TY - JOUR
T1 - Hydrologic control of spatial patterns of suspended sediment concentration at a stream confluence
AU - Kenworthy, Stephen T.
AU - Rhoads, Bruce L.
N1 - Funding Information:
Dan Mayer assistedw ith the collection of field data. Two anonymous reviewers providedh elpfulc ommentsT. his researchw as performeda s part of National Science Foundation grant SES 90-24225.
PY - 1995/6
Y1 - 1995/6
N2 - A conceptual model of the relationship between incoming hydraulic conditions and spatial patterns of suspended sediment at a stream confluence is evaluated using suspended-sediment data collected at a small stream confluence in east-central Illinois, USA. Patterns of normalized sediment concentrations at a cross-section near the exit of the confluence are a function of the ratios of momentum flux and mean sediment concentration in the upstream channels. These patterns reflect a shift in the location of the shear layer toward the outer bank as momentum ratio increases. Appreciable cross-channel mixing occurs within a distance of four channel widths downstream from the confluence. These findings suggest that confluence hydrodynamics may have important effects on the dispersal of dissolved or suspended substances in headwater areas of channel networks.
AB - A conceptual model of the relationship between incoming hydraulic conditions and spatial patterns of suspended sediment at a stream confluence is evaluated using suspended-sediment data collected at a small stream confluence in east-central Illinois, USA. Patterns of normalized sediment concentrations at a cross-section near the exit of the confluence are a function of the ratios of momentum flux and mean sediment concentration in the upstream channels. These patterns reflect a shift in the location of the shear layer toward the outer bank as momentum ratio increases. Appreciable cross-channel mixing occurs within a distance of four channel widths downstream from the confluence. These findings suggest that confluence hydrodynamics may have important effects on the dispersal of dissolved or suspended substances in headwater areas of channel networks.
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U2 - 10.1016/0022-1694(94)02644-Q
DO - 10.1016/0022-1694(94)02644-Q
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0029413071
SN - 0022-1694
VL - 168
SP - 251
EP - 263
JO - Journal of Hydrology
JF - Journal of Hydrology
IS - 1-4
ER -