An assessment methodology for determining historical changes in mountain streams

Smelser, Mark G.; Schmidt, John C.

doi:10.2737/rmrs-gtr-6

Cited by 28 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Although not a direct measurement of aggradation, changes in stage at a streamgage have been used as a proxy for aggradation (Smelser and Schmidt, 1998;Juracek and Fitzpatrick, 2009;Czuba and others, 2010).…”

Section: Assessing Aggradation Potential In the Context Of Sediment Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary assessment of aggradation potential in the North Fork Stillaguamish River downstream of the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

Magirl¹,

Keith²,

Anderson³

et al. 2015

Scientific Investigations Report

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For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment-visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS.For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/.Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. ). The landslide killed 43 people. After overtopping and establishing a new channel through the landslide, the river incised into the landslide deposit over the course of 10 weeks draining the impoundment lake and mobilizing an estimated 280,000±56,000 m 3 of predominantly sand-sized and finer sediment. During the first 4 weeks after the landslide, this eroded sediment caused downstream riverbed aggradation of 1-2 m within 1 km of the landslide and 0.4 m aggradation at Whitman Road Bridge, 3.5 km downstream. Winter high flows in 2014-15 were anticipated to mobilize an additional 220,000±44,000 m 3 of sediment, potentially causing additional aggradation and exacerbating flood risk downstream of the landslide. Analysis of unit stream power and bed-material transport capacity along 35 km of the river corridor indicated that most fine-grained sediment will transport out of the North Fork Stillaguamish River, although some localized additional aggradation was possible. This new aggradation was not likely to exceed 0.1 m except in reaches within a few kilometers downstream of the landslide, where additional aggradation of up to 0.5 m is possible. Alternative river response scenarios, including continued mass wasting from the landslide scarp, major channel migration or avulsion, or the formation of large downstream wood jams, although unlikely, could result in reaches of significant local aggradation or channel change.

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Section: Assessing Aggradation Potential In the Context Of Sediment Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preliminary assessment of aggradation potential in the North Fork Stillaguamish River downstream of the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

Magirl¹,

Keith²,

Anderson³

et al. 2015

Scientific Investigations Report

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show abstract

“…One component of such analyses ideally would involve using individual discharge measurements that include the minimum channel-bed (thalweg) elevation. A time series of these data potentially could be used to quantify channel-bed scour and fill associated with a flood (Smelser and Schmidt, 1998). The use of gage data to predict geomorphic effectiveness likely would have the best opportunity to be useful for alluvial streams that are susceptible to change, have experienced multiple large floods and have one or more gages with a long period of record (i.e.…”

Section: Potential Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stream-gage records are used to construct plots of discharge exceedence probability, channel-bed elevation and hydraulic geometry that are used to determine changes and trends in floods, channel-bed elevation and channel morphology. Smelser and Schmidt (1998) provide a detailed description of these plots and analyses and how to interpret geomorphic changes from them. Information contained in station descriptions and analyses has been used to document the timing and cause of historical channel morphology changes (Stover and Montgomery, 2001;Juracek, 2004a;Fitzpatrick, 2005).…”

Section: Geomorphic Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gages at such non-ideal sites can provide information of considerable geomorphic value. However, it is important to keep in mind that channel characteristics at gage sites may not be representative of randomly selected locations at any point along the entire length of a stream (Smelser and Schmidt, 1998;National Research Council, 2004). In addition to natural variability, the geomorphic information derived from gages may be affected by artificial influences (e.g.…”

Section: Spatial Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geomorphic applications of stream‐gage information

Juracek

Fitzpatrick

2009

River Research & Apps

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In the United States, several thousand stream gages provide what typically is the only source of continuous, long-term streamflow and channel-geometry information for the locations being monitored. In this paper, the geomorphic content of stream-gage information, previous and potential applications of stream-gage information in fluvial geomorphic research and various possible limitations are described. Documented applications include studies of hydraulic geometry, channel bankfull characteristics, sediment transport and channel geomorphic response to various types of disturbance. Potential applications include studies to determine the geomorphic effectiveness of large floods and in-stream habitat change in response to disturbance. For certain applications, various spatial, temporal and data limitations may render the stream-gage information of limited use; however, such information often is of considerable value to enable or enhance geomorphic investigations.

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“…Following the approach of Klingeman (1973) and Smelser and Schmidt (1998), we completed a specific gage analysis for the available record from October 1, 1969, to May 1, 2009. The specific gage analysis allows detection of changes in streambed elevation by assessing changes in water elevation (stage) through time for a set of discharge values.…”

Section: Survey Data Used In Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Channel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon

Wallick¹,

Anderson²,

Cannon³

et al. 2010

Scientific Investigations Report

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An assessment methodology for determining historical changes in mountain streams

Cited by 28 publications

References 24 publications

Preliminary assessment of aggradation potential in the North Fork Stillaguamish River downstream of the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

Preliminary assessment of aggradation potential in the North Fork Stillaguamish River downstream of the State Route 530 landslide near Oso, Washington

Geomorphic applications of stream‐gage information

Channel change and bed-material transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon

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