Case Study: Equivalent Widths of the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 4
Abstract
Successive reaches of the Rio Grande have maintained equivalent channel widths of 50 and , respectively, over long periods of time. It is hypothesized that alluvial channels adjust bed slope to match the long-term changes in channel width. Analytical relationships show that wider river reaches develop steeper slopes. A modeling approach using daily water and sediment discharges simulates the transient evolution of bed elevation changes. The analytical and numerical models are in very good agreement with the longitudinal profile measurements of the Bosque del Apache reach of the Rio Grande, NM, from 1992 to 1999. The slope of the wide reach was and the slope of the wide reach of the same river increased to . This unsteady daily transient model compares well with a steady transient solution at a constant discharge close to the mean annual flow. The transient slope adjustments can also be approximated with an exponential model. Accordingly, it takes about for the Rio Grande to achieve about 90% of its slope adjustment.
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Acknowledgments
Funding from the United States Bureau of Reclamation during the course of this study is gratefully acknowledged. However, the results do not necessarily reflect policies or endorsement of Reclamation. The writers are grateful to Gigi Richard and Travis Bauer for the preparation of the Rio Grande database, Paula Makar, Jan Oliver, Tamara Massong, and Robert Padilla for providing the data and valuable information on the Rio Grande. The valuable comments of anonymous reviewers have been sincerely appreciated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 4 • April 2009
Pages: 306 - 315
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Oct 26, 2005
Accepted: Nov 26, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
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