Continuous monitoring of bedload discharge in a small, steep sandy channel

Ana Lucía, Alain Recking, José F. Martín-Duque, Yael Storz-Peretz, Jonathan B. Laronne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper reports on bedload flux and texture monitored in a natural, steep, sandy ephemeral channel draining a small gullied sandy watershed, the Barranca de los Pinos (1.32. ha), Spain. Bedload flux was continuously monitored with two independent Reid-type slot samplers; bedload texture was determined from the sediment collected in the samplers. Channel morphology was surveyed with a high spatial resolution with a Terrestrial Laser Scanner.The monitored instantaneous bedload fluxes are among the highest measured in natural rivers, characterized by high temporal and spatial variability related to the presence of bedforms, shallow bars and sand sheets, and to the reworking of the dry bed between and at the end of individual flow events. The grain size distribution of the bedload indicates equal mobility; but bedload texture fluctuates, depicting the transport of coarser bar surfaces and of finer-grained anabranch surfaces as well as of the overall bed subsurface.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-50
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Hydrology
Volume497
DOIs
StatePublished - 8 Aug 2013

Keywords

  • Bedload flux
  • Braiding
  • Ephemeral stream
  • Reid-type slot sampler
  • Sand-bed channel
  • Steep stream

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Water Science and Technology

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