A model to predict annual bed load transport in ungauged watersheds

Abstract:

The prediction of bed load transport is relevant to many aspects of river management such as river engineering, channel stability, and stream ecology. However, given that the functions used to predict bed load transport are very sensitive to input values, the uncertainty associated with estimates of transport at a specific place or point in time can be quite large. In addition, if the goal is to predict annual loads, a distribution characterizing the frequency of sediment-transporting flows must also be known. In this work we develop a model to predict annual bed load transport in ungauged catchments by computing the sediment movement associated with discharge levels between ½ of bankfull and bankfull flow. The model incorporates both the prediction of daily flows based on a power function, and a field-based parameterization of the spatial-temporal distribution of boundary shear stress based on two-dimensional flow modelling. The data inputs for the model are channel geometry (depth, width, and slope), grain size distribution, and drainage area. We will present the results sites in Colorado and Idaho. The model can be used to explore how changes in the frequency of extreme events impacts the total annual bed load and the spatial-temporal disturbance regime of aquatic ecosystems.