Channel Geometry Controls Downstream Lags in Sediment Rating Curves
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
In transport-limited alluvial streams, the suspended sediment concentration exhibits power functional relationships with the flow discharge at a given station. Once the power-law relationships at multiple stations along a stream are compiled, these relationships either systematically lag in the downstream direction (i.e., decreasing downstream for a constant ) or overlap each other (i.e., similar for a constant anywhere along the stream). It has been claimed that the mode of downstream (lag or overlap) is associated with the downstream channel geometry. This poses a fundamental question as to whether different modes of downstream relationships are the mechanistic consequences of channel hydraulics functions induced by different channel geometries or distinct channel geometries are the signatures of adaptation to the varying relationships. This question is investigated in this study with theoretical streams by applying a numerical model which solves sediment flux and shallow water equations simultaneously. Simulation results are consistent with observations from natural rivers in many respects, such as power-law at-a-station and downstream hydraulic geometry relationships. Lagged relationships are reproduced whereas the degree of a lag depends on the imposed channel geometry. This agrees with field observations and can be explained through the downstream increase rate in the bed shear stress. These findings imply that the downstream lag in relationships is the resultant feature of a given channel geometry.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2015R1A2A2A05001592) and the 2015 Research Fund of the University of Seoul. Kyungrock Paik also acknowledges Korea TechnoComplex Foundation for Crimson Professorship Grant (2014–2017).
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©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 8, 2016
Accepted: Aug 21, 2017
Published online: Jan 26, 2018
Published in print: Apr 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Jun 26, 2018
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