Linkages between controlled floods, eddy sandbar dynamics, and riparian vegetation along the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, Arizona

Abstract:

Controlled floods are released from Glen Canyon Dam to build and maintain eddy sandbars along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Long-term monitoring shows that the topographic response to controlled floods varies considerably between eddies, likely reflecting different geometric configurations and flow hydraulics. Differences in eddy sandbar response also reflect the degree of vegetation establishment since the 1980s when reservoir spills more than double the magnitude of controlled floods cleared most sandbars of vegetation. Here we explore the geomorphology of sandbar responses in the context of controlled floods, debris fan-eddy geometry, and riparian vegetation establishment. In Marble Canyon, the proportion of eddy area stabilized by vegetation is negatively correlated with water surface slope and the rate of stage change with discharge. Less vegetated sites are more dynamic; they tend to build open sandbars during controlled floods and show greater topographic variability in the eddy compared to the main channel. In contrast, deposition of open sandbars is limited where vegetation establishment has decreased channel width, altering the pattern of eddy recirculation and sediment redistribution. In these locations, deposition during controlled floods is more akin to floodplain sedimentation, and the elevation of vegetated bar surfaces increases with successive floods. Changes in sand storage in the main channel are greater than storage change in the eddy at these lower gradient sites, and controlled floods tend to evacuate sand that has accumulated on the bed. The degree to which vegetation has stabilized sandbar surfaces may thus provide a proxy for different hydraulic conditions and a better canyon-wide assessment of controlled flood response. Our results apply primarily to large eddies in Marble Canyon, and ongoing flow modeling and vegetation composition mapping will allow further assessment of eddy sandbar-riparian vegetation interactions at a variety of scales.