Nested, Reach-Scale Fluvial Sediment Budgets Quantify Watershed Sediment Transport Pathways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59236/geomorphica.v2i2.56Keywords:
watershed, sediment, restoration, sediment transportAbstract
Watershed sediment budgets sum sediment sources (bank erosion and tributaries) and subtract sediment sinks (floodplains) to compute the watershed sediment output. Because computations are lumped, however, these budgets cannot quantify contributions from individual sources to the watershed output. We overcome this limitation by dividing the channel network into nested reaches, each with its own sediment budget. The nested framework partitions sediment between transport and storage as it moves downstream, quantifying the contributions from individual sources to watershed outputs. We quantify sediment fluxes using gaging station data, sediment fingerprinting, hydrodynamic modeling, geomorphic mapping, and measured rates of erosion and deposition. Bank erosion supplies 15 790 Mg/yr to the watershed budget, while upland hillslopes contribute 6 300 Mg/yr, with 10 380 Mg/yr stored on floodplains. The output computed from the budget (11 710 Mg/yr) is within the uncertainty of 9 300–43 000 Mg/yr of the measured output, so the budget balances. Reach-scale budgets identify local sediment hotspots, while routing computations indicate that bank erosion supplies 76 ± 5% of the watershed sediment flux, with upland hillslopes contributing 24 ± 3%. Legacy sediments comprise 34 ± 6% of the output. By quantifying individual source contributions to watershed sediment fluxes, the nested approach can improve sediment management decision-making.
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