Hydro‐morphology describes the interactions between water and sediments in fluvial systems and the corresponding processes across all spatial and temporal scales. The results are natural and ...anthropogenically influenced bed structures and fluvial landforms. However, many of these hydro‐morphological processes cannot be described analytically yet, as a result of their stochastic behaviour and the multitude of processes involved across spatial and temporal scales. Deeper knowledge of these processes is essential, not only for understanding the system itself, but also for practical applications, which rely on correct and reliable investigations of these processes. During the European Geoscience Union (EGU) General Assembly (GA) 2018 in Vienna, Austria, the conveners of the session on “Measurements, monitoring and numerical modelling of sedimentary and hydro‐morphological processes in open‐water environments” had the idea of initiating a special issue, containing a collection of recent achievements in this research field. The aim of this extended introduction is twofold. First, an overview on research needs in investigating hydro‐morphological processes in open‐water environments is given in this article. Second, recently published studies that aim to improve the understanding of hydro‐morphological processes in rivers, lakes and reservoirs by innovative measurement approaches are discussed. In addition to submitted papers collected from the EGU GA in 2017, 2018 and 2019, related studies published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (ESPL) over the last two years are also incorporated into this special issue. The papers selected cover a wide range of studies with differing spatial and temporal resolutions. This broad spectrum of different scales clearly indicates the challenges associated with the development and use of advanced methods for investigating hydro‐morphological processes in open‐water environments.
The Unazuki Reservoir is located on the Kurobe River, which is influenced by a catchment with one of the highest sediment yields in Japan. Due to a sufficiently available discharge during flood ...events, annual sediment flushing with full water-level drawdown (i.e., free-flow sediment flushing) is conducted to preserve the effective storage capacity of the reservoir. Nevertheless, the upstream half of the reservoir (i.e., study segment) suffers from the excessive deposition of coarser sediments. Remobilization of these coarser materials and their transportation further downstream of the reservoir is a priority of reservoir owners for sustainable reservoir functions, such as flood-risk management and hydroelectric energy generation. In this paper, an already conducted sediment-flushing operation in the Unazuki Reservoir is simulated, and its effects on sediment scouring from the study segment of the reservoir together with changes in bed morphodynamics are presented. A fully 3D numerical model using the finite volume approach in combination with a wetting/drying algorithm was utilized to reproduce the hydrodynamics and bed changes using the available onsite data. Afterwards, the effects of discharge adjustment on the morphological bed changes and flushing efficiency were analysed in the study segment using an additional single-discharge pulse supplied from upstream reservoirs. Simulation results showed that an approximately 75% increase in the average discharge during the free-flow stage changed the dominant morphological process from deposition into an erosive mode in the study segment. If the increase in discharge reaches up to 100%, the flushed volume of sediments from the target segment can increase 2.9 times compared with the initiation of the erosive mode.
This study presents an experimental approach to investigate cohesive reservoir sediments. It is shown, how adjacent sediment cores can be extracted from reservoir beds with a Frahm Sediment Sampler. ...The cores are subsequently used for detailed investigations in a hydraulic laboratory. In a first step, related cores are identified based on their bulk density profiles. One part of the related cores is used to analyze the sediment properties over depth by means of potential stability parameters. The other part is used to determine the depth-dependent erosion stability in an erosion flume (SETEG-system). In the SETEG-system, a photogrammetric method is applied to measure the erosion rates of pre-defined sediment layers at different exposed shear stresses. Subsequently, the critical shear stress can be derived, which leads to an objective evaluation and allows a systematic approach. Finally, both results are combined to investigate possible correlations between the evaluated depth-dependent stability parameters and the measured erosion stability. The approach is presented on sediment cores from the case study “Kleiner Brombachsee”, a reservoir that is located in Middle Franconia, Germany.
This work presents a novel high-resolution photogrammetric measuring technique (PHOTOSED) to study in detail the erosion behavior of cohesive sediments, or cohesive/non-cohesive sediment mixtures. ...PHOTOSED uses a semiconductor laser to project a pseudo-random pattern of light points on a sediment surface and applies the Dense Optical Flow (DOF) algorithm to measure the erosion volume based on displacements of the projected light points during the sediment erosion process. Based on intensive calibration and verification experiments, the accuracy and applicability of the method has been validated for a wide range of erosion volumes, encompassing several orders of magnitude, which is required for investigations of natural sediment mixtures. The high spatial resolution of PHOTOSED is especially designed to detect the substantial variability of erosion rates during exemplary erosion experiments, which allows for further in-depth investigations of the erosion process of cohesive sediments and cohesive/non-cohesive sediment mixtures.
In this study the numerical model SSIIM 2 is used to simulate the flow situation and the suspended sediment transport within the Schwarzenbach reservoir in Germany. Hydrodynamic simulations are ...carried out to assess the influence of wind forces and different discretization schemes on the calculated flow field. A hydraulic plausibility check is performed based on stationary ADCP measurements to assess the performance of the model. Both the consideration of the wind and the plausibility check using an ADCP are hardly used in large reservoirs so far. The simulation results show a complex flow field with two large (re-)circulation zones in the middle of the reservoir, whereby the temporal development of the simulated and measured velocities have comparable characteristics. Moreover, morphodynamic simulations are performed to compute the suspended sediment transport. The results show that the settling behavior of the sediments is mainly influenced by the inflow discharge and the operation level of the reservoir.
Numerical algorithms are presented for modeling bank failures during reservoir flushing. The algorithms are based on geotechnical theory and the limit equilibrium approach to find the location and ...the depth of the slides. The actual movements of the slides are based on the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for laminar flow with high viscosity. The models are implemented in the SSIIM computer program, which also can be used for modelling erosion of sediments from reservoirs. The bank failure algorithms are tested on the Bodendorf hydropower reservoir in Austria. Comparisons with measurements show that the resulting slides were in the same order of magnitude as the observed ones. However, some scatter on the locations were observed. The algorithms were stable for thick sediment layers, but instabilities were observed for thin sediment layers.
To investigate the erosion stability of reservoir sediments, two measuring strategies were applied. Next to in situ measurements, sediment cores were extracted and analysed in the laboratory. At ...several sampling points at a reservoir in Germany, the in situ device was used to determine the critical bed shear stresses at the sediment surface. At the same time, sediment cores were withdrawn at each site to perform depth-orientated investigations in the hydraulic laboratory. The objective of this study is to investigate the remobilisation potential of the deposited fine sediments and to compare different methods to determine the erosion threshold. Next to critical shear stresses and erosion rates, additional sedimentary and biological parameters were examined such as bulk densities, particle size distributions, TOC-contents and chlorophylla concentrations. The results show generally a very low erosion stability, especially at the sediment surface and in the upper sediment layers. Deeper sediment layers are characterised by consolidation effects and show a higher erosion resistance. High clay contents result in increased stability while high sand contents show a high remobilisation potential. No significant relation to the parameters TOC-content or chlorophylla concentration are identified. A comparison between the different applied techniques to determine the critical bed shear stresses reveals values in the same order of magnitude; however, some significant variations occur because of different hydromorphological conditions and the different limitations for each device.
The current study focuses on the application of a three-dimensional numerical model for the prediction of morphological bed changes. The sediment deposition in a reservoir during a 10-year-flood was ...investigated and the results of the simulation were validated with data derived from a physical model study. Because of the small grain sizes in the prototype, synthetic granulate was used in the physical model. The numerical computation domain was a reproduction of the physical model, including the grain sizes and the density of the particles, in order to ensure comparability. The CFD code SSIIM, which solves the RANS-equations in three-dimensions, was used for the simulations. The sediment transport in SSIIM is divided into suspended sediment transport, computed by solving the convection-diffusion equation, and bed-load transport, calculated by an empirical formula. The results of the numerical simulation correspond well to the results of the physical model study. The simulated location and the pattern of the sediment deposition in the reservoir are an accurate representation of the observed distribution in the physical model.
The present case study deals with a controlled drawdown beyond the operational level of the Gepatsch reservoir (Austria). Based on the awareness of potential ecological consequences, an advanced set ...of measures was conducted and an integrative monitoring design was implemented. This pre- and post-event monitoring included measurements regarding the cross sectional variability and habitat-related turbidity, freeze-core sampling to obtain knowledge on fine sediment infiltration and an evaluation of the macroinvertebrate communities as well as fish egg development (salmonid incubation). The results of the sedimentological as well as biological investigations show a negligible impact on the downstream located aquatic system due to the controlled drawdown of the Gepatsch reservoir. In addition, recommendations based on the findings from this study regarding possible methods for local scale monitoring can be given.
Summary
Numerical modeling represents a state‐of‐the‐art technique to simulate hydro‐morphodynamic processes in river ecosystems. Numerical models are often validated based on observed topographic ...change in the form of pixel information on net erosion or deposition over a simulation period. When model validation is performed by a pixel‐by‐pixel comparison of exactly superimposed simulated and observed pixels, zero or negative correlation coefficients are often calculated, suggesting poor model performance. Thus, a pixel‐by‐pixel approach penalizes quantitative simulation errors, even if a model conceptually works well. To distinguish between reasonably well‐performing and non‐representative models, this study introduces and tests fuzzy map comparison methods. First, we use a fuzzy numerical map comparison to compensate for spatial offset errors in correlation analyses. Second, we add a level of fuzziness with a fuzzy kappa map comparison to additionally address quantitative inaccuracy in modeled topographic change by categorizing data. Sample datasets from a physical lab model and datasets from a 6.9 km long gravel–cobble bed river reach enable the verification of the relevance of fuzzy map comparison methods. The results indicate that a fuzzy numerical map comparison is a viable technique to compensate for model errors stemming from spatial offset. In addition, fuzzy kappa map comparisons are suitable for objectively expressing subjectively perceived correlation between two maps, provided that a small number of categories is used. The methods tested and the resulting spatially explicit comparison maps represent a significant opportunity to improve the evaluation and potential calibration of numerical models of river ecosystems in the future.
To distinguish between reasonably well‐performing and non‐representative hydro‐morphodynamic models, this study introduces and tests fuzzy map comparison methods. Datasets from a physical lab model and a 6.9 km long gravel–cobble bed river stretch enable the verification of the relevance of the novel methods. A fuzzy numerical map comparison is a viable technique to compensate for model errors stemming from spatial offset. In addition, fuzzy kappa map comparisons are suitable for objectively expressing subjectively perceived correlation between two maps.
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