Effects of Hydrograph Shape on Sediment Transport and Size

Very few studies have investigated the effects of differently shaped hydrographs on sediment transport and size, and those that have, largely focused on sediment transport dynamics in fixed-width flumes with armored streambeds. To better understand how hydrograph shape controls transport dynamics in a more complex channel, we conducted a set of Froude-scaled physical experiments in an adjustable width flume with an un-armored bed that developed a meandering planform pattern with pool-riffle morphology. Experiments were conducted in a 12.2m long, 1.5m wide stream table at the University of British Columbia. Sediment size range from fine sand to small gravel, with a median grain size of 1.5mm. While hydrographs had different shapes, magnitudes, and durations, we kept total equilibrium feed mass equivalent among experiments. Sediment was fed at a constant rate at the inlet and, due to the adjustable boundary design, was continuously recruited from channel banks so that the channel was never supply limited. Sediment was collected at the outlet; sediment mass was measured every 10-15 minutes and grain size was sampled every 30 minutes. We found that sediment transport pattern reflects the rate of channel evolution and excavation over the course of the hydrograph. We introduce a new metric, cumulative sediment concentration, to evaluate temporal trends in sediment transport rate. Cumulative sediment concentration increased during rates of rapid channel excavation, particularly during the rising limb of the hydrograph as curvature developed, and decreased during periods of slow or no morphologic change. Slowly rising hydrographs had multiple peaks in the cumulative sediment concentration curve that reflected rapid channel excavation, then stability, following an increase in flow, whereas quickly rising hydrographs had cumulative sediment concentration curves that continuously increased. The latter suggests that during quickly rising hydrographs, the flow rises faster than the channel capacity adjusts. We confirm this observation by comparing the excavation time associated with each flow rate, derived from constant flow experiments, with the duration of hydrograph steps. We conclude that transport patterns are better understood in the context of the timescales associated with channel-forming process.