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Long-term monitoring of streambed sedimentation and scour in a dynamic stream based on streambed temperature time series

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Abstract

This study presented the monitoring and quantification of streambed sedimentation and scour in a stream with dynamically changing streambed based on measured phase and amplitude of the diurnal signal of sediment temperature time series. With the applied method, changes in streambed elevation were estimated on a sub-daily scale with 2-h intervals without continuous maintenance of the measurement system, thus making both high temporal resolution and long-term monitoring of streambed elevations possible. Estimates of streambed elevation showed that during base flow conditions streambed elevation fluctuates by 2–3 cm. Following high stream stages, scouring of 2–5 cm can be observed even at areas with low stream flow and weak currents. Our results demonstrate that weather variability can induce significant changes in the stream water and consequently sediment temperatures influencing the diurnal temperature signal in such an extent that the sediment thickness between paired temperature sensors were overestimated by up to 8 cm. These observations have significant consequences on the design of vertical sensor spacing in high-flux environments and in climates with reduced diurnal variations in air temperature.

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Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Centre for Hydrology (HOBE), funded by the Villum Foundation. The authors are grateful for Peer Jørgensen and Lars Rasmussen for their assistance in field work. The authors are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for the helpful comments, which helped to improve the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Eva Sebok, Peter Engesgaard & Carlos Duque

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Delaware, Penny Hall, Academy Street 255, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Carlos Duque

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  1. Eva Sebok
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  2. Peter Engesgaard
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  3. Carlos Duque
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Correspondence to Eva Sebok.

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Sebok, E., Engesgaard, P. & Duque, C. Long-term monitoring of streambed sedimentation and scour in a dynamic stream based on streambed temperature time series. Environ Monit Assess 189, 469 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6194-x

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