scholarly journals Monitoring of Suspended Sediments in a Tropical Forested Landscape With Citizen Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Njue ◽  
Jan Gräf ◽  
Björn Weeser ◽  
Mariana C. Rufino ◽  
Lutz Breuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Science Approach ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽  
Hydrological Monitoring

Catchments are complex systems, which require regular monitoring of hydro-chemical parameters in space and time to provide comprehensive datasets. These are needed to characterize catchment behavior on a local level, make future projections based on models, implement mitigation measures and meet policy targets. However, many developing countries lack a good infrastructure for hydrological monitoring since its establishment is costly and the required resources are often not available. To overcome such challenges in data scarce regions like Kenya, a participatory citizen science approach can be a promising strategy for monitoring water resources. This study evaluates the potential of using a contributory citizen science approach to explore spatiotemporal turbidity and suspended sediment dynamics in the Sondu-Miriu river basin, western Kenya. A group of 19 citizen scientists was trained to monitor turbidity using turbidity tubes and water levels with water level gauges in six nested subcatchments of the Sondu-Miriu river basin. Over the course of the project, a total of 37 citizen scientists participated and contributed to the overall dataset of turbidity. The sampling effort and data contribution varied from year to year and among participants with the majority of the data (72%) originating from 8 (22%) citizen scientists. Comparison between citizen-scientist collected suspended sediment data and measurements from automated stations showed high correlation (R2 > 0.9) which demonstrates that data collected by citizen scientists can be comparable to data collected using expensive monitoring equipment. However, there was reduced precision of the measurements of suspended sediment concentrations at low and high levels attributed largely to the detection limitations of the turbidity tubes and citizen scientists not capturing major sediment export events. Suspended sediment concentrations were significantly higher downstream (109 ± 94 mg L−1), a subcatchment dominated by agriculture and rangeland with low forest vegetation cover, as compared to a subcatchment with high forest cover (50 ± 24.7 mg L−1). This finding indicates that forest cover is a key landscape feature to control suspended sediment concentrations in the region. Future citizen science projects should focus on motivation and engagement strategies and the application of robust methods with improved detection limits and resolution to advance hydrological monitoring.

scholarly journals Dynamics of suspended sediment load in the upper part of the Rasina River Basin in 2010

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-40
Author(s):  
Sanja Mustafic ◽  
Predrag Manojlovic ◽  
Predrag Kostic
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Sediment Load ◽  
Suspended Sediment Load ◽  
Spring Season ◽  
Autumn Season ◽  
Specific Transport ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽  
Load Transport

The paper treats the issue of the suspended sediment load transport in the upper part of the Rasina River Basin, upstream from the "Celije" reservoir during the year of 2010. Measurements of the suspended sediment concentrations were being done at two hydrological profiles Brus and Ravni. Total quantity of the suspended sediment load that was transported at the profile of Brus in 2010 amounted to 3,437.3 t, which gave the specific transport of 16.4 t/km2/year. At the downstream profile of Ravni, 43,165 t of the suspended sediment load was transported, that is, 95.7 t/km2/year. The basin on the whole is characterized by the existence of two seasons, which by their characteristics in the load transport represent the extreme variants. During the winter-spring season, 74-85.8 % of the total annual load was transported, ?nd during the summer-autumn season between 14.2 and 26 %.

scholarly journals Comparison of sediment rating curves and sediment yield in subbasins of the Itacaiúnas River Watershed, Eastern Amazon

RBRH ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcio Sousa da Silva ◽  
Rosane Lopes Cavalcante ◽  
Pedro Walfir Martins e Souza Filho ◽  
Renato Oliveira da Silva Júnior ◽  
Paulo Rógenes Pontes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Sediment Yield ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Tropical Rivers ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Sediment Production ◽  
Power Equation ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽  
Rating Curves

ABSTRACT Understanding the hydrosedimentological dynamics of tropical rivers is a challenge in the Amazon due to its remote and difficult-to-access areas. This study was based on data collected from 16 hydrosedimentological control sections in the 6 subbasins that make up the Itacaiúnas River Watershed (IRW), with 4 annual campaigns (high water levels, rising water levels, falling water levels, low water levels) between 2015 and 2019, with the aim of constructing and comparing sediment rating curves and sediment yield. The data at the mouth of the IRW revealed that the rainy season is responsible for 93% of liquid discharges (Q) with an average of 1460.88 m3/s and for 98% of suspended sediment discharges (SSQ) with an average of 5864.15 tons/day. Suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) are low to moderate (50 to 150 mg/l). The curves encompassing all the data showed R2 values (0.92 to 0.99) greater than the curves with only the values of the rainy or dry season, indicating a good fit of the power equation to the SSQ and Q data for all sections studied. Higher values of coefficients a and b show areas of greater sediment production and deforestation, as well as areas with new sources of sediment and preserved forest.

Suspended Sediment Transport in Lianyungang Nearshore Area

2012 ◽  
Vol 170-173 ◽  
pp. 2204-2208
Author(s):  
Cun Yong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Transport ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Suspended Sediment Transport ◽  
Nearshore Area ◽  
Tidal Pumping ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentrations ◽  
Flood Current ◽  
Periodical Variation

Hydrological observations at 13-19 stations were conducted synchronically in Lianyungang nearshore area during the spring and half tide in winter and summer respectively. Data of suspended sediment concentrations (SSC), currents and water levels at observation stations were used to study the suspended sediment transport by the method of mechanism decomposition. The advection transport plays an important role during the whole observations, with the direction generally same to the flood current. The tidal pumping transport plays a significant role in the nearshore area, which is the main factor for the periodical variation of SSC. The direction of the tidal pumping transport is mainly toward the land, which indicates that the periodic component of SSC is transport to the land with the form of peaks in the bottom layer. The results may help to improve understanding of the coastal engineering and environmental applications related to sediment transport.

scholarly journals Using a Citizen Science Approach with German Horse Owners to Study the Locomotion Behaviour of Horses on Pasture

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1835
Author(s):  
Anja Schmitz ◽  
Bettina Tonn ◽  
Ann-Kathrin Schöppner ◽  
Johannes Isselstein
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Walking Distance ◽  
Pasture Management ◽  
Science Approach ◽  
Simple Technology

Engaging farmers as citizen scientists may be a cost-efficient way to answering applied research questions aimed at more sustainable land use. We used a citizen science approach with German horse farmers with a dual goal. Firstly, we tested the practicability of this approach for answering ‘real-life’ questions in variable agricultural land-use systems. Secondly, we were interested in the knowledge it can provide about locomotion of horses on pasture and the management factors influencing this behaviour. Out of 165 volunteers, we selected 40 participants to record locomotion of two horses on pasture and provide information on their horse husbandry and pasture management. We obtained complete records for three recording days per horse from 28 participants, resulting in a dataset on more individual horses than any other Global Positioning System study published in the last 30 years. Time spent walking was greatest for horses kept in box-stall stables, and walking distance decreased with increasing grazing time. This suggests that restrictions in pasture access may increase stress on grass swards through running and trampling, severely challenging sustainable pasture management. Our study, involving simple technology, clear instructions and rigorous quality assessment, demonstrates the potential of citizen science actively involving land managers in agricultural research.

scholarly journals Superiority of Hybrid Soft Computing Models in Daily Suspended Sediment Estimation in Highly Dynamic Rivers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 542
Author(s):  
Tarate Suryakant Bajirao ◽  
Pravendra Kumar ◽  
Manish Kumar ◽  
Ahmed Elbeltagi ◽  
Alban Kuriqi
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Wavelet Transform ◽  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Discrete Wavelet ◽  
Original Time Series ◽  
Inference System ◽  
Original Time

Estimating sediment flow rate from a drainage area plays an essential role in better watershed planning and management. In this study, the validity of simple and wavelet-coupled Artificial Intelligence (AI) models was analyzed for daily Suspended Sediment (SSC) estimation of highly dynamic Koyna River basin of India. Simple AI models such as the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) were developed by supplying the original time series data as an input without pre-processing through a Wavelet (W) transform. The hybrid wavelet-coupled W-ANN and W-ANFIS models were developed by supplying the decomposed time series sub-signals using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). In total, three mother wavelets, namely Haar, Daubechies, and Coiflets were employed to decompose original time series data into different multi-frequency sub-signals at an appropriate decomposition level. Quantitative and qualitative performance evaluation criteria were used to select the best model for daily SSC estimation. The reliability of the developed models was also assessed using uncertainty analysis. Finally, it was revealed that the data pre-processing using wavelet transform improves the model’s predictive efficiency and reliability significantly. In this study, it was observed that the performance of the Coiflet wavelet-coupled ANFIS model is superior to other models and can be applied for daily SSC estimation of the highly dynamic rivers. As per sensitivity analysis, previous one-day SSC (St-1) is the most crucial input variable for daily SSC estimation of the Koyna River basin.

scholarly journals Insights on the Impacts of Hydroclimatic Extremes and Anthropogenic Activities on Sediment Yield of a River Basin

Earth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-50
Author(s):  
Rocky Talchabhadel ◽  
Jeeban Panthi ◽  
Sanjib Sharma ◽  
Ganesh R. Ghimire ◽  
Rupesh Baniya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Suspended Sediment Concentration ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Sediment Concentration ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Mountain River ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Precipitation Indices

Streamflow and sediment flux variations in a mountain river basin directly affect the downstream biodiversity and ecological processes. Precipitation is expected to be one of the main drivers of these variations in the Himalayas. However, such relations have not been explored for the mountain river basin, Nepal. This paper explores the variation in streamflow and sediment flux from 2006 to 2019 in central Nepal’s Kali Gandaki River basin and correlates them to precipitation indices computed from 77 stations across the basin. Nine precipitation indices and four other ratio-based indices are used for comparison. Percentage contributions of maximum 1-day, consecutive 3-day, 5-day and 7-day precipitation to the annual precipitation provide information on the severity of precipitation extremeness. We found that maximum suspended sediment concentration had a significant positive correlation with the maximum consecutive 3-day precipitation. In contrast, average suspended sediment concentration had significant positive correlations with all ratio-based precipitation indices. The existing sediment erosion trend, driven by the amount, intensity, and frequency of extreme precipitation, demands urgency in sediment source management on the Nepal Himalaya’s mountain slopes. The increment in extreme sediment transports partially resulted from anthropogenic interventions, especially landslides triggered by poorly-constructed roads, and the changing nature of extreme precipitation driven by climate variability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document