Abstract
Purpose
Gravel-bed rivers can store significant amounts of fine sediments, in the gravel matrix or at the bar surface. The contribution of the latter to suspended sediment fluxes depends on their erodibility which is highly variable spatially. The sensitivity induced by this spatial variability on outputs of a 2D hydro-sedimentary numerical model was investigated and recommendations for in situ erodibility measurement strategy were provided.
Methods
The spatial variability of fine sediment erodibility was determined using the Cohesive Strength Meter (CSM) device in a 1-km-long river reach of the Galabre River in the southern French Alps. A 2D hydro-sedimentary numerical model was built on the monitored reach displaying three deposit zones with distinct erodibility values. The sensitivity of the modeled eroded masses to sediment erodibility variability was assessed through ten distinct sediment erodibility settings and three schematic flood events, based on the in situ monitoring of the river.
Results and discussion
The spatial variability of fine sediment deposit erodibility was significant. Marginal deposits were more resistant than superficial or water-saturated ones. The sensitivity of the modeled eroded mass to erodibility parameters was different depending on the set of measurements used. When considering the entire dataset, which exhaustively characterizes the fine sediment deposits, the numerical sensitivity was relatively low. On the other hand, when a partial set of measurements outside the quartiles was considered, the sensitivity was more significant leading to large differences in eroded masses between spatially distributed and spatially averaged settings. Using bootstrap sampling, we recommended making 15 to 20 measurements in marginal and superficial zones to adequately capture the distribution of erodibility.
Conclusions
This work provided insight on the spatial variability of erodibility and the sensitivity induced in 2D numerical modeling of fine sediments. The proposed methodology could be applied to other environments (e.g., reservoirs, estuaries, or lowland rivers) in order to adapt the monitoring and numerical modeling strategies.
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Data availability
All observed data, numerical project and outputs are available upon request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express special thanks to Ian G. Droppo for guidance during this work and for the provision of the CSM device and to G. Nord for providing data at the downstream station. The authors thank Guilhem Freche, Romain Biron, Catherine Coulaud, and Hervé Denis for field data collection at the Galabre site and Jacques Montariol for the help in the calibration of the numerical model. The authors thank the three anonymous reviewers and the guest editor for their helpful comments.
Funding
This work was funded by the French National Association of Research and Technology (ANRT) and EDF R&D with the Industrial Conventions for Training through Research (CIFRE grant agreement 2018/1453). It was also supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the grants ANR-18-CE01-0020 (DEAR project) and ANR-11-EQPX-0011 (EQUIPEX CRITEX project). This study was carried out in the Galabre site of the Draix-Bléone Observatory funded by INRAE, INSU, and OSUG and is part of OZCAR Research Infrastructure that is supported by the French Ministry of Research, French Research Institutions and Universities.
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Haddad, H., Legout, C. & Jodeau, M. Spatial variability of erodibility of fine sediments deposited in gravel river beds: from field measurements to 2D numerical models. J Soils Sediments 23, 3602–3619 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03438-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03438-6