HR: 1340h
AN: H43A-0354    [Abstracts]
TI: Calibrating and Measuring Bedload Transport Using a Magnetic Detection System
AU: * Rempel, J
EM: jrempel@geog.ubc.ca
AF: Department of Geography University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada
AU: Hassan, M A
EM: mhassan@geog.ubc.ca
AF: Department of Geography University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Canada
AB: One of the problems in bedload transport research is that no measurement technique has been commonly accepted as superior, and there are no standard protocols. There is a need for continuous bedload measurement to adequately resolve patterns in temporal and spatial variability, especially at high transport rates. Magnetic detection systems are a promising method as they can sense the movement of natural stones, and provide high frequency data in both time and space. A number of magnetic systems have been deployed in the field, but they have not been adequately calibrated. This has limited the analysis to counting the number of pulses, and not allowed confident estimations of the true amount of sediment transport, sediment texture or particle velocities. We developed a series of lab and flume experiments to calibrate the BMD system used by Tunnicliffe et al (2000). Experiments were run with both artificial and natural stones to isolate the effects of particle size, velocity and magnetic content (susceptibility and moment) on the shape of the recorded signal. A large number of experiments were conducted to cover wide range of flow conditions, particle sizes, and particle velocities. The results show that the system is sensitive enough to detect particles down to at least 8mm. Using artificial stones we were able to relate the signal amplitude, width and area to particle size, velocity and magnetic content. These results suggest that the magnetic system can be used to estimate transport rates in natural streams. Work is continuing with natural stones both in the laboratory and the field to further develop of the system. Tunnicliffe, J., Gottesfeld, A.S., and Mohamed, M. 2000. High-resolution measurement of bedload transport, Hydrological Processes, 14, 2631-2643.
DE: 1815 Erosion and sedimentation
DE: 1821 Floods
DE: 1824 Geomorphology (1625)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting