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Results for “Journal of Hydraulic Engineering”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Variance of discharge estimates sampled using acoustic Doppler current profilers from moving boats

This paper presents a model for quantifying the random errors (i.e., variance) of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements from moving boats for different sampling times. The model focuses on the random processes in the sampled flow field and has been developed using statistical methods currently available for uncertainty analysis of velocity time series. Analysis of field data collected using ADCP from moving boats from three natural rivers of varying sizes and flow conditions shows that, even though the estimate of the integral time scale of the actual turbulent flow field is larger than the sampling interval, the integral time scale of the sampled flow field is on the order of the sampling interval. Thus, an equation for computing the variance error in discharge measurements associated with different sampling times, assuming uncorrelated flow fields is appropriate. The approach is used to help define optimal sampling strategies by choosing the exposure time required for ADCPs to accurately measure flow discharge.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2013

Mississippi River streamflow measurement techniques at St. Louis, Missouri

Streamflow measurement techniques of the Mississippi River at St. Louis have changed through time (1866–present). In addition to different methods used for discrete streamflow measurements, the density and range of discrete measurements used to define the rating curve (stage versus streamflow) have also changed. Several authors have utilized published water surface elevation (stage) and streamflow data to assess changes in the rating curve, which may be attributed to be caused by flood control and/or navigation structures. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough review of the available flow measurement data and techniques and to assess how a strict awareness of the limitations of the data may affect previous analyses. It is concluded that the pre-1930s discrete streamflow measurement data are not of sufficient accuracy to be compared with modern streamflow values in establishing long-term trends of river behavior.

Missouri↗
USGS2016

Dimensionless erosion laws for cohesive sediment

A method of achieving a dimensionless collapse of erosion-rate data for cohesive sediments is proposed and shown to work well for data collected in flume-erosion tests on mixtures of sand and mud (silt plus clay sized particles) for a wide range of mud fraction. The data collapse corresponds to a dimensional erosion law of the form E ∼ ( τ − τ c ) m "> E ∼ ( τ − τ c ) m E∼(τ−τc)m , where E "> E E is erosion rate, τ "> τ τ is shear stress, τ c "> τ c τc is the threshold shear stress for erosion to occur, and m ≈ 7 / 4 "> m ≈ 7 / 4 m≈7/4 . This result contrasts with the commonly assumed linear erosion law E = k d ( τ − τ c ) "> E = k d ( τ − τ c ) E=kd(τ−τc) , where k d "> k d kd is a measure of how easily sediment is eroded. The data collapse prompts a re-examination of the way that results of the hole-erosion test (HET) and jet-erosion test (JET) are customarily analyzed, and also calls into question the meaningfulness not only of proposed empirical relationships between k d "> k d kd and τ c "> τ c τc , but also of the erodibility parameter k d "> k d kd itself. Fuller comparison of flume-erosion data with hole-erosion and jet-erosion data will require revised analyses of the HET and JET that drop the assumption m = 1 "> m = 1 m=1 and, in the case of the JET, certain simplifying assumptions about the mechanics of jet scour.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2015

Validation of streamflow measurements made with M9 and RiverRay acoustic Doppler current profilers

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Surface Water (OSW) previously validated the use of Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI) Rio Grande (in 2007), StreamPro (in 2006), and Broadband (in 1996) acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) for streamflow (discharge) measurements made by the USGS. Two new ADCPs, the SonTek M9 and the TRDI RiverRay, were first used in the USGS Water Mission Area programs in 2009. Since 2009, the OSW and USGS Water Science Centers (WSCs) have been conducting field measurements as part of their stream-gaging program using these ADCPs. The purpose of this paper is to document the results of USGS OSW analyses for validation of M9 and RiverRay ADCP streamflow measurements. The OSW required each participating WSC to make comparison measurements over the range of operating conditions in which the instruments were used until sufficient measurements were available. The performance of these ADCPs was evaluated for validation and to identify any present and potential problems. Statistical analyses of streamflow measurements indicate that measurements made with the SonTek M9 ADCP using firmware 2.00–3.00 or the TRDI RiverRay ADCP using firmware 44.12–44.15 are unbiased, and therefore, can continue to be used to make streamflow measurements in the USGS stream-gaging program. However, for the M9 ADCP, there are some important issues to be considered in making future measurements. Possible future work may include additional validation of streamflow measurements made with these instruments from other locations in the United States and measurement validation using updated firmware and software.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2017

Daily reservoir sedimentation model: Case study from the Fena Valley Reservoir, Guam

A model to compute reservoir sedimentation rates at daily timescales is presented. The model uses streamflow and sediment load data from nearby stream gauges to obtain an initial estimate of sediment yield for the reservoir’s watershed; it is then calibrated to the total deposition calculated from repeat bathymetric surveys. Long-term changes to reservoir trapping efficiency are also taken into account. The model was applied to the Fena Valley Reservoir, a water supply reservoir on the island of Guam. This reservoir became operational in 1951 and was recently surveyed in 2014. The model results show that the highest rate of deposition occurred during two typhoons (Typhoon Alice in 1953 and Typhoon Tingting in 2004); each storm decreased reservoir capacity by approximately 2–3% in only a few days. The presented model can be used to evaluate the impact of an extreme event, or it can be coupled with a watershed runoff model to evaluate potential impacts to storage capacity as a result of climate change or other hydrologic modifications.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2018

Discussion of “Shallow water hydro-sediment-morphodynamic equations for fluvial processes” by Zhixian Cao, Chunchen Xia, Gareth Pender, and Qingquan Liu

The original paper concerns the formulation and use of depth-integrated equations of motion to model the dynamics of shallow flows that entrain or deposit bed material. A recurring theme of the original paper is the authors’ criticism of related theoretical results published by Iverson and Ouyang ( 2015 ). This discussion explains why that criticism is misguided.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2020

Effectiveness of submerged vanes for stabilizing streamside bluffs

The effectiveness of submerged vanes for stabilizing streamside bluffs varied over a 10-year monitoring period in a tributary to Lake Superior, United States. Submerged vanes are a river training device used to divert river flows away from eroding banks along meander bends and ultimately hold constant or reverse the direction of lateral migration. At the study site, the relatively steep slope, large substrate size, and flashy flow regime pushed the upper end of the design limitations of submerged vanes. Changes in channel location and morphology due to the vanes were monitored using repeat channel cross-section surveys along a 110-m reach. The vanes experienced 15 floods over the monitoring period. The two most damaging floods happened in the summer and fall of 2005 with annual exceedance probabilities of 7% and 6% respectively. A new data analysis method for rivers, using centroids of cross sections, was useful to track channel migration rapidly and objectively and, along with calculations of changes in bankfull channel size, provide metrics to describe channel change.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2021

Dynamic selection of exposure time for turbulent flow measurements

The selection of optimum sampling configurations to measure the aspects of turbulent flow of water depends on the variable being measured, the applied measurement technique, the degree of environmental noise, and flow characteristics in and near the sampling location. This work presents a method to dynamically select the exposure time (SET) during the flow-velocity measurement at each sampling location on the basis of the moving block bootstrap (MBB) technique. The MBB enables near real-time estimation of the confidence intervals and, subsequently, the COV for turbulence parameters. The dynamic SET method has been tested in this work using time series of synthetic turbulent flow-velocity signals. This method was implemented using actual flow-velocity signals recorded with acoustic Doppler velocity (ADVs) instruments and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs). The results obtained from the implementation of the dynamic SET method show that the sampling time to achieve a defined uncertainty threshold is not the same for different turbulence parameters. Consequently, using the dynamic SET method, the exposure time can be optimized to obtain the turbulence parameters with the required uncertainty level. The dynamic SET method can be implemented in the instrument’s data logger to dynamically select the exposure time during flow measurements for a given uncertainty of the required turbulence parameter.

Journal of Hydraulic Engineering↗
USGS2023

In-stream laser diffraction for measuring suspended sediment concentration and particle size distribution in rivers: Insights from field campaigns

This study evaluates the laser in situ scattering and transmissometry (LISST) instrument LISST-SL2, a laser diffraction instrument for suspended sediment sampling in rivers, with concurrent physical measurements of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and particle size distribution (PSD) as well as velocity measurements by an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). We collected 136 LISST-SL2 samples along with 61 physical samples for SSC measurement, of which 24 physical samples included PSD measurement during 2018–2020 from 11 sites in Washington state and Virginia. An effective density is required to convert the measured volumetric SSC by the LISST-SL2 into a reported mass SSC, and by default the LISST-SL2 assumes a value of 2.65 g / mL . From our data set, we computed effective densities (mass SSC/volumetric SSC) that ranged from 0.5 to 5.4 g / mL , with a best-fit value of 2.05 g / mL . Additionally, the LISST-SL2 was not able to measure the finest sediment sizes in suspension, which affects the resulting PSD. Therefore, we propose some adjustments of the LISST-SL2 data with a supporting physical sample to account for these effective density and PSD issues. When doing so, we were able to reduce the root-mean square relative error (RMSRE) to 18% from 117% for SSC, and to 26% from 78% for PSD. LISST-SL2 velocities were generally higher than ADCP velocities with a 21% RMSRE. Our results and guidance will allow for more accurate sampling by the LISST-SL2, which has potential for studying spatial and temporal variation of suspended sediment characteristics in rivers.

Virginia, Washington↗
USGS2016

Groundwater

Introduction Groundwater represents the terrestrial subsurface component of the hydrologic cycle. As such, groundwater is generally in motion, moving from elevated areas of recharge to lower areas of discharge. Groundwater usually moves in accordance with Darcy’s law (Dalmont, Paris: Les Fontaines Publiques de la Ville de Dijon, 1856). Groundwater residence times can be under a day in small upland catchments to over a million years in subcontinental-sized desert basins. The broadest definition of groundwater includes water in the unsaturated zone, considered briefly here. Water chemically bound to minerals, as in gypsum (CaSO 4 • 2H 2 O) or hydrated clays, cannot flow in response to gradients in total hydraulic head (pressure head plus elevation head); such water is thus usually excluded from consideration as groundwater. In 1940, M. King Hubbert showed Darcy’s law to be a special case of thermodynamically based potential field equations governing fluid motion, thereby establishing groundwater hydraulics as a rigorous engineering science ( Journal of Geology 48, pp. 785–944). The development of computer-enabled numerical methods for solving the field equations with real-world approximating geometries and boundary conditions in the mid-1960s ushered in the era of digital groundwater modeling. An estimated 30 percent of global fresh water is groundwater, compared to 0.3 percent that is surface water, 0.04 percent atmospheric water, and 70 percent that exists as ice, including permafrost ( Shiklomanov and Rodda 2004 , cited under Groundwater Occurrence ). Groundwater thus constitutes the vast majority—over 98 percent—of the unfrozen fresh-water resources of the planet, excluding surface-water reservoirs. Environmental dimensions of groundwater are equally large, receiving attention on multiple disciplinary fronts. Riparian, streambed, and spring-pool habitats can be sensitively dependent on the amount and quality of groundwater inputs that modulate temperature and solutes, including nutrients and dissolved oxygen. Groundwater withdrawals can negatively impact riparian habitats by depriving ecosystems of adequate fresh water and fragmenting communities when streams go dry. Biochemical reactions in shallow groundwater can remove anthropogenically elevated nitrogen compounds and reduce—but only to a point—the greening of waterways and shorelines with periphyton and harmful algal blooms. Groundwater extraction for beneficial use is increasingly limited by water-quality constraints imposed by naturally occurring and introduced substances. Overdrafting can cause land-surface subsidence, damaging buildings and roads and disrupting canals, sewers, and other gravity-flow conveyances. Increases in groundwater levels can cause soil salinization in dry regions and erosive sapping and flooding in wet regions. Coastal saltwater intrusion, groundwater flooding, salinization associated with groundwater-irrigated agriculture, induced seismicity from injected wastes, and the detrimental impacts of groundwater depletion are among the major environmental challenges of our time.

Book chapter↗
USGS2014

The value of geophysical methods in ground‐water studies

Two meanings are unfortunately given to the term geophysics. In the broad sense, based on the etymology of the term, geophysics means the physics of the Earth. This is its significance in the names “Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,” “International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics,” and “American Geophysical Union.” In this sense the sciences of geology and hydrology are largely geophysics, although in part they are geochemistry or biology. Geologists and hydraulic engineers who are elected to membership in the American Geophysical Union are, however, often surprised to find that they are regarded as “geophysicists.” I hope that when the Union establisnes a journal, its name will include the expression “Earth physics” or “Physics of the Earth,” in order that there will be no misunderstanding as to its scope.

Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union↗
USGS2021

Review: “Jacob’s Zoo”— How using Jacob’s method for aquifer testing leads to more intuitive understanding of aquifer characteristics

The interpretation of aquifer responses to pumping tests is an important tool for assessing aquifer geometry and properties, which are critical in the assessment of water resources or in environmental remediation. However, the responses of aquifers, measured by time-drawdown relationships in monitoring wells, are nonunique solutions that are affected by many factors. Jacob’s Zoo is a collection of graphical interpretations that allows students and practitioners to develop an intuitive feel for how natural hydrogeological systems work, and develop a set of skills that provide a better understanding of aquifer properties far beyond interpretation of pumping tests. Jacob’s Zoo, based on the work of Jacob (1950), fosters a deeper understanding, although few practitioners realize the full utility of the method. Jacob CE (1950) Flow of groundwater, In: Rouse H (ed) Engineering Hydraulics, Wiley, New York. P 321–386.

Hydrogeology Journal↗
USGS2013

Hysteresis of unsaturated hydromechanical properties of a silty soil

Laboratory tests to examine hysteresis in the hydrologic and mechanical properties of partially saturated soils were conducted on six intact specimens collected from a landslide-prone area of Alameda County, California. The results reveal that the pore-size distribution parameter remains statistically unchanged between the wetting and drying paths; however, the wetting or drying state has a pronounced influence on the water-entry pressure, the water-filled porosity at zero suction, and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. The suction stress values obtained from the shear-strength tests under both natural moisture and resaturated conditions were mostly bounded by the suction stress characteristic curves (SSCCs) obtained from the hydrologic tests. This finding experimentally confirms that the soil-water retention curve, hydraulic conductivity function, and SSCC are intrinsically related.

Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engin↗