Difference between revisions of "GCDAMP Sediment"

When the discharge of the Colorado River was lower than about 9,000 ft3/s, sand accumulated in the reach in Marble and upper Grand Canyons. At discharges higher than about 9,000 ft3/s, however, sand-transport rates at the Grand Canyon gaging station generally equaled those at the Lees Ferry gaging station, and at discharges higher than about 16,000 ft3/s, sand-transport rates at the Grand Canyon gaging station generally either equaled or exceeded those at the Lees Ferry gaging station. Thus, at discharges greater than about 9,000 ft3/s, sand was either conveyed through or eroded from the reach in Marble and upper Grand Canyons.

As discharges less than 9,000 ft3/s became less common, the discharge of the river became progressively more conducive to the conveyance of sand through or the erosion of sand from Marble and upper Grand Canyons. [2]

Bedrock-canyon rivers tend to be supply limited because they are efficient transporters of sediment and not because the upstream supply of sediment is small. Following episodic tributary floods that supply finer sand, sand migrates quickly downstream in the form of a wave in which large systematic changes in bed-sand grain size occur. The tributary fine-sediment (i.e., sand, silt, and clay) supply to the Colorado River in our study area is bimodal, with a clay primary mode and a sand-silt secondary mode. The tributary sand supply grades smoothly into the silt-and-clay supply such that the sand-size sediment comprises the coarser part of this secondary mode, which occurs in very fine sand (0.0625–0.125 mm) for the Paria River and in medium silt (0.0156–0.0312 mm) for the LCR. Both tributaries supply more silt and clay to the Colorado River than they do sand. During sediment years 1998–2017, silt and clay comprised 60.6% and 88.1% of the fine sediment supplied by the Paria River and LCR, respectively. Of the total amount of sand supplied since 2011, the Paria River has contributed 57%, the LCR has contributed 21%, and all other tributaries combined have contributed 22%. The largest quantities of sand are supplied by the Paria River and LCR during summer thunderstorm-generated floods that last hours to a day. Large sand loads are rare during winter and spring months on both rivers.

Our late-1990s observations suggested that tributary floods generated sand waves that split into two packets, A and B: packet A was finer than packet B and migrated downstream in the Colorado River with a celerity slightly slower than the water velocity. Packet B migrated much more slowly than packet A; the amalgamated front of packet B had migrated only ∼10 km in the 3 and 10 days after two Paria River floods. The primary peak in QSAND—1/βQ cross covariance decays to background within 7–20 days of a tributary flood at all but the RK49 station, thus indicating that much of packet A exits our study area quickly. The lower celerity of packet B causes the secondary cross-covariance peak to become distinct from the primary peak with increasing distance downstream. Following a Paria River flood, the secondary peak (packet B) separates from the primary peak (packet A) between the RK49 and RK99 stations, and it takes ∼198 and ∼290 days for the tail of packet B to respectively reach these stations. Following an LCR flood, packet B separates from packet A upstream from the RK141 station, and it takes ∼261 days for the tail of packet B to reach this station. [3]

Randle, T.J., Lyons, J.K., Christensen, R.J., and Stephen, R.D., 2007, Colorado River ecosystem sediment augmentation appraisal engineering report: Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Service Center, Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group, Denver, Colorado, 71 p.

Grand Canyon sediment augmentation would have two primary purposes:

1. Seasonally increase the turbidity of the Colorado River to provide cover for native and endangered fish during the months of May through December. This is the period when young-of-the year humpback chub emerge from the Little Colorado River and then rear in the Colorado River (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995). These native fish evolved in a turbid environment and may use it for cover from potential predators.
2. Annually increase the sand supply to the Colorado River during beach-building flows to build larger sandbars, especially in Marble Canyon, through fluvial processes.

Sediment slurry pipelines that would deliver sediment from the Navajo Canyon arm of Lake Powell to the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam or near Lees Ferry are believed to be technically feasible. Five sediment augmentation alternatives have been formulated and evaluated. Alternatives are available to deliver fine sediment and sand to the Colorado River, either below Glen Canyon Dam or near Lees Ferry.

Attempts have been made to formulate each alternative to minimize environmental impacts and to avoid cultural resource impacts. No major environmental impacts for any of the five alternatives have been identified at this time.

Sediment source areas in Lake Powell seem to be the most logical choice because of cost and because the sediments in Lake Powell would have naturally reached the Colorado River below the site of Glen Canyon Dam. Sediment source areas in Navajo Canyon are much closer to Glen Canyon Dam than other major source areas in Lake Powell. Laboratory analysis of one sediment sample from Navajo Canyon did not detect any contaminants above background levels. A more intensive sediment sampling program would be needed to verify if this finding is applicable to more of the sediments within Navajo Canyon.

Although the present and future sedimentation volumes in Navajo Canyon may not be enough to sustain a Grand Canyon sediment augmentation program over the long term, the volumes should be sufficient for one or two decades (see figure 8). Sediments in Navajo Canyon could be dredged first and then the submerged slurry pipelines and floating pumping stations could be moved to an upstream source such as the Escalante River or San Juan River deltas.

Sediment slurry pipelines can deliver large quantities of sediment, and over long distances, much more efficiently and at less cost than barges or trucks. Submerging sediment slurry pipelines in Lake Powell appears to be a viable option with much less impact than overland routes from major sediment source areas in Lake Powell where no direct roads presently exist.

The augmentation of fine sediment should be considered in conjunction with alternatives that would increase the summer water temperatures released from Glen Canyon Dam (e.g., selective withdrawal of water from Lake Powell). Native and endangered fish in Grand Canyon National Park are impacted by less turbidity and colder water temperatures in summer compared to natural conditions (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995). Turbidity may provide native fish with cover from predation. In the absence of turbid conditions, native fish tend not to be active during the day (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995). Although, colder water temperatures may impact young-of-the-year native fish in summer, the colder temperatures may also keep non-native warm-water fish from migrating upstream through Grand Canyon National Park. If water temperatures are increased, there is a concern that non-native warm-water fish may have the advantage (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 1995). The augmentation of fine sediment may provide the necessary cover for native and endangered fish.

• GCMRC Annual Reports page
• GCMRC Grand Canyon Sandbar Monitoring
• The High Flow Experiment (HFE) Page
• Recreation Page
• Aeolian Sand Transport Page
• Turbidity Page
• Over Flights Page

• Sandbar Monitoring
• Campsite Monitoring
• Suspended Sediment Transport
• Automated Substrate Classification Using Swath Mapping Systems
• Sediment Storage
• Underwater Photography to Measure Bed Grain Size

• Water Holes Canyon above the mouth
• Paria River near Kanab, UT
• Paria River at Lees Ferry, AZ
• Colorado River at Lees Ferry
• Badger Creek below highway 89A near Vermillion Cliffs, AZ
• Tanner Wash below highway 89A near Bitter Springs, AZ
• House Rock Wash above Emmett Wash near Cliff Dwellers, AZ
• North Canyon near Cliff Dwellers, AZ
• Shinumo Wash in Twentynine Mile Canyon near Cedar Ridge, AZ
• Colorado River near river mile 30
• Colorado River above Little Colorado River near Desert View, AZ
• Moenkopi Wash near Cameron, AZ
• Little Colorado River at Grand Falls, AZ
• Little Colorado River at Cameron, AZ
• Little Colorado River near Cameron, AZ
• Little Colorado River above the mouth near Desert View, AZ
• Colorado River near Grand Canyon, AZ
• Bright Angel Creek near Grand Canyon, AZ
• Shinumo Creek
• Kanab Creek above the mouth near Supai, AZ
• Havasu Creek above the mouth near Supai, AZ
• Colorado River above National Canyon near Supai, AZ
• Colorado River above Diamond Creek near Peach Springs, AZ

• Upper Marble Canyon
• Lower Marble Canyon
• Eastern Grand Canyon
• East Central Grand Canyon
• West Central Grand Canyon
• Western Grand Canyon and the Lake Mead Delta

2026

• Interdisciplinary Sediment, Riparian Vegetation, and Cultural Resource Science
• Evaluation of LTEMP sand management
• Riverbed and Sandbar Response to Glen Canyon Dam Operations and High-Flow Experiments
• Evaluation of LTEMP sand management
• Reservoir Operational Strategies for Sustainable Sand Management in the Colorado River

2025

• Goal 7 Metrics: Sediment
• Project A: Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem

2024

• Project B Update and Riverbed and sandbar response to dam operations and high-flow experiments
• Project A: Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Effects of Reservoirs and Stock Ponds on Surface Water Runoff in the Little Colorado River Basin
• Assessing geomorphic change for 454 river km of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, AZ via continuous and high-resolution water surface and bed profiles

• Hydrodynamic modeling of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lees Ferry, Arizona

2024

• Griffiths et al., 2024, Changes in sand storage in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park from July 2017 through June 2020
• Channel Response to High Flows in Western Grand Canyon
• Project A: Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Project B Update and Riverbed and sandbar response to dam operations and high-flow experiments

2023

• A Continuous High-Resolution Profile of the Riverbed and Water Surface for 460-km of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
• Project A: Streamflow, Sediment, and Vegetation Dynamics; Implications for Geomorphic Change in the Colorado River and its Tributaries
• Project A: Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Numerical Modeling of Mud Transport, Storage, and Release on the Colorado River, Arizona

2022

• Multi-Decadal Sandbar Response to Flow Management Downstream from a Large Dam-The Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons, AZ
• Summary of Sediment and Sandbar Projects GCMRC Projects A and B LTEMP Goal 7
• Project A: Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport and Budgeting in the Colorado River Ecosystem

2021

• Argonne. 2021. Evaluation of Sand Augmentation for Stabilizing Recreational Beaches and Storing Sand in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
• A simple morphodynamic model to rapidly evaluate sandbar rebuilding during controlled floods
• Topping et al. 2021, Self-limitation of sand storage in a bedrock-canyon river arising from the interaction of flow and grain size: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
• Alvarez et al. 2021, An eddy-resolving numerical model to study turbulent flow, sediment, and bed evolution using detached eddy simulation in a lateral separation zone at the field-scale: Journal of Geophysical Research—Earth Surface
• Sand Supply, Transport and Deposition

2020

• Rubin et al., 2020, Causes of variability in suspended‐sand concentration evaluated using measurements in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon: JGR Earth Surface
• GCMRC 2019 Annual Reporting Meeting Overview – Part 3
• Chapman et al., 2020, Estimating the contribution of tributary sand inputs to controlled flood deposits for sandbar restoration using elemental tracers, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: GSA Bulletin Associated data
• Project B: Effects of dam releases on in-channel sediment storage and sandbar dynamics
• Ashley et al., 2020, Estimating bedload from suspended load and water discharge in sand bed rivers: Water Resources Research.
• Geomorphic Change and Biogeomorphic Feedbacks in the Little Colorado River, Arizona

2019

• Dean, D.J., and Topping, D.J., 2019, Geomorphic change and biogeomorphic feedbacks in a dryland river--The Little Colorado River, Arizona, USA: GSA Bulletin

2018

• Sand tells a story
• Sankey et al., 2018, Sand classifications along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon derived from 2002, 2009, and 2013 high-resolution multispectral airborne imagery: U.S. Geological Survey data release
• GCMRC Science Updates PPT
• Hadley et al., 2018, Quantifying geomorphic and vegetation change at sandbar campsites in response to flow regulation and controlled floods, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: River Research and Applications
• Key drivers of sand transport and storage in the Colorado River Ecosystem PPT
• Voichick, N. et al., 2018, Technical note--False low turbidity readings during high suspended-sediment concentrations: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
• Grams et al., 2018, Automated remote cameras for monitoring alluvial sandbars on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona: Open-File Report

2017

• Chapman, K., 2017, Determining the tributary sediment contribution to experimental flood deposits on the Colorado River in Marble Canyon, Grand Canyon, Arizona: Flagstaff, Northern Arizona University, MS thesis
• Hamill, D., 2017, Quantifying riverbed sediment using recreational-grade side scan sonar: Logan, Utah State University, MS thesis
• Buscombe et al., 2017, Compositional signatures in acoustic backscatter over vegetated and unvegetated mixed sand-gravel riverbeds: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
• Griffiths and Topping, 2017, Importance of measuring discharge and sediment transport in lesser tributaries when closing sediment budgets: Geomorphology
• Kaplinski et al. 2017. Channel mapping river miles 29–62 of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, May 2009: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1030
• Project 1: Streamflow, Water Quality, Sediment Transport, and Sand Budgets in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Project 2: Hydrologic Change and the Geomorphic Transformation of the Little Colorado River: Implications for Sediment Delivery to the Grand Canyon
• Sandbars and Sediment Storage in Marble and Grand Canyons: Response to Recent High-flow Experiments and Long-term Trends

2016

• Topping et al. 2016. Long-term continuous acoustical suspended-sediment measurements in rivers — Theory, application, bias, and error: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1823
• Sandbar Modeling Project Update
• Status of Sediment Resources – August 2016
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Science Updates and PPT (BO Compliance, Trout Updates, Green Sunfish, Fisheries PEP, Partners in Science)
• Observations of sand dune migration on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon using high-resolution multibeam bathymetry
• Project 2: Streamflow, Water Quality, Sediment Transport, and Sand Budgets in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Sandbars and Sediment Storage in Marble and Grand Canyons: Response to Recent high-flow Experiments and Long-Term Trends

2015

• Grams et al. 2015. Building Sandbars in the Grand Canyon, EOS, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union
• Alvarez. 2015. Turbulence, Sediment Transport, Erosion, and Sandbar Beach Failure Processes in Grand Canyon. Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
• GCMRC Science Update - Sediment
• GCMRC Science Update - Sediment
• Updates on 2014 HFE, Paria sediment inputs, and sediment mass balance
• Glen Canyon Tailwater Fishery “Integrating Fish and Channel Mapping”
• GCMRC’s Online Mapping and GIS Resources
• Streamflow, Water Quality, and Sediment Transport in the Colorado River Ecosystem
• Sandbars and Sediment Storage in Marble and Grand Canyons: Response to Recent High-flow Experiments and Long-term Trends

2014

• Science Updates - Recent Research on Sand, Bugs, and Fish
• Sandbars and Sand Storage in Marble and Grand Canyons (Grams)
• Processing fine sediment transport data: procedures, processing, and bottlenecks (Griffiths)

2013

• Alvarez and Schmeeckle. 2013. Erosion of river sandbars by diurnal stage fluctuations in the Colorado river in the Marble and Grand Canyons: Full-scale laboratory experiments
• GCMRC Update - Status of Resources and Sediment Conditions
• Present Status of Sediment Resources-August 2013
• Science Updates - Overflights, Riparian Vegetation, and Sediment
• 2013 Overflight Wrap up
• GCMRC Science Update on Sediment and Fisheries
• Sediment Monitoring Program: Sediment Delivery from Tributaries and Sediment Transport by Colorado River
• Sandbar Monitoring for November 2012 Controlled Flood

2012

• GCMRC Updates and Sediment Update
• E-mail to TWG with Sediment Model Link
• GCMRC Updates and PPT
• Sandbars and In-Channel Sand Storage: Short-Term Dynamics and Long-Term Trends
• Physical controls on sediment deposition, erosion, and transport
• Geomorphic Framework & Role of Debris Flows Suspended-Sediment Transport and Sandbars Glen Canyon Dam Operations -Post-EIS Summary
• A Conversation about Rivers and Dams
• Modeling 101

2011

• GCMRC Updates
• Update on Sand Mass Balance with Modeling

2010

• Wright, S.A., and Grams, P.E., 2010, Evaluation of Water Year 2011 Glen Canyon Dam flow release scenarios on downstream sand storage along the Colorado River in Arizona: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010-1133
• Update on Water Quality and 2010 Sand Input
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Updates and the Following Open File Reports: 1) Evaluation of Water Year 2011 Glen Canyon Dam Flow Release Scenarios on Downstream Sand Storage Along the Colorado River in Arizona, and 2) An Approach to Modeling Sediment Budgets in Supply-limited Rivers
• Report on Sediment Modeling to Support Development of 2011 Hydrograph
• Update on 2010 Sediment Inputs
• Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation Report
• TWG Chair Temperature Control Device/Sediment Augmentation
• Minutes from June 21, 2010, TWG Webinar/Conference Call with Memo from John Hamill to Shane Capron dated May 17, 2010, Subject: TWG and stakeholder requests for GCMRC to evaluate the effects of various dam operation scenarios on sediment storage and loss in the Grand Canyon with Open File Report 2010-1133
• Mechanics and Modeling of Flow, Sediment Transport and Morphologic Change in Riverine Lateral Separation Zones
• Sediment and Temperature Modeling Update PPT as presented at January 2010 Annual Reporting Meeting
• AIF: Temperature Control Device and Sediment Augmentation and PPT

2009

• Selective Withdrawal and Sediment Augmentation Update PPT
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center Updates
• Sandbar Evolution: Extending the Historical Perspective PPT
• AIF: Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) Update
• Water Quality and Sediment, 2008 High Flow Experiment, and Integrated Flow, Temperature, and Sediment Modeling PPT
• Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center updates by Program Managers
• Diamond Creek Gage Discontinuation

2008

• Is there enough sand? Evaluating the fate of Grand Canyon sandbars

2007

• Randle et al. 2007. Colorado River Ecosystem Sediment Augmentation Appraisal Engineering Report

2003

• Topping et al. 2003. Computation and analysis of the instantaneous-discharge record for the Colorado River at Lees Ferry, Arizona, May 8, 1921 through September 30, 2000: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1677

1999

• Floods and Sandbars in the Grand Canyon, a publication of the Geological Society of America (published in GSA Today, April 1999)

1988

• Schmidt and Graf, 1988, Aggradation and degradation of alluvial sand deposits, 1965 to 1986, OFR 87-561

• Eddies occur adjacent to rapids and the flow in the eddy is related to the flow characteristics in the rapid. Sand bars were typically larger before the dam.(Science Background for HFE Planning- Jack Schmidt, GCMRC_KA 2013)
• Sediment Presentation- AMWG Jan 2002
• Sediment White Paper- AMWG Jan 2002
• The United States Geological Survey estimates that the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam only has 6 percent of the sediment that it received before the Glen Canyon Dam was built in the 1960s.

Flash Flood videos

• Paria River Flash Flood 8/3/16
• Buckskin Gulch Flash Flood 8/4/16
• Buckskin Wash Flash Flood / Debris Flow 2013
• Paria River Flash Flood / Debris Flow 8/19/12
• Glen Canyon and Page Arizona Flooding May 22 2009