Title

Influences of Catchment and River Channel Characteristics on the Magnitude and Dynamics of Storage and Re-Suspension of Fine Sediments in River Beds

Authors

Jungsu Park, Water Quality & Safety Research Center, Korea Water Resources Corporation, 200 Sintanjin-Ro, Daedeok-Gu, Daejeon 34350, Korea
Ramon J. Batalla, University of Lleida, Lleida, 25198, Spain
François Bírgand, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Michel Esteves, Université Grenoble Alpes, IRD, Grenoble INP, CNRS, IGE, Grenoble, France
Francesco Gentile, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Bari, Italy
Joseph R. Harrington, School of Building & Civil Engineering, Munster Technological University, Bishopstown Campus, Cork, IrelandFollow
Oldrich Navratil, Univ Lyon, Université Lumière Lyon 2, CNRS, UMR 5600 EVS, F-69635, France
José Andres López-Tarazón, Fluvial Dynamics Research Group - RIUS, University of Lleida, 25003 Lleida, Spain
Damiá Vericant, University of Lleida Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, Lleida, Spain

Document Type

Article

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Disciplines

Civil and Environmental Engineering | Engineering

Publication Details

Water 2019, 11(5), 878

Abstract

Fine particles or sediments are one of the important variables that should be considered for the proper management of water quality and aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, the effect of catchment characteristics on the performance of an already developed model for the estimation of fine sediments dynamics between the water column and sediment bed was tested, using 13 catchments distributed worldwide. The model was calibrated to determine two optimal model parameters. The first is the filtration parameter, which represents the filtration of fine sediments through pores of the stream bed during the recession period of a flood event. The second parameter is the bed erosion parameter that represents the active layer, directly related to the re-suspension of fine sediments during a flood event. A dependency of the filtration parameter with the catchment area was observed in catchments smaller than ~100 km², whereas no particular relationship was observed for larger catchments (>100 km²). In contrast, the bed erosion parameter does not show a noticeable dependency with the area or other environmental characteristics. The model estimated the mass of fine sediments released from the sediment bed to the water column during flood events in the 13 catchments within ~23% bias.

Recommended Citation

Park, J.; Batalla, R.J.; Birgand, F.; Esteves, M.; Gentile, F.; Harrington, J.R.; Navratil, O.; López-Tarazón, J.A.; Vericat, D. Influences of Catchment and River Channel Characteristics on the Magnitude and Dynamics of Storage and Re-Suspension of Fine Sediments in River Beds. Water 2019, 11, 878. /10.3390/w11050878