO conhecimento da análise quantitativa das concentrações de sedimentos em suspensão transportados pelo rio São Francisco bem como sua relação com as vazões é de muita importância, pois pode auxiliar na identificação dos efeitos da intervenção humana e ou ocasionados pelas condições naturais da região. As regiões a jusante dos barramentos no rio São Francisco apresentam como principal consequência a regularização das vazões e a diminuição das concentrações de sedimentos. O objetivo da pesquisa foi determinar as curvas-chave de sedimentos em suspensão (CCS) nas estações fluviométricas instaladas no Baixo São Francisco (BSF) após a barragem de Xingó. Para o estabelecimento dessas curvas foram utilizados dados de vazão e concentração de sedimentos em suspensão, obtidos do sistema Hidroweb no site da Agência Nacional da Água (ANA) no período de 1999 a 2018. Foram obtidas CCS para todo o trecho do BSF as quais apresentaram bons coeficientes de determinação. Na análise dos dados também foi possível perceber que nos últimos anos, desde 2013 houve redução gradativa das vazões disponibilizadas na barragem de Xingó. Consequentemente, houve também a redução gradativa das cargas de sedimentos em suspensão geradas nas estações de Piranhas, Traipu e Propriá, ou seja, os menores valores já registrados no BSF correspondendo as menores séries históricas tanto de vazão como de sedimentos em suspensão.  Keys curves of sediment discharges in suspension in the Lower São Francisco A B S T R A C TThe knowledge of the quantitative analysis of suspended sediment concentrations carried by the São Francisco River as well as its relation with the flows is of great importance, since it can help in the identification of the effects of human intervention and/or caused by the natural conditions of the region. In the downstream regions of the São Francisco riverbanks, the main consequence was the regularization of flow rates and the reduction of sediment concentrations. The objective of the research was to determine the key curves of suspended sediments (CCS) at the fluviometric stations installed in the lower São Francisco river after Xingó dam. For the evaluation, flow data and suspended sediment concentration were used. These data were obtained from the Hidroweb system on the website of the National Water Agency (ANA) from 1999 to 2018. CCS were plotted for all stretches and presented good coefficients of determination (R2). Based on the analysis of the data it was also possible to notice that in recent years, since 2013 there has been a gradual reduction of the flows available in the Xingó dam. Consequently, there was also a gradual reduction of suspended sediment loads generated at the Piranhas, Traipu and Propriá stations, that is, the lowest values already recorded in lower São Francisco, corresponding to the lower historical series of both discharge and suspended sediments.Keywords: dam, flow, sediments 


1983 ◽  
Vol 29 (101) ◽  
pp. 185-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Beecroft

AbstractBetween 16 and 19 June 1981 a large water pocket of volume 183 000 m3 burst from glacier de Tsidjiore Nouve. From hourly stream discharge and suspended sediment concentration observations a suspended sediment output of 1 674 × 103 kg was calculated. The transport of bed-load was estimated at 3 840 × 103 kg, hence a total quantity of around 5 500 × 103 kg of sediment were removed from the catchment, including the pro-glacial field, in the four days of the outburst.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flóra Pomázi ◽  
Sándor Baranya

The monitoring of fluvial suspended sediment transport plays an important role in the assessment of morphological processes, river habitats, or many social activities associated with river management. However, establishing and operating a well-functioning sediment monitoring system requires the involvement of advanced indirect methods. This study investigates the advantages and limitations of optical and acoustic devices, to quantify the uncertainties and provide a comprehensive comparative assessment of the investigated indirect methods. The novelty of this study, compared to previous ones, is that four different indirect techniques are parallel tested, i.e., the laser diffraction based LISST-Portable|XR, an infrared based optical instrument, the VELP TB1 turbidimeter, the acoustic based LISST-ABS (Acoustical Backscatter Sensor) sensor, and a 1200 kHz Teledyne RD Instruments Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). The calibration of all the indirect methods was performed based on more than 1000 samples taken from the Hungarian section of the Danube River within a wide suspended sediment concentration range. Implementing a comparative assessment of the different sediment analysis methods, a qualitative and quantitative characterisation of the applicability is provided. Furthermore, a proposal for an optimised sediment monitoring methodology is also suggested.


2013 ◽  
Vol 446-447 ◽  
pp. 1528-1533
Author(s):  
Sarunya Promkotra

Analytical results are considered the factors of suspended sediment concentration, fall velocity, dimensionless shear stress, transportation rate and stream discharge. As a result of suspended sediments of Loei, Huang and Mekong River, fine particles account for the applicability in sediment deposits. Floating suspended sediments explicit more clay minerals than suspended sediments. Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in the estuarine of Loei River and Huang River are moderately less than Mekong River. Flow directions of the interconnected rivers to the mainstream-Mekong River lead to the quantity of SSC. Sediment concentrations attain to the dynamic response. Dimensionless shear stress relates to shear velocity, geometry and grain size of particles, and difference of flow velocity. This shear stress is directly comparative to flow velocity and clay mineral concentrations. The transport rate involves in the flow velocity, SSC and depth of the river. Moreover, stream discharge can be presumed by the geometry of the river and topography of sampling locations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 212-213 ◽  
pp. 20-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Cheng ◽  
Zhi Yao Song ◽  
Yi Gang Wang ◽  
Jin Shan Zhang

After analyzing the surface-boundary condition of suspended sediment concentration (SSC), Cheng et al.[7] further improved the sediment diffusion coefficient which was proposed by Bose and Dey[6]. Then an improved Rouse law (IRL) was developed. This equation, which has a similar form as Rouse law, not only overcomes the zero concentration at the free surface, but also behaves generally better than Rouse law and van Rijn equation over the whole water depth in the verification analysis. In this paper, the surface-boundary condition of SSC is further analyzed. It is elucidated that IRL satisfies the surface-boundary condition more reasonably than Rouse law. In addition, a first-order approximation of IRL is developed. From this approximation, we can easily get the explicit expression of the depth-averaged SSC without any implicit integrals to be solved numerically or by the help of a chart. This is very useful in the further study of non-equilibrium suspended sediment transport (SST).


2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandun Illangasinghe ◽  
Tilak Hewawasam

Estimation of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) in rivers is a prerequisite to address many issues related to hydrology. Therefore, we make an attempt in this study to introduce a low-cost technique to estimate the SSC. Both surface and depth-and-width-integrated water samples were collected and measured for SSC from eight tributaries in Sri Lanka over a complete hydrological year. A site-specific calibration curve was established between SSCs measured by two methods for each tributary where R2 varied from 0.72 to 0.99. The same relationship is developed in general for all tributaries studied in the hilly terrain of Sri Lanka. This generic model exhibits a strong correlation (R2 = 0.91), which will be useful to calculate an accurate SSC from a simply measured surface SSC. To select the appropriate gauging method, be it surface or depth-and-width-integrated sampling, a new concept of surface sampling threshold factor (SSTF) is introduced. The preliminarily analysis on SSTF using available data for the studied catchments reveals that surface sampling is only adequate for estimating a representative SSC if SSTF varies from 35 to 45. When SSTF deviates from this range, the SSC measured by surface sampling needs to be adjusted by depth-and-width-integrated sampling.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Phillips ◽  
Carlos Rogéliz ◽  
Daniel Horton ◽  
Jonathan Higgins ◽  
Aaron Packman

<p>Fine particles in rivers comprise a substantial fraction (>50%) of the mass leaving a landscape, while at shorter timescales they represent significant carriers of nutrients and contaminants with the potential to both degrade and enhance aquatic habitats. Predicting fine particle dynamics within rivers remains challenging due to a complex relationship between sediment and water availability from the landscape. This inherent complexity results in watershed-specific understandings of suspended sediment dynamics, typically parameterized as empirical functions of catchment land use, geology, and climate. However, observations of significant fine particle storage within river corridors may indicate that the flux of suspended sediment depends on reach-scale hydraulics. To better understand these dynamics, we synthesized over 40 years of suspended sediment concentration (SSC), hydraulic geometry, river flow, and grainsize data collected by the US Geological Survey from hundreds of rivers spanning a large variety of environments across the continental United States. This data synthesis reveals a strong nonlinear trend between reach-scale hydraulics and the suspended sediment flux, with a secondary dependence on particle properties. The multi-site synthesis reveals that by normalizing the suspended sediment flux by the bankfull shear stress and flux results in a collapse of the observed data onto a single function that describes a self-organizing structure for suspended sediment transport in watersheds. This general relationship indicates strong support for the role of autogenic processes in setting the flux of fine particles and erosion rates of watersheds.</p>


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