GEOMORPHIC AND PEDOLOGIC INFLUENCE ON SMALL-SCALE EPHEMERAL CHANNEL DIMENSION IN RANGELANDS1

ABSTRACT: Geomorphic processes may partly determine channel geometry. Soil particle uplift during freezing and thawing cycles and bank sloughing during wetting and drying periods were observed. Soil properties and channel dimension were measured to determine the dominant processes controlling channel geometry in eight small (mean area 0.096 km²) drainages in Logan Canyon, Utah. Soil cohesion was low (plasticity index > 15) for all but one of the drainages sampled. Basin scale geomorphic variables were examined to determine if they control channel dimension. Bankfull width was highly correlated to channel length and valley length with r² values of 0.85 and 0.84, respectively. A strong canonical correlation (0.64) showed that distance from the watershed divide, bank liquid limit, and bank sand content were effective predictor variables of bankfull width and depth. The interrelations between geomorphic and pedogenic processes were the strongest determinants of ephemeral channel dimension in this study.     

FLUVIAL PROCESSES AND MORPHOLOGICAL THRESHOLDS IN INCISED CHANNEL RESTORATION1

ABSTRACT: Incised channels are those in which an imbalance between sediment transport capacity and sediment supply has led to degradation of their beds. This is a frequent response to stream channelization, changes in land use, or lowering of base level. If the degradation causes a critical bank-height threshold to be exceeded, which is dependent on the geotechnical properties of the bank materials, then bank failure and channel widening follow. Interdependent adjustments of channel slope and cross-sectional area occur until a new state of dynamic equilibrium with the imposed discharge and sediment load is attained. These geomorphic adjustments can be described and quantified by using location-for-time substitution and a model of channel evolution can be formulated. Three approaches to rehabilitation of the degraded channels are possible; geomorphic, engineering and rational. The rational approach, which integrates elements of both the engineering and geomorphic approaches, is based on the channel evolution model, and it generally involves control of grade, control of discharge, or a combination of both.     

FLOWING WATER RESOURCES1

Using data related to stream order and the morphological characteristics associated with streams of different discharge rates, an estimate of the river resources of the United States is made. The national totals are: 3,200,000 miles total length of rivers; 15,000 square miles of river surface; and 29 cubic miles of water stored in river channels. Using the same techniques, more exact estimates may be made for individual river basins. Suggestions are given for application of the techniques and river data in the management of water resources.     

BEDROCK CONTROLS ON STREAM CHANNEL ENLARGEMENT WITH URBANIZATION,NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS1

Loss due to channel erosion in the Dallas, Texas, area is estimated to approach one-half million dollars in the last several years. Hydrogeomorphic analysis of natural and urban chalk and shale watersheds was performed in the central Texas area on watersheds ranging in size from 0.5 to 10 square miles in an effort to more adequately predict channel enlargement due to urbanization. Chalk watersheds were found to have greater drainage density, greater channel slope, lower sinuosity, and greater discharge per unit area than similar sized shale watersheds under natural conditions. With subsequent urbanization of the watersheds, chalk channel enlargement was from 12 to 67 percent greater than shale channel enlargement for similar sized watersheds. Greater enlargement in chalk channels is attributed to greater channel velocities and unit tractive force. Vegetation seems to play a significant role in influencing channel adjustments to the new flow regimes brought on by urbanization. Channel response to urbanization is documented and specific nonstructural guidelines are proposed which could reduce structural loss along urban stream channels.     

INFLUENCES OF INCREASED SAND DELIVERY ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF SAND AND GRAVEL CHANNELS1

ABSTRACT A flume study was conducted to examine (1)changes in the particle-size distribution of sediments in riffles due to the proportion of sand in transport and the total rate of bedload transport at the time the riffle is deposited and (2) the effect of high sand transport rates on the stability of gravel riffles. The median particle size of sediment deposited in the riffle was larger than that of the sediment in transport. Small but significant (a = 0.05) decreases in the median particle size of riffle sediments resulted as the sand-to-gravel ratio. Increased concentrations of sand in transport caused previously stable gravel riffles to undergo scour. These results, in combination with information from other studies, suggest that an alluvial channel with pool-riffle sequences and with sand and gravel beds may respond to an increased delivery of sand by reducing form roughness. Form roughness can be reduced by degrading riffles and filling pools. Subsequent responses may be increases in width-to-depth ratio and slope.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF WOOD IN HEADWATER STREAMS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST1

This paper synthesizes information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of wood in small streams in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The literature on this topic is somewhat confused due to a lack of an accepted definition of what constitutes “small” streams and what is the relative size of woody debris contained within the channel. This paper presents a matrix that defines woody debris relative to channel size and then discusses the components of a wood budget. Headwater streams are in close proximity to wood sources and, in steeplands, are often tightly constrained by steep hillslopes. Special consideration is given to ecosystem characteristics and to management practices that affect the wood dynamics in this context. Knowledge gaps and uncertainties that can be used to guide future research are identified. Very little is currently known about the role of mass wasting in wood recruitment and storage relative to other processes, such as bank erosion and mortality, in larger streams. Further, very little work has addressed the relative importance of different wood depletion processes, especially those associated with wood transport. The effect of other ecosystem variables on wood dynamics locally across a watershed (from valley bottom to mountaintop) and regionally across the landscape (from maritime to continental climates) is not addressed. Finally, the scientific community has only begun to deal with the effects of management practices on wood quantity, structure, and movement in small streams.     

QUANTIFICATION OF INCISED CHANNEL EVOLUTION AND EQUILIBRIUM1

ABSTRACT: Incised channels are caused by an imbalance between sediment transport capacity and sediment supply that alters channel morphology through bed and bank erosion. Consistent sequential changes in incised channel morphology may be quantified and used to develop relationships describing quasi‐equilibrium conditions in these channels. We analyzed the hydraulic characteristics of streams in the Yazoo River Basin, Mississippi in various stages of incised channel evolution. The hydraulic characteristics of incising channels were observed to follow the sequence predicted by previous conceptual models of incised channel response. Multiple regression models of stable slopes in quasi‐equilibrium channels that have completed a full evolutionary sequence were developed. These models compare favorably with analytical solutions based on the extremal hypothesis of minimum stream power and empirical relationships from other regions. Appropriate application of these empirical relationships may be useful in preliminary design of stream rehabilitation strategies.     

气体爆燃火焰在狭缝中的淬熄

通过叙述可燃气体爆燃火焰在平行板狭缝中传播时产生淬熄的实验和理论研究结果，给出了甲烷，丙烷，乙炔，氢气等四种可燃气体与空气的预混气作为实验介质所进行的爆火焰淬熄实验中，火焰传播速度与淬熄直径、淬熄长度之间的关系。对于气体爆燃火争的淬熄理论模型进行了探讨，得到了有应用价值的结论。     

应急供水的启示——日本神户市应急供水系统简介

以日本神户市的水道耐震化项目考察为基础,对该市应急供水系统的建设方法进行梳理,归纳了系统建设目标、系统方案、应急水源储备、应急水源输送和应急供水管道抗震等重要环节的建设思路和技术方法,对我国城市应急供水系统建设以及解决灾后供水有一定的借鉴作用。     

Channel Evolution Models as Predictors of Sediment Yield

This paper recounts our predictions of channel evolution of the Black Vermillion River (BVR) and sediment yields associated with the evolutionary sequence. Channel design parameters allowed for the prediction of stable channel form and coincident sediment yields. Measured erosion rates and basin‐specific bank erosion curves aided in prediction of the stream channel succession time frame. This understanding is critical in determining how and when to mitigate a myriad of instability consequences. The BVR drains approximately 1,062 km² in the glaciated region of Northeast Kansas. Once tallgrass prairie, the basin has been modified extensively for agricultural production. As such, channelization has shortened the river by nearly 26 km from pre‐European dimensions; shortening combined with the construction of numerous flow‐through structures have produced dramatic impacts on discharge and sediment dynamics. Nine stream reaches were established within three main tributaries of the BVR in 2007. Reaches averaged 490 m in length, were surveyed, and assessed for channel stability, while resurveys were conducted annually through 2010 to monitor change. This work illustrates the association of current stream state, in‐channel sediment contributions, and prediction of future erosion rates based on stream evolution informed by multiple models. Our findings suggest greater and more rapid sedimentation of a federal reservoir than has been predicted using standard sediment prediction methods.