Author(s): Andre E. Zimmermann

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Abstract: In mountains, steep streams with step-pool and cascade morphologies are abundant and engineers are increasingly being asked to assess the stability of such streams. Due to the episodic delivery of sediment and the structured nature of headwater streams, knowledge from lowland streams cannot be transferred to headwater streams. Thus there is a need for experimental studies examining the stability of such channels. To conduct such a study new experimental techniques were developed and a flume was designed and built. Channel width, bed grain size and channel gradient were varied and step-pool bedforms were created and subsequently destroyed. The experiments tested and confirmed the hypothesis that smaller jamming ratios (channel width/bed grain size) increase the stability of the bed. Step-pool frequency and form were shown to correlate most strongly with bed slope, grain size and channel width.

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Year: 2009