All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher.

No abstract

Limited information exists on one of the mechanisms governing sediment input to streams: streambank erosion by ground water seepage. The objective of this research was to demonstrate the importance of streambank composition and stratigraphy in controlling seepage flow and to quantify correlation of seepage flow/erosion with precipitation, stream stage and soil pore water pressure. The streambank site was located in Northern Mississippi in the Goodwin Creek watershed. Soil samples from layers on the streambank face suggested less than an order of magnitude difference in vertical hydraulic conductivity (K s ) with depth, but differences between lateral K s of a concretion layer and the vertical K s of the underlying layers contributed to the propensity for lateral flow. Goodwin Creek seeps were not similar to other seeps reported in the literature, in that eroded sediment originated from layers underneath the primary seepage layer. Subsurface flow and sediment load, quantified using 50 cm wide collection pans, were dependent on the type of seep: intermittent low-flow (LF) seeps (flow rates typically less than 0·05 L min − − − − −1 ), persistent high-flow (HF) seeps (average flow rate of 0·39 L min − − − − −1 ) and buried seeps, which eroded unconsolidated bank material from previous bank failures. The timing of LF seeps correlated to river stage and precipitation. The HF seeps at Goodwin Creek began after rainfall events resulted in the adjacent streambank reaching near saturation (i.e. soil pore water pressures greater than − − − − −5 kPa). Seep discharge from HF seeps reached a maximum of 1·0 L min − − − − −1 and sediment concentrations commonly approached 100 g L − − − − −1 . Buried seeps were intermittent but exhibited the most significant erosion rates (738 g min − − − − −1 ) and sediment concentrations (989 g L − − − − −1). In cases where perched water table conditions exist and persistent HF seeps occur, seepage erosion and bank collapse of streambank sediment may be significant.

The majority of sediment leaving catchments may be from streambank failure. Seepage erosion of unconsolidated sand above a restrictive layer is an important erosion process in incised streams that leads to streambank failure by undercutting banks. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of soil properties on seepage erosion and the resulting streambank failure. Seepage flow and sediment concentrations were measured in situ at eight locations along the banks of a deeply incised stream in northern Mississippi. Using field observations as a guide, the soil profile conditions of a shallow (45 cm) streambank, consisting of 30 cm of topsoil, a 10 cm conductive layer, and a 5 cm restrictive layer, were mimicked in laboratory lysimeter experiments to quantify the hydrologic properties controlling seepage erosion and bank failure under a 40 cm head. The time to flow initiation and the flow rate were linearly related to the slope of the restrictive layer. Seepage erosion began within minutes of flow initiation and resulted in substantial (3 to 34 cm) undercutting of the bank. Sediment concentrations of seeps were as high as 660 g l − − − − −1 in situ and 4500 g l − − − − −1 in the lysimeters. Sediment concentrations were related to the layer slope, thereby indicating the importance of detailed site characterization. The USDA-ARS Streambank Stability model demonstrated the increase in instability of banks due to undercutting by seepage erosion, but failed to account for the sediment loss due to sapping for stable banks and overestimated the sediment loads for failed banks. Published in C a = ψ tan φ b (1) 448 G. V. Wilson et al.

No abstract