Sediment-transport investigations of the Upper Yellowstone River, Montana, 1999 through 2001: data collection, analysis, and simulation of sediment transport

Holnbeck, Stephen R.

doi:10.3133/sir20055234

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(18 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…[]; 3 = Jones and Seitz []; 4 = Ryan and Emmett []; 5 = Hortness and Berenbrock []; 6 = Clark and Woods []; 7 = Williams and Krupin []; 8 = USGS National Water Information System accessed between 1/2008 and 7/2011; 9 = determined from field measurements by the authors; 10 = Berenbrock and Tranmer []; 11 = Kondolf et al . []; 12 = bankfull discharge estimated from a regional relationship as Q = a DA b , where Q is discharge, DA is drainage area, and a and b are empirical power law parameters; 13 = Miller []; 14 = Holnbeck []; 15 = Curran et al . []; 16 = Williams and Rosgen []; 17 = Ryan []; 18 = Thompson []; and 19 = Emmett et al .…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 2. Single thread to braided transitions

Mueller

Pitlick

2014

JGR Earth Surface

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Differences in sediment supply between single-thread and braided channel types provide a long-recognized, though difficult to quantify, pattern discrimination. Building on the results from our preceding paper, we present a multiscale assessment of the sediment supply, geomorphology, and sediment transport characteristics of braided, gravel-bedded reaches in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. First, we present a quantitative, theoretically based discriminant function that stratifies single-thread and braided reaches on the basis of variations in bankfull sediment concentration and dimensionless discharge following the work of Millar (2005) and Eaton et al. (2010). This function correctly classifies 50 of the 53 channel types where bed load concentrations are known. Second, while channel pattern transitions are often linked to changes in slope, field studies along Sunlight Creek, Wyoming, show that downstream transitions between single-thread and braided reaches are instead caused by valley constrictions and changes in the grain size of sediment from tributaries. Finally, we demonstrate that the two-dimensional variability in flow properties in braided reaches produces locally high values of shear stress and bed load transport. Yet bed load measurements and sediment transport calculations also show that sediment transport rates between adjoining braided and single-thread reaches may be approximately equal where channels are near the pattern threshold and downstream variations in bank fortitude and channel constriction force pattern transitions. Taken together, these results indicate that high bed load concentrations are fundamental to the braided channel planform and that braided channels likely reflect a quasi-equilibrium state within watersheds with persistent high sediment supply.

show abstract

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 2. Single thread to braided transitions

Mueller

Pitlick

2014

JGR Earth Surface

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bed load measurements were made using an Equal Width Increment (EWI) approach and a Helley‐Smith sampler with a 7.6 × 7.6 cm orifice in most cases (e.g., King et al . []); larger Toutle River (15.2 × 30.5 cm) and Elwha (10 × 20 cm) samplers were used at five sites [ Holnbeck , ; Erwin et al ., ; this study]. Suspended sediment sampling followed width and depth integrated sampling protocols [ Edwards and Glysson , ; King et al ., ], although rarely dip samples were reported for some of the data sets in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database.…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 1. Relative importance of lithology, topography, and climate

Mueller

Pitlick

2013

J. Geophys. Res. Earth Surf.

114

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] Quantifying landscape-scale variations in sediment supply to streams and rivers is fundamental to our understanding of both denudational processes and stream channel morpho-dynamics. Previous studies have linked a variety of sediment-supply proxies to climatic, topographic, or geologic factors, but few have connected these directly to the characteristics of fluvial systems draining these landscapes. Here we correlate landscape controls on sediment supply to observed sedimentology and channel patterns through direct measurements of water and sediment fluxes in over 80 drainage basins ranging in area from 1.4 to 35,000 km 2 in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. These data show that the relative sediment supply, defined by the bankfull sediment concentration, is dominated by basin lithology, while exhibiting little correlation to factors such as relief, mean basin slope, and drainage density. Bankfull sediment concentrations (bed load and suspended load) increase as much as 100-fold as basin lithology becomes dominated by softer sedimentary and volcanic rocks, relative to basins with more resistant lithologies. As bed load concentrations increase, stream beds become less armored, and bed load grain size coarsens. At very high sediment concentrations, bed surface, subsurface, and bed load grain sizes converge and a transition from single-thread to to braided channel patterns is commonly observed.Citation: Mueller, E. R., and J. Pitlick (2013), Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 1. Relative importance of lithology, topography, and climate,

show abstract

“…While not specifically assessed herein, spawning habitat in the upstream reaches of the Yellowstone River appears to be suitable, with relatively low gradients (Lawrence et al. 2012), an abundance of gravel substrate, and shallow, calm, clear water (Orth and Newcomb 2002; Dalby and Robinson 2003; Holnbeck 2005). Alternatively, the spatial disconnect between juvenile and adult distributions may be caused by a temporal mismatch in upstream dispersal versus spawning temperature cues (Rubenson and Olden 2016) or density dependence, a major driver of animal dispersal (Marchetti et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Importance of Phenology and Thermal Exposure to Early Life History Success of Nonnative Smallmouth Bass in the Yellowstone River

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge of potential spread by introduced species is critical to effective management and conservation. The Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu is an example of a fish that has been introduced globally, often spreads after introduction, and has substantial predatory impacts on fish assemblages. Nonnative Smallmouth Bass in the free‐flowing Yellowstone River, Montana, have expanded from warmer, downstream sections of river into colder, upstream sections containing socio‐economically valuable trout fisheries. We sought insight into mechanisms controlling upstream spread by evaluating whether progressively colder upstream climates physiologically constrained successful recruitment by limiting age‐0 growth and preventing overwinter survival (i.e., population establishment). We documented the phenology, growth, and overwinter survival of age‐0 Smallmouth Bass across a temperature gradient leading to their upstream extent in the Yellowstone River. The upstream extent of population establishment did not appear limited by water temperature alone. Age‐0 body size at the onset of winter did not differ significantly between colder, upstream reaches and warmer, downstream reaches. Instead, the earlier hatch timing exhibited by some age‐0 individuals in upstream sections allowed them to experience longer growing seasons than many individuals in downstream sections. This counter‐intuitive hatching phenology mediated much of the expected decreases in growth in colder, upstream climates. Furthermore, evidence of successful overwinter survival and simulations of age‐0 starvation mortality indicated that age‐0 individuals at the upstream extent of their distribution successfully recruited to the age‐1 year‐class during four consecutive years. However, age‐0 individuals were rare or absent throughout the uppermost upstream distribution of adults, suggesting that something other than temperature limits or discourages reproduction farther upstream. Taken together, our results suggest that Smallmouth Bass have not yet reached the thermal limit of their upstream distribution in the Yellowstone River and that future spread may challenge fisheries managers tasked with management of coldwater trout fisheries in this river.

show abstract

Sediment-transport investigations of the Upper Yellowstone River, Montana, 1999 through 2001: data collection, analysis, and simulation of sediment transport

Abstract: Boxplots showing variation of average simulated channel degradation at simulated peak discharge and average simulated channel aggradation at end of simulation period at 40 cross sections for the 2-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year synthetic-flood hydrographs,

Cited by 7 publications

References 42 publications

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 2. Single thread to braided transitions

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 2. Single thread to braided transitions

Sediment supply and channel morphology in mountain river systems: 1. Relative importance of lithology, topography, and climate

The Importance of Phenology and Thermal Exposure to Early Life History Success of Nonnative Smallmouth Bass in the Yellowstone River

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About