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Unsteady Flow Simulation and Erosion Assessment in a Ditch Network of a Drained Peatland Forest Catchment in Eastern Finland

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Abstract

We developed and applied a computational model for simulating unsteady flow in a drainage network of a boreal forested peatland site. The input to the model was the hourly runoff produced by a hydrological model. The simulations of the flow in the ditch network were performed using an iterative procedure for solving the Saint-Venant equations that govern the flow in each of the network channels. These equations were solved separately for each ditch branch, and the flow depths at the junctions were corrected using the method of characteristics. The model was applied to the drainage network of a peatland catchment in Eastern Finland over a period of 15 months. Because flow resistance in the ditches depended strongly on flow conditions, flow resistance (Manning’s n) was introduced as a function of discharge. The model was calibrated and validated against field data and the simulation results were further applied to assess erosion risk. The highest risk of erosion occurred during long lasting flows induced by snowmelt at ditch sections with a steep slope and a large upstream area. These model results can aid in the design and siting of water protection measures within the drained area.

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Acknowledgments

The data were provided from the concentrated field measurements by the Finnish Forest Research Institute, University of Oulu, and Aalto University School of Engineering. We thank Hannu Marttila and Bjørn Kløve from the University of Oulu for their valuable comments on the manuscript. The Finnish Meteorological Institute is acknowledged for the meteorological data. Development of the computational model was performed while K. Haahti was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Davis. Funding for the study was kindly provided by the Aalto University School of Engineering and Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, Aalto University School of Engineering, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland

    Kersti Haahti, Leena Stenberg & Harri Koivusalo

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Bassam A. Younis

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  1. Kersti Haahti
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Correspondence to Kersti Haahti.

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Haahti, K., Younis, B.A., Stenberg, L. et al. Unsteady Flow Simulation and Erosion Assessment in a Ditch Network of a Drained Peatland Forest Catchment in Eastern Finland. Water Resour Manage 28, 5175–5197 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-014-0805-x

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