Velocity and Depth Distributions in Stream Reaches: Testing European Models in Ecuador
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 139, Issue 7
Abstract
European statistical hydraulic models developed in France and Germany were tested on how they predicted the frequency distributions of water depth and point velocity measured in 14 reaches in Ecuador during 25 surveys. First, the observed frequency distributions were fitted to parametric functions defined in Europe and the parameters were predicted from the average characteristics of reaches (e.g., discharge rate and mean depth and width) using European regressions. When explaining the frequency of three classes of velocity and three classes of depth among reach surveys, the fitted and predicted distributions had a low absolute bias (). The residual variance of fits relative to the mean class variance was . The residual variance of predicted frequencies was 30–61% for velocity classes and 20–36% for depth classes. Overall, the European models appeared appropriate for Ecuadorian stream reaches but could be improved. This study demonstrates the transferability of statistical hydraulic models between widely separated geographic regions.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by Empresa Publica Metropolitana de Agua Potable y Saneamiento (EPMAPS) of Quito, Ecuador. The authors thank all the participants who contributed to collect data for the AQUANDES project. The authors thank Ton Snelder for linguistic advice.
References
Aberle, J., and Smart, G. M. (2003). “The influence of roughness structure on flow resistance on steep slopes.” J. Hydraul. Res., 41(3), 259–269.
Boulton, A. J., Boyero, L., Covich, A. P., Dobson, M., Lake, S., and Pearson, R. (2008). “Are tropical streams ecologically different from temperate streams?” Tropical stream ecology, Academic, San Diego, 257–284.
Buytaert, W., Cuesta-Camacho, F., and Tobon, C. (2011). “Potential impacts of climate change on the environmental services of humid tropical alpine regions.” Global Ecol. Biogeogr., 20(1), 19–33.
Chiu, C. L., and Tung, N. C. (2002). “Maximum velocity and regularities in open-channel flow.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 128(4), 390–398.
Hoover, T. M., and Ackerman, J. D. (2004). “Near-bed hydrodynamic measurements above boulders in shallow torrential streams: Implications for stream biota.” J. Environ. Eng. Sci., 3(5), 365–378.
Jacobsen, D. (2009). “Classical alpine stream types on the equator: Are they different?” Int. Assoc. Theor. Appl. Limnol. Proc., 30(8), 1245–1250.
Jowett, I. G. (1993). “A method for objectively identifying pool, run, and riffle habitats from physical measurements.” N. Z. J. Mar. Freshwat. Res., 27(2), 241–248.
Lamouroux, N. (1998). “Depth probability distributions in stream reaches.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 124(2), 224–227.
Lamouroux, N. (2007). “Hydraulic geometry of stream reaches and ecological implications.” Gravel-bed rivers 6: From process understanding to river restoration, Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 661–675.
Lamouroux, N., Souchon, Y., and Herouin, E. (1995). “Predicting velocity frequency-distributions in stream reaches.” Water Resour. Res., 31(9), 2367–2375.
Legleiter, C. J., Kyriakidis, P. C., McDonald, R. R., and Nelson, J. M. (2011). “Effects of uncertain topographic input data on two-dimensional flow modelling in a gravel-bed river.” Water Resour. Res., 47(3), W03518.
Mérigoux, S., Lamouroux, N., Olivier, J. M., and Dolédec, S. (2009). “Invertebrate hydraulic preferences and predicted impacts of changes in discharge in a large river.” Freshwat. Biol., 54(6), 1343–1356.
Millar, R. G., and Quick, M. C. (1993). “Effect of bank stability on geometry of gravel rivers.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 119(12), 1343–1363.
Rhoads, B. L., Schwartz, J. S., and Porter, S. (2003). “Stream geomorphology, bank vegetation, and three-dimensional habitat hydraulics for fish in Midwestern agricultural streams.” Water Resour. Res., 39(8), 1218.
Rosenfeld, J. S., Campbell, K., Leung, E. S., Bernhardt, J., and Post, J. (2011). “Habitat effects on depth and velocity frequency distributions: Implications for modeling hydraulic variation and fish habitat suitability in streams.” Geomorpholog., 130(3–4), 127–135.
Saraeva, K., and Hardy, T. B. (2009). “Prediction of fisheries physical habitat values based on hydraulic geometry and frequency distributions of depth and velocity.” Int. J. River Basin Manag., 7(1), 31–41.
Schweizer, S., Borsuk, M. E., Jowett, I., and Reichert, P. (2007). “Predicting joint frequency distributions of depth and velocity for instream habitat assessment.” River Res. Appl., 23(3), 287–302.
Stewardson, M. J., and McMahon, T. A. (2002). “A stochastic model of hydraulic variations within stream channels.” Water Resour. Res., 38(1), 1007.
Wiberg, P. L., and Smith, J. D. (1991). “Velocity distribution and bed roughness in high gradient streams.” Water Resour. Res., 27(5), 825–838.
Wilcox, A. C., and Wohl, E. E. (2007). “Field measurements of three-dimensional hydraulics in a step-pool channel.” Geomorpholog., 83(3–4), 215–231.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 139 • Issue 7 • July 2013
Pages: 794 - 798
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 25, 2012
Accepted: Dec 19, 2012
Published online: Dec 21, 2012
Published in print: Jul 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.