scholarly journals Decline of Fine Suspended Sediments in the Madeira River Basin (2003–2017)

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma Ayes Rivera ◽  
Elisa Armijos Cardenas ◽  
Raúl Espinoza-Villar ◽  
Jhan Espinoza ◽  
Jorge Molina-Carpio ◽  
...  

The Madeira River is the second largest Amazon tributary, contributing up to 50% of the Amazon River’s sediment load. The Madeira has significant hydropower potential, which has started to be used by the Madeira Hydroelectric Complex (MHC), with two large dams along the middle stretch of the river. In this study, fine suspended sediment concentration (FSC) data were assessed downstream of the MHC at the Porto Velho gauging station and at the outlet of each tributary (Beni and Mamoré Rivers, upstream from the MHC), from 2003 to 2017. When comparing the pre-MHC (2003–2008) and post-MHC (2015–2017) periods, a 36% decrease in FSC was observed in the Beni River during the peak months of sediment load (December–March). At Porto Velho, a reduction of 30% was found, which responds to the Upper Madeira Basin and hydroelectric regulation. Concerning water discharge, no significant change occurred, indicating that a lower peak FSC cannot be explained by changes in the peak discharge months. However, lower FSCs are associated with a downward break in the overall time series registered at the outlet of the major sediment supplier—the Beni River—during 2010.

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Sanja MANOJLOVIĆ ◽  
Predrag MANOJLOVIĆ ◽  
Mrdjan DJOKIĆ

The study is concerned with determination of the trend of water discharge, suspended sediment concentration and sediment load in the most downstream profile of the Velika Morava River in the period 1967-2007. The gradual trend test (Mann–Kendall test – MK test) and abrupt change test (Pettitt test) have been employed on annual, seasonal and monthly water discharge, suspended sediment concentration and suspended sediment load for the given time series. Both the Mann–Kendall and Pettitt tests indicate that water discharge showed no significant annual trend or abrupt shift. However, annual suspended sediment concentration and sediment load showed significant decreasing trends (α=0.001). The average decrease of suspended sediment load transport amounted to 3.15 t/km2/yr. The Pettitt test results showed that the change-point year was detected in 1982. The average specific sediment load amounted to 134.6 t/km2/yr before the transition year, and 36.5 t/km2/yr after the transition year, i.e., it was reduced by 73 %. In the intra-annual distribution, the MK test results indicate that the most pronounced decreasing trend (α=0.001) of the sediment load is during summer and winter. Strong seasonal and monthly variability in sediment load was found. Sediment was strongly transported during spring months, in the period of frequent flood events. Almost 50% of the annual sediment is transported during March, April and May. Analysis of the discharge and suspended sediment concentration relationship revealed the existence of hysteresis loop in the shape of figure eight. The results of this study confirm the complex and heterogeneous nature of sediment response in the Velika Morava River.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-466

Artificial neural networks are one of the advanced technologies employed in hydrology modelling. This paper investigates the potential of two algorithm networks, the feed forward backpropagation (BP) and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) in comparison with the classical regression for modelling the event-based suspended sediment concentration at Jiasian diversion weir in Southern Taiwan. For this study, the hourly time series data comprised of water discharge, turbidity and suspended sediment concentration during the storm events in the year of 2002 are taken into account in the models. The statistical performances comparison showed that both BP and GRNN are superior to the classical regression in the weir sediment modelling. Additionally, the turbidity was found to be a dominant input variable over the water discharge for suspended sediment concentration estimation. Statistically, both neural network models can be successfully applied for the event-based suspended sediment concentration modelling in the weir studied herein when few data are available.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 04017
Author(s):  
Adrien Vergne ◽  
Céline Berni ◽  
Jérôme Le Coz

There has been a growing interest in the last decade in extracting information on Suspended Sediment Concentration (SSC) from acoustic backscatter in rivers. Quantitative techniques are not yet effective, but acoustic backscatter already provides qualitative information on suspended sediments. In particular, in the common case of a bi-modal sediment size distribution, corrected acoustic backscatter can be used to look for sand particles in suspension and provide spatial information on their distribution throughout a river crosssection. This paper presents a case-study where these techniques have been applied.


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 


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 478-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam Samson-Dô ◽  
André St-Hilaire

Peat moss harvesting is an important industry in Canada. To harvest peat, the water table of the peatland must be lowered to allow the surficial peat layer to dry and be harvested. Drainage water can contain suspended sediments, so at most harvesting sites, the water is routed through sedimentation basins. This work focuses on characterizing and modelling their trapping efficiency. Eight basins with different volume/watershed area ratios (705 to 4170 m3/km2) were studied in three Quebec regions. Suspended sediment concentration and discharge were monitored up- and downstream of each basin during the ice-free season. Basins with high ratios of volume/drainage area, multiple basin configurations (i.e., two basins in series or in parallel), and those equipped with a flow regulation structure were more efficient than regular basins. Moreover, the nature of sediments (size, decomposition level, and organic content) influences loads, but not the trapping efficiency. Finally, two empirical models developed to predict trapping efficiency of municipal sedimentation basins were tested and adapted for basins that capture peat sediments.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2189
Author(s):  
Zekun Song ◽  
Weiyong Shi ◽  
Junbiao Zhang ◽  
Hao Hu ◽  
Feng Zhang ◽  
...  

Based on the 2013 field survey data of hydrology, suspended sediments and bottom sediments in the Central Hangzhou Bay, this paper explores the dynamic mechanism of suspended sediments in Hangzhou Bay by employing material flux decomposition. Meanwhile, the migration trends of bed sediments are also investigated by analyzing grain size trends. The results show that during an ebb or flood tide, the hydrograph of suspended sediment concentration of Hangzhou Bay is dominated by an M shape (bimodal), which is attributed primarily to the generation of a soft mud layer and a separate fluid mud layer. Laterally, the distribution of suspended sediment concentration is high in the south and low in the north. From a macroscopic perspective, the net sediment transport in the study area displays a “north-landward and south-seaward” trend, presenting a “C”-shaped transport mode. That is, the sediments are transported from the bay mouth to the bay head on the north side and from the bay head to the bay mouth on the south side. The sediment transports by advection and tidal pumping are predominant, while the sediment transport by vertical circulation makes little contribution to the total sediment transport. Moreover, the sediment transport in the center of the reach area is dominated by advection, whereas that near both sides of the banks is controlled by tidal pumping. The asymmetry of the tides, i.e., flood-dominance in the north and ebb-dominance in the south, is the primary cause of the dynamic mechanism for the overall “C”-shaped transport mode in Hangzhou Bay. Additionally, coupled with the narrow-head wide-mouth geomorphology, Hangzhou Bay remains evolving by south shore silting and north shore scouring.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémi Loire ◽  
Loïc Grosprêtre ◽  
Jean-René Malavoi ◽  
Olivier Ortiz ◽  
Hervé Piégay

An increasing number of scientific studies are tackling the management of discharges downstream of dams for environmental objectives. Such management is generally complex, and experiments are required for proper implementation. This article present the main lessons from a silt sand removal experiment on a bypassed reach of a dam on the Selves River (164 km²), France. Three four-hour operational tests at maximum discharge (10, 15, and 20 m3/s) were carried out in September 2016 to determine the discharge required for transporting as much silt and sand as possible without remobilizing coarser sediments. In September 2017, an additional flow release was performed over 34 h at 15 m3/s. Suspended sediment concentration and water level were recorded throughout the releases. Monitoring at the reach scale was supplemented by morphological measurements. The results demonstrate that a discharge of approximately 10 m3/s enables significant transport of suspended sediments (SS), whereas a discharge of 15 m3/s enables significant sand transport. The results provide operational information on silt and sand transport applicable to other small rivers. This study represents an important contribution to the relatively sparse existing body of literature regarding the effects of water releases and sediment state. Our study also demonstrates that it is possible to successfully undertake water releases in small rivers with an adaptive management approach.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bečvář Martin

Sediment is a natural component of riverine environments and its presence in river systems is essential. However, in many ways and many places river systems and the landscape have been strongly affected by human activities which have destroyed naturally balanced sediment supply and sediment transport within catchments. As a consequence a number of severe environmental problems and failures have been identified, in particular the link between sediments and chemicals is crucial and has become a subject of major scientific interest. Sediment load and sediment concentration are therefore highly important variables that may play a key role in environment quality assessment and help to evaluate the extent of potential adverse impacts. This paper introduces a methodology to predict sediment loads and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) in large European river basins. The methodology was developed within an MSc research study that was conducted in order to improve sediment modelling in the GREAT-ER point source pollution river modelling package. Currently GREAT-ER uses suspended sediment concentration of 15 mg/l for all rivers in Europe which is an obvious oversimplification. The basic principle of the methodology to predict sediment concentration is to estimate annual sediment load at the point of interest and the amount of water that transports it. The amount of transported material is then redistributed in that corresponding water volume (using the flow characteristic) which determines sediment concentrations. Across the continent, 44 river basins belonging to major European rivers were investigated. Suspended sediment concentration data were collected from various European basins in order to obtain observed sediment yields. These were then compared against the traditional empiric sediment yield estimators. Three good approaches for sediment yield prediction were introduced based on the comparison. The three approaches were applied to predict annual sediment yields which were consequently translated into suspended sediment concentrations. SSC were predicted at 47 locations widely distributed around Europe. The verification of the methodology was carried out using data from the Czech Republic. Observed SSC were compared against the predicted ones which validated the methodology for SSC prediction.


Author(s):  
Shiaw-Yih Tzang ◽  
Yung-Lung Chen ◽  
Shan-Hwei Ou

Bed scouring and structure settlement due to interactions of regular waves and a submerged rectangular obstacle in the shallow water regions upon a fluidized fine sandy bed are experimentally investigated. Both impervious and pervious structures are installed on the test soil bed and synchronous measurements of water surface, bed surface, suspended sediment concentration and pore pressures are carried out at locations upstream and downstream. The measurements illustrate that interactions between waves and structures have relatively mild affects on the bed scouring in an unfluidized response. The interactions become more intense in the fluidized responses with significant wave decay over and increasing suspended sediments near above the fluidized beds oscillating with similar period to the loading waves. Meanwhile, the submerged structure starts to settle into the fluidized bed and significant scouring occurs. The interactions are typically greater in a RF test than in a NRF test. More than 90% of the total settlement occurs in a single event of the RF response so that the impervious and pervious structures become half buried and totally buried after the event. The settlements further affect the interactions of following loading waves and the fluidized beds. As a result, scouring on both sides of the half buried impervious obstacle is greater than those of the totally buried pervious structure.


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