Author(s): Alfonso Pujol

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Keywords: Alluvial streams; bed-material load formulas; fluvial hydraulics; sediment surveys

Abstract: This contribution proposes additional sediment sampling beyond what is customary done in practice, with the goal of enhancing the estimation of sediment transport rates from data collected in the field. The analysis is restricted to large, low-land, alluvial rivers, with bed and banks formed by non-cohesive sediment, which are free to change their depth, width and slope. In particular, the analysis concentrates on dune-covered rivers under steady or quasi-steady, lower-regime flow conditions. Pujol et al. (2004) have shown by means of the Engelund–Hansen sediment transport formula that when a relation is recalibrated using laboratory and field data complying with the above restrictions, the agreement between computed results and observations greatly improves. Motivated by such ideas, the approach proposed herein consists of taking several suspended sediment samples and in surveying bed longitudinal profiles, along streamlines covering several dunes. It is expected that this additional work will improve the quality of field observations, and will facilitate the application of sediment transport relations developed with laboratory observations to field conditions

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3826/jhr.2008.3024

Year: 2008