HR: 17:30h
AN: H42L-07    [PDF]
TI: Bedload Transport During an Extreme Runoff Event in Arctic Alaska
AU: * Kane, D L
EM: ffdlk@uaf.edu
AF: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5860 United States
AU: Oatley, J A
EM: joatley@yahoo.com
AF: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5860 United States
AU: McNamara, J P
EM: JMCNAMAR@boisestate.edu
AF: Boise State University, Geoscience Department, Boise, ID 83725 United States
AU: Hinzman, L D
EM: ffldh@uaf.edu
AF: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5860 United States
AB: While spring snowmelt floods are common annually in the Arctic, rainfall generated floods are rare or at least seldom documented. Since 1999, we have documented two rainfall events in the Upper Kuparuk River where the total precipitation for each storm approached 100 mm. These two floods (July 1999 and August 2002) produced flows that exceeded the maximum snowmelt runoff by a factor of three to four. It is these large events that shape the drainage network. Passive and active tracer rocks, scour chains and pre- and post-storm surveyed cross-sections were used to quantify bedload transport. The August 2002 event mobilized the entire bed. All of the tracer rocks moved and those that were recovered after the flood traveled an average of 72.8 m, with those in pools traveling farther than those in riffles. Lateral bank erosion exceeded 10 m in many areas; the bed degraded and aggraded more than 1 m. It is estimated that 870 cubic meters of bed material passed through the study area.
DE: 1821 Floods
DE: 1823 Frozen ground
DE: 1824 Geomorphology (1625)
DE: 1860 Runoff and streamflow
DE: 9315 Arctic region
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting