FLOW DISTURBANCE CAUSED BY CROSS-STREAM COARSE WOODY DEBRIS |
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| Authors: | John T Beebe |
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| Institution: | Department of Geography , University of Guelph , Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada jbeebe@uoguelph.ca |
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| Abstract: | Coarse woody debris affects many streams in forested regions throughout the world. These effects include lateral channel migration, bank slumping, and aggradational or erosional features related to flow redirection. The extent of effect is dependent on the ability of the system to resist the new forces derived from flow redirection. This study on the Pine River, Ontario, looks at how obstructions that are perpendicular to downstream flow modify fluid behavior. Results show that fluctuations in speed and approach azimuth vary considerably depending on the position of the sample relative to the obstruction. The use of time-averaged (1 sec., 30 sec.) recordings of fluid speed and azimuth at selected channel locations shows how flow adjusts to external controls as it moves away from the obstruction zone, giving an indication of the spatial extent of the obstruction influence. These data are represented as a function of the diameter of the obstruction relative to the surrounding flow depth (obstruction ratio), and then are compared to results found in other debris obstructions on the Pine River and Wilmot Creek. Flow obstruction dimensions in the study site equal 26.5 trunk diameters (the average diameter of the tree trunk measured five times along its length), and range between 16.9 and 56.7 trunk diameters on the Pine River (n = 48) and between 7.4 and 63.5 trunk diameters on Wilmot Creek (n = 1066). Knowledge of these spatial relationships may allow for better management of woody debris in streams, primarily from the perspective of aquatic habitat. Multiquadric interpolation formed the basis for plotting fluid vector fields, showing the behavior of flow as it approached and moved through the obstruction zone. This is compared to studies of flow in unobstructed meanders in an attempt to quantify obstruction influence, and is used to provide a depiction of flow under these circumstances. Key words: flow patterns, woody debris, influence zones, stream management.] |
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| Keywords: | hydroclimatology climate change urbanization streamflow GIS |
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