Sources, transport, and storage of sediment at selected sites in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Gellis, Allen C.; Hupp, Cliff R.; Pavich, Milan J.; Landwehr, Jurate M.; Banks, William S.L.; Hubbard, Bernard E.; Langland, Michael J.; Ritchie, Jerry C.; Reuter, Joanna M.

doi:10.3133/sir20085186

Cited by 70 publications

(77 citation statements)

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“…The mass of sediment deposited on floodplains was 52% of the suspendedsediment load, which is similar to the percentage (50%) reported for Good Hope Tributary in the Maryland suburban area of Washington D.C. (Allmendinger et al, 2007). The floodplain deposition rates for UDR are similar to other rates of floodplain deposition at other sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Gellis et al, 2009). First and fifth order floodplains stored the most floodplain sediment, 27% and 28%, respectively, reflecting the greater width for fifth order channels and the greater length for first order channels (Table 2; supplementary Table 6).…”

Section: Sediment Budget Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

“…The historic sediment generated from agriculture and urbanization, referred to as legacy sediment, is presently observed in Difficult Run as a stratigraphic unit overlying an older precolonial soil (Hupp et al, 2013). The Piedmont Physiographic Province also has the highest sediment yields of any physiographic province in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Gellis et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA

et al. 2017

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Determining erosion and deposition rates in urban-suburban settings and how these processes are affected by large storms is important to understanding geomorphic processes in these landscapes. Sediment yields in the suburban and urban Upper Difficult Run are among the highest ever recorded in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, ranging from 161 to 376 Mg/km 2 /y. Erosion and deposition of streambanks, channel bed, and bars and deposition of floodplains were monitored between 1 March 2010 and 18 January 2013 in Upper Difficult Run, Virginia, USA. We documented the effects of two large storms, Tropical Storm Lee (September 2011), a 100-year event, and Super Storm Sandy (October 2012) a 5-year event, on channel erosion and deposition. Variability in erosion and deposition rates for all geomorphic features, temporally and spatially, are important conclusions of this study. Tropical Storm Lee was an erosive event, where erosion occurred on 82% of all streambanks and where 88% of streambanks that were aggrading before Tropical Storm Lee became erosional. Statistical analysis indicated that drainage area explains linear changes (cm/y) in eroding streambanks and that channel top width explains cross-sectional area changes (cm 2 /y) in eroding streambanks and floodplain deposition (mm/y). A quasi-sediment budget constructed for the study period using the streambanks, channel bed, channel bars, and floodplain measurements underestimated the measured suspended-sediment load by 61% (2130 Mg/y). Underestimation of the sediment load may be caused by measurement errors and to contributions from upland sediment sources, which were not measured but estimated at 36% of the gross input of sediment. Eroding streambanks contributed 42% of the gross input of sediment and accounted for 70% of the measured suspended-sediment load. Similar to other urban watersheds, the large percentage of impervious area in Difficult Run and direct runoff of precipitation leads to increased streamflow and streambank erosion. This study emphasizes the importance of streambanks in urban-suburban sediment budgets but also suggests that other sediment sources, such as upland sources, which were not measured in this study, can be an important source of sediment.

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Section: Sediment Budget Resultssupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA

et al. 2017

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“…In subwatershed 1 (land use under croplands = 45%), uplands are the dominant sources of suspended sediment, while in subwatershed 2 (land use under croplands = 25%), uplands and stream banks are both important sources of suspended sediment. The stream bed sediment was not considered as a separate source in this study because it reflects temporary storage in the absence of significant channel incision and is derived from either uplands or stream banks (Gellis et al ., ). Based on short‐term erosional and depositional dynamics (Table ), it appears that stream bed sediment could serve as a suspended sediment source (during erosional events), and suspended sediment could be a source for stream bed sediment (during depositional events).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Using radiometric fingerprinting and phosphorus to elucidate sediment transport dynamics in an agricultural watershed

Lamba

Karthikeyan

Thompson

2014

Hydrological Processes

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Abstract:The major goals of this study were to determine stream bed sediment erosion/deposition rates, sediment age, percent 'new' sediment, and suspended sediment origin during two storm events of contrasting magnitudes (11.9 mm over 5 h and 58.9 mm over 39 h) using fallout radionuclides (excess lead 210 -210 Pb xs and beryllium 7 -7 Be) and link the nature and type of sediment source contributions to potential phosphorus (P) off-site transport. The study was conducted in cropland-dominated and mixed land use subwatersheds in the non-glaciated Pleasant Valley watershed (50 km 2 ) in South Central Wisconsin. Fine sediment deposition and erosion rates on stream beds varied from 0.76 to 119.29 mg cm À2 day À1 (at sites near the watershed outlet) and 1.72 to 7.72 mg cm À2 day À1 (at sites in the headwaters), respectively, during the two storm events. The suspended sediment age ranged from 123 ± 12 to 234 ± 33 days during the smaller storm event; however, older sediment was more prevalent (p = 0.037) in the streams during the larger event with suspended sediment age ranging from 226 ± 9 to 322 ± 114 days. During the small and large storm event, percent new sediment in suspended sediment ranged from 5.3 ± 2.1 to 21.0 ± 2.9% and 5.3 ± 2.7 to 6.7 ± 5.7%, respectively. In the cropland-dominated subwatershed, upland soils were the major source of suspended sediment, whereas in the mixed land use subwatershed, both uplands and stream banks had relatively similar contributions to suspended sediment. Instream (suspended and bed) sediment P levels ranged from 703 ± 193 to 963 ± 84 mg kg À1 during the two storm events. The P concentrations in suspended and bed sediment were reflective of the dominant sediment source (upland or stream bank or mixed). Overall, sediment transport dynamics showed significant variability between subwatersheds of different land use characteristics during two contrasting storm events.

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“…The overall mean sediment yield of the sites we analyzed was 9 Mg km −2 yr −1 , an order of magnitude less than that of Piedmont rivers in the eastern US (Gellis et al . ). Low watershed sediment loads may facilitate tidal extension because low suspended sediment availability leads to low wetland sediment accretion (Ensign et al .…”

Section: How Do Watershed Processes Climate Change and Tidal Extensmentioning

confidence: 97%

Tidal extension and sea‐level rise: recommendations for a research agenda

Ensign

Noe

2018

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Sea‐level rise is pushing freshwater tides upstream into formerly non‐tidal rivers. This tidal extension may increase the area of tidal freshwater ecosystems and offset loss of ecosystem functions due to salinization downstream. Without considering how gains in ecosystem functions could offset losses, landscape‐scale assessments of ecosystem functions may be biased toward worst‐case scenarios of loss. To stimulate research on this concept, we address three fundamental questions about tidal extension: Where will tidal extension be most evident, and can we measure it? What ecosystem functions are influenced by tidal extension, and how can we measure them? How do watershed processes, climate change, and tidal extension interact to affect ecosystem functions? Our preliminary answers lead to recommendations that will advance tidal extension research, enable better predictions of the impacts of sea‐level rise, and help balance the landscape‐scale benefits of ecosystem function with costs of response.

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Sources, transport, and storage of sediment at selected sites in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Cited by 70 publications

References 0 publications

Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA

Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA

Using radiometric fingerprinting and phosphorus to elucidate sediment transport dynamics in an agricultural watershed

Tidal extension and sea‐level rise: recommendations for a research agenda

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