Sediment transport, hydraulic retention devices, and aquatic habitat


Bhowmik, N. G., and J. R. Adams.  1990.  Sediment transport,
hydraulic retention devices, and aquatic habitat in sand-bed
channels.  Pages 1110-1115 in Howard H. Chang and Joseph C. Hill,
editors.  Volume 2, Proceedings, 1990 National Conference of the
Hydraulics Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers,
San Diego, California, July 30-August 3, 1990.  Reprinted by U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Management Technical
Center, Onalaska, Wisconsin, April 1993.  EMTC 93-R024.  6 pp. 
(NTIS #PB94-108792) 


ABSTRACT

Streams and rivers of all sizes and in all parts of the United
States flow on sand-bed channels.  Scour, transport, and
deposition of sediment particles are natural processes in these
streams and rivers.  Any change in the amount or size distribution
of the material available for transport can affect the composition
of the river bed, while scour or deposition can change the
bathymetry of the river.  Hydraulic engineers have tended to view
changes in the natural processes of sediment supply and transport
as inevitable results of building bridge, dam, or channel training
projects.  Aquatic ecologists have tended to view any change in
sediment transport conditions as a threat to the quality of the
riverine ecosystem.  Due to various transport processes and
morphological characteristics, sand-bed channels create retention
and detention devices that could be quite beneficial to the
aquatic habitats of a riverine environment.  Examples and case
studies of a variety of habitats in sand-bed streams are depicted. 
In small streams, longitudinal features such as pools and riffles
define the major habitat types.  In larger rivers, lateral
features such as side channels, shallow-point bars, and bed forms
such as dunes and sand waves provide a variety of habitat types. 


KEYWORDS

Sediment transport, sand-bed channels, hydraulic retention
devices, Mississippi River, Illinois River, aquatic habitat