Geology topics

Peter O. Nelson

Publications and source records attributed to Peter O. Nelson.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2016

Field scale test of multi-dimensional flow and morphodynamic simulations used for restoration design analysis

Two- and three-dimensional morphodynamic simulations are becoming common in studies of channel form and process. The performance of these simulations are often validated against measurements from laboratory studies. Collecting channel change information in natural settings for model validation is difficult because it can be expensive and under most channel forming flows the resulting channel change is generally small. Several channel restoration projects designed in part to armor large meanders with several large spurs constructed of wooden piles on the Kootenai River, ID, have resulted in rapid bed elevation change following construction. Monitoring of these restoration projects includes post- restoration (as-built) Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) as well as additional channel surveys following high channel forming flows post-construction. The resulting sequence of measured bathymetry provides excellent validation data for morphodynamic simulations at the reach scale of a real river. In this paper we test the performance a quasi-three-dimensional morphodynamic simulation against the measured elevation change. The resulting simulations predict the pattern of channel change reasonably well but many of the details such as the maximum scour are under predicted.

Conference Paper↗

USGS1996

Chemical solute mass balance of Crater Lake, Oregon

Crater Lake covers the floor of the caldera at the top of Mount Mazama. Surrounded by steep walls, the water surface of the lake occupies 78 percent of the catchment basin. No major rivers empty into the lake, and there is no surface outlet Based on a chemical solute mass balance model, mass inputs of major solute chemical components (Na, Ca, K, Mg, SO 4 , Cl, Si, and HCO 3 ) from atmospheric deposition and caldera springs do not equal the mass output in seepage from the lake. One or more previously unquantified sources must be present in the lake or watershed system to account for the calculated deficits of mass inputs which range from 50 to 90 percent of mass outputs. A hydrothermal source, with a flow rate of approximately 6 percent of me seepage rate and chemical composition similar to saline fluids found in isolated pockets on the bottom of Crater Lake and to hydrothermal springs in die Cascade Mountain Range, could account for the calculated input mass deficits for major solute chemical components. Atmospheric bulk deposition (wet plus dry) may account for up to 90 percent of nitrogen and 30 percent of phosphorus inputs to Crater Lake. A net removal of nutrients from the lake water column occurs through internal processes, most likely burial of cellular debris in sediments.

Journal of Lake and Reservoir Management↗