Variability in measured bedload-transport rates

Journal of the American Water Resources Association
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Abstract

Variability in bedload-transport rates during constant water discharge is an inherent part of the bedload-transport process. Although this variability has been measured extensively in the laboratory, similar information generally is not available from field measurements. During a four-day period of nearly constant water discharge, four sets of consecutively collected bedload samples, ranging from 43 to 120 samples, were obtained at the same cross channel location using a standard 65-pound Helley-Smith bedload sampler. When the measured transport rates are converted to dimensionless rates and plotted as cumulative frequency distributions, they show good agreement with a theoretical probability distribution function of rates derived for the case of ripples on dunes. The distributions show that during constant water discharge individual measured rates at a fixed point vary from near zero to four times the mean rate, and 60 percent of the sampled rates will be less than the mean. Because of the large variation in transport rates that occurs at every location in the cross section, many observations are required to establish an accurate estimate of the mean rate at any given location.

Suggested Citation

Carey, W.P., 1985, Variability in measured bedload-transport rates: Journal of the American Water Resources Association, v. 21, no. 1, p. 39-48, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1985.tb05349.x.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Variability in measured bedload-transport rates
Series title Journal of the American Water Resources Association
DOI 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1985.tb05349.x
Volume 21
Issue 1
Publication Date June 08, 2007
Year Published 1985
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Description 10 p.
First page 39
Last page 48
Country United States
State Tennessee
Other Geospatial South Fork Obion River
Additional publication details