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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT I N THE TANANA RIVER
I N THE VICINITY OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, 1977
BY
W i l l iarn W. Emmett, Robert L. Burrows, and Bruce Parks
i n coope ra t i on w i t h U.S. Army Corps o f Engineers
Alaska D i s t r i c t
OPEN-FILE REPORT 78-290 (Bas ic da ta)
Anchorage, Alaska 1978 d'!
, ., 7 ,). z,.
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A ? ' ,,> . .,. ,
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Cecil D. Andrus, Secretary
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
V . E . McKelvey, Director
For addit ional information wri te to:
U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Division 218 E Street, Skyline Building Anchorage, A1 as ka 99501
ERRATA * * * ERRATA * * * ERRATA
The fo l lowing a r e c o r r e c t i o n s f o r t h e r e p o r t "Sediment Transport i n t h e Tanana River i n t he v i c i n i t y of Fa i rbanks , Alaska, 1977", by William W. Emmett, Robert L . Burrows, and Bruce Parks.
Pages 5 and 6: The i l l u s t r a t i o n on page 6 goes w i t h t h e capt ion on page 5; t he i l l u s t r a t i o n on page 5 goes with t h e cap t ion on page 6 .
Page 11 : Units f o r u n i t bedload t r a n s p o r t should read (1 b / s ) / f t , no t l b s / f t .
Page 14: absc i s sa should read s i e v e s ize , not s i e v e s i t e .
Page 18: Paragraph 2, l ine 10: The f i r s t two words should read medium sand, not median sand.
Page 19: The capt ion f o r f i g u r e 6 should read " P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f suspended sediment , Tanana River a t Fai rbanks , A1 as ka. "
CONTENTS
Page
L i s t o f symbols ................................................. v Fac to r s f o r c o n v e r t i n g Eng l i sh u n i t s ............................ v A b s t r a c t ........................................................ 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n .................................................... 1 Study o b j e c t i v e s ................................................ 2 I n s t r u m e n t a t i o n and da ta c o l l e c t i o n .............................. 2
St reamf low da ta and channel geometry ....................... 3 Sed iment - t ranspor t da ta .................................... 7 P a r t i c l e s i z e s o f suspended and bedload sediment ........... 7
...................................................... References 2 8
TABLES
Tab le 1 . Summary of d ischarge measurements made du r i ng p e r i o d of sediment sampling, Tanana R i v e r a t Fairbanks, A laska .............................................. 4
2. Values of d a i l y mean d ischarge, 1977 water year , Tanana R i v e r a t Fairbanks, A laska .......................... 8
3. Summary o f suspended-sed~ment data, Tanana River , Alaska, 1977, ....................................... 10
4. Summary o f r i v e r h y d r a u l i c s and bedload data, Tanana R i ve r , Alaska, 1977 ................................ 11
5. P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f suspended sediment, Tanana River , Alaska, 1977 .......................... 13
6 . P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n of bedload sediment, Tanana R i ve r , Alaska, 1977 ................................. 20
7. S t a t i s t i c a l data, g r a i n - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n of bedload ................ sediment, Tanana R i ve r , Alaska, 1977 23
8. Composite s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n ( t r a n s p o r t weighted) o f bedload sediment, Fa i rbanks s t a t i o n , Tanana R iver , Alaska, June 7 - Aug. 31, 1977 ...................... 2 5
9 . Composite s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n ( t r a n s p o r t weighted) o f bedload sediment, Nor th Po le s t a t i o n , Tanana R iver , Alaska, Aug. 4 - 19, 1977 ........................... 26
ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
F i g u r e 1. Cross s e c t i o n o f t he Tanana R i v e r a t Fairbanks, Alaska, as measured severa l t imes d u r i n g t h e sediment t r a n s p o r t s tudy .................................... 5
2. A t - a - s t a t i o n r e l a t i o n s o f hydrau l i c and channel geometry, Tanana R i v e r a t Fa i rbanks, Alaska ........ 6
3. Suspended- and bedload-sediment t r a n s p o r t as f u n c t i o n s o f stream discharge, Tanana R i v e r i n t h e v i c i n i t y
............................. o f Fairbanks, Alaska.. 12
4. P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f suspended sediment, Tanana R i v e r a t Fa i rbanks, Alaska:
a. June 7 - J u l y 6, 1977.. .................... 14 b. J u l y 1 2 - A u g . 3, 1977 ..................... 15 c. Aug. 11 - Oct . 3, 1977 ..................... 16
5. P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n of suspended sediment, Tanana R i v e r near No r th Pole, A laska ............... 17
6. P a r t i c1 e - s i ze d i s t r i b u t i o n of composite bedload sediment, Tanana R i v e r a t Fa i rbanks, and near Nor th Pole, Alaska .................................... 19
7. Comparison o f p a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n s o f composite bedload and es t imated bed m a t e r i a l , Tanana R i ve r i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f Fa i rbanks, A laska .................. 27
FACTORS FOR CONVERTING ENGLISH UNITS
The f o l l o w i n g f a c t o r s may be used t o conver t the Engl ish u n i t s pub l ished h e r e i n t o the I n t e r n a t i o n a l System o f Uni ts .
Mu1 t i p l y Eng l i sh u n i t s h t o ob ta in S I u n i t s
inches ( i n ) 25.4 m i 1 1 imeters (rnrn)
f ee t ( f t ) 0.3048 meters (m)
m i l e s (mi ) 1.609 k i lometers (km)
pounds (1 b) 0.4536 k i 1 ograms (kg)
ton, s h o r t ( t ) 0. 9072 tonne ( t )
cub ic fee t per second 0.02832 cubic meters per second ( f t 3 / s (m3/s
pounds per f o o t ( l b / f t ) 1 ,488 k i 1 ograms per meter (kg/m)
Suspended-sediment concentrat ions a r e g iven on ly i n m i l l i g r a m s per 1 i t e r (mg/L) because these values a r e ( w i t h i n the range of values presented) numer ica l l y equal t o equ iva len t values expressed i n p a r t s per m i l l i o n .
L I S T OF SYMBOLS
Symbol
A - Cross-sect ional area o f f l o w ( f t 2 )
C - M e a n d e p t h o f f l o w ( f t )
Q - Discharge o f f l o w ra te ( f t 3 / s )
V - Mean v e l o c i t y o f f low ( f t / s )
W - Surface w id th o f f low ( f t )
D5o - Median p a r t i c l e s i z e (m)
GB - Bed1 oad- t ranspor t r a t e ( tons/day)
Gs - Suspended-load t r a n s p o r t r a t e ( tonslday)
r - C o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT 114 THE TANANA RIVER IN THE VICINITY OF
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, 1977
By William W . Emmett, Robert L . Burrows, and Bruce Parks
ABSTRACT
Measurements o f suspended- and bedload-sediment t r a n s p o r t f o r t h e Tanana River i n the v i c i n i t y of Fairbanks, Alaska, show t h a t suspended- sediment l oad , G i n t o n s per day, r e l a t e s t o water d i scharge , Q, i n cubic f e e t pe r sscond, a s :
The bedload t r a n s p o r t r a t e i s approximately one percent of the suspended- sediment t r a n s p o r t r a t e .
T h e median p a r t i c l e s i r e of suspended sediment i s gene ra l l y s i l t (<0.062 mm), bu t a t some low-water d i s cha rges , t h e median p a r t i c l e s i z e is very f i n e sand. The median p a r t i c l e s i z e of bedload i s gene ra l l y grave l (>2.0 mm, and o f t e n i n the range of 10 t o 20 m) , but a t some low t r a n s p o r t r a t e s , t h e median p a r t i c l e s i z e is medium sand. A t a l l water d i scharges and sed imen t - t r anspo r t r a t e s , t h e p a r t i c l e s c o n s t i t u t i n g the suspended load a r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y sma l l e r than the p a r t i c l e s c o n s t i t u t i n g t h e bedload.
INTRODUCTION
To f a c i l i t a t e t h e des ign and ope ra t i on o f engineer ing s t r u c t u r e s on the Tanana River and t h e quarrying o f grave l from t h e r i v e r i n the v i c i n i t y of Fairbanks, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , Alaska D i s t r i c t , reques ted t h a t the U . S. Geological Survey col 1 e c t and e v a l u a t e sed iment - t ranspor t and r i v e r hyd rau l i c d a t a during t h e per iod of p r inc ipa l runoff in 1977. This r e p o r t p r e s e n t s t a b l e s o f s e l e c t e d d a t a and computations. Most o f t h e s e t a b l e s are fol lowed by graphica l p r e s e n t a t i o n o f the da t a . The ma jo r i t y o f t h e t e x t i s devoted t o exp lana t ion of the t a b l e s and graphs. The primary purpose o f this r epo r t i s t o provide t h e Corps of Engineers, a t t h e e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e t ime, information t h a t is p e r t i n e n t t o t h e i r design computations.
The s tudy program i s funded by t h e Corps of Engineers through a coope ra t i ve agreement w i t h t h e U.S. Geological Survey. All f i e l d work and t h e compi la t ion o f d a t a were conducted by personnel of t h e U.S. Geological Survey. Most l abo ra to ry ana lyses of p a r t i c l e - s i z e determina- t i o n s and suspended-sediment concen t r a t i ons were conducted by personnel o f t h e Corps o f Engineers. Laboratory ana lyses f o r t h e April and October da t a were c a r r i e d o u t by personnel of t h e Geological Survey.
STUDY OBJECTIVES
The primary objectives of the study are to define for two stat ions near Fairbanks the suspended- and bedload-sediment transport rates as functions o f stream discharge, and the s ize dis t r ibut ions of suspended and bedload sediment. These objectives were agreed upon by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Corps of Engineers. Data collection s i t e s were established a t the U.S. Geological Survey gaging s tat ion, Tanana River a t Fairbanks, Alaska (s tat ion no. 15485500) and a t a newly estab- 1 ished water-data s ta t ion, Tanana River near North Pole, Alaska (unnumbered miscellaneous s i t e ) . The s tat ion near North Pole i s approximately 15 r iver mi 1 es upstream of the Fairbanks s ta t ion . Existing streamfl ow data fo r the Fairbanks s tat ion may be found in the annual publications of the U.S. Geological Survey enti t l ed "Water Resources Data for Alaska". ldew data fo r both s tat ions will be published in future issues of the same ser ies .
The primary objectives of the study are to define for these two s ta t ions , w i t h emphasis given to the Fairbanks s ta t ion , the suspended- and bedload-sediment transport ra tes as functions of stream discharge, and the s i z e distributions of suspended and bedload sediment.
INSTRUMENTATION AND DATA COLLECTION
Streamflow gage heights during the open water season a t the Fairbanks s ta t ion were documented by a continuous t race on a Stevens A-35 recorder. The continuous t race was analyzed to determine daily mean gage heights and corresponding daily mean discharges. During the winter flow period, October through April, values of daily mean discharge were estimated u t i l iz ing periodic discharge measurements, climatological data, and correlation with data available from the gaging s tat ion, Tanana River a t Nenana, Alaska. A t the North Pole s ta t ion , only the water-surface elevations a t the times of discharge measurements were recorded. All measurements were made from a boat. The boat was positioned using sextant readings on a base l ine for cross channel stationing and visual reference to the cross-section end markers fo r on-station locationing. Water-discharge measurements were made each time sediment data were collected, and these instantaneous values of discharge were used in evaluating the sediment-transport data.
A P-61 suspended-sediment sampler (Guy and Norman, 1970) was used to co l lec t depth-integrated water samples fo r analysis of concentration and part ic le-s ize distribution of the suspended sediment. A Helley- Smi t h type bed1 oad sampler (He1 1 ey and Smith, 1971 ) was used to col 1 ec t bedload samples tha t enabled determination of bedload-transport r a t e and part ic le-s ize distribution of the bedload sediment. The Helley-Smith bedload sampler has not been adopted by the U.S. Geological Survey as standard equipment; therefore, the resu l t s obtained through i t s use cannot be ce r t i f i ed for accuracy. However, a f i e l d determination of the sediment-trapping characteristics of the He1 1 ey-Smi t h bedload sampler
Table 1 .--Sumnary o f discharge measurements made during period of sediment sampl i n g s , Tanana R i v e r a t Fairbanks, Alaska
Mean Depth (ft)
5.94
7.94
9.24
7.10
6.62
7.49 7.13
7.69
7.66
7.31
8.31
9.30
Mean Velocity
( f t l s )
5.16
4.76
4.28
5.41
5.43
5.09
5.52
5.93
5.51
5.63
5.99
5.11 t
Date (1 977)
June 7
J u n e 1 6
June 29
July 6
Ju ly 12
July 20
J u l y 2 6
Aug. 3
Aug. 11
Aug. 18
Aug. 31
O c t . 3
Gage Height ( f t>
28.09
29.28
30.10
28.82
28.93
29.56
29.60
30.56
30.42
30.16
28.95
26.92
Surface Width ( f t )
86 5
1,060
1,180
1,073
1,060
1,175
1,275
1,300
1,220
1,240
1,000
440
Discharge ( f t 3 / s )
26,500
40,100
46,700
41,200
38,100
44,800
50,2CIO
59,300
51,500
51,100
49,800
20,900
Flow Area
( ft2 >
5,140
8,420
10,900
7,620
7,020
8,800
9,090
10,000
9,350
9,070
8,310
4,090
(Emmett, W.W., unpub. da ta ) i n d i c a t e s t h a t no c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r need be a p p l i e d t o t h e bedload da ta as c o l l e c t e d . A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e sampler has been used w i t h apparent success i n o t h e r r i v e r s ( E m e t t , 1976) t h a t have bedload t r a n s p o r t r a t e s and bedload p a r t i c l e s i z e charac- t e r i s t i c s s i m i l a r t o those o f t h e Tanana R iver .
Fo r most o f t h e bedload-data c o l l e c t i o n , samples were ob ta i ned a t 5 0 - f o o t increments across t h e p a r t of s t ream w i d t h a c t i v e i n t h e bedload- t r a n s p o r t process. Genera l l y t h i s r e s u l t e d i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n of 18 t o 20 samples ac ross t h e stream w id th . Sampling d u r a t i o n was 30 seconds a t each l o c a t i o n . For most t r ave rses of t h e stream, each i n d i v i d u a l bed load sample was g i ven equal c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n t he de te rm ina t i on o f t h e average stream-wide t r a n s p o r t r a t e . I n t h e few instances where d u p l i c a t e samples were ob ta i ned a t a g i ven l o c a t i o n , these samples were averaged and t h e average va lue used i n t h e same manner as i n d i v i d u a l va lues. Samples c o l l e c t e d a t each end of t h e t r a v e r s e s were g iven t h e same c o n s i d e r a t i o n as o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l samples regard less o f the inc rementa l w i d t h o f channel assoc ia ted w i t h t h e end samples.
Streamflow Data and Channel Geometry
Tab le 1 presents a summary of d i scha rge measurements made d u r i n g t h e p e r ~ o d o f sediment sampling a t t h e Tanana R i v e r a t Fa i rbanks. Cross-sec t ion da ta f o r severa l of t h e d ischarge measurements i n c l u d e d i n t a b l e 1 a r e p l o t t e d i n f i g u r e 1 and i l l u s t r a t e severa l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e r i v e r . The c ross s e c t i o n i s non-uni form i n shape, w i t h t he deepest wa te r near t h e l e f t bank. A t r i v e r stages l e s s than about 27 f e e t , a1 1 of t h e f low i s conf ined t o t h e deeper p o r t i o n o f t h e channel ; above a s tage o f about 27 f ee t , t h e sand and g rave l ba r area becomes submerged, and t h e sur face w i d t h o f t h e stream more than doubles. Th i s i s apparent f r om t a b l e 1 by comparing t h e measurement f o r October 3 w i t h any o f t h e o t h e r measurements. As r i v e r s tage changes, t h e r e i s cons ide rab le s h i f t i n g of bed m a t e r i a l f rom t h e sand and g rave l bar area t o t h e tha lweg and v ice -versa .
Exc lud ing t h e October 3 measurement i n t a b l e 1, t he remain ing measurements were analyzed t o p r o v i d e r e l a t i o n s o f h y d r a u l i c and channel parameters t o va lues of s treamflow. Using log-transformed 1 east -squares techniques, t h e r e l a t i o n s f o r w id th , depth, f l o w area, and v e l o c i t y , r e s p e c t i v e l y , a re :
These re1 a t i o n s are p l o t t e d as a t - a - s t a t i o n curves o f hydraul i c geometry (Leopo ld and Maddock, 1953) i n f i g u r e 2. Water-surface slopes were o b t a i n e d as p a r t o f a spec ia l s t udy i n 1973 by t he U.S. Geolog ica l
D I S C H A R G E , IN C U B I C FEET PER SECONO
Figure 1 .--Cross section of the Tanana River a t Fairbanks, Alaska, as measured several t i m e s during the sediment transport study.
ELEVATION, I N FEET ABOVE G A G E DATUM
Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The rela- tion for water-surface slope shows increasing values of slope with increasing discharge. The relation of gage height t o discharge shown i s the current rat ing curve.
Values of dai ly mean discharge, 1977 water year, for the Tanana River a t Fairbanks, a re presented in table 2. Daily mean discharge i s n o t available f o r the s tat ion near North Pole; the only streamflow data available fo r t h i s s ta t ion are those collected a t times of sediment measurements, and these data are presented in th i s report.
Sediment Transport Data
Table 3 l i s t s values of instantaneous discharge, suspended-sediment concentration, suspended-sediment load, and median part ic le size. The suspended-sediment load in tons per day i s computed as:
Load = 0.0027 x concentration (mg/L) x discharge ( f t 3 / s )
Table 4 l i s t s values of instantaneous discharge and bedload-transport ra te . The total bedload transport, in tons per day, was computed by applying the uni t transport ra te over the fu l l width of t he channel.
The relat ions of suspended- and bedload-sediment transport as a function of discharge are i l lus t ra ted in figure 3. The da ta are from tables 3 and 4. Using a log-transformed least-squares technique, the correlation coeff ic ient for the log-transformed data, r = .995, indicates a high degree of correlation. The equation describing the suspended- sediment relat ion i s :
The paucity of bedload data r e s t r i c t s the application o f l eas t - squares techniques; the dashed-li ne re1 ation for bedload data as shown in f igure 3 suggests tha t bedload i s on the order of one percent of suspended load. That i s ,
Par t ic le Sizes of Suspended and Bed1 oad Sediment
Table 5 and figures 4 (a-c) and 5 present the size-distribution data f o r suspended sediment. S i z e determination was made by sieve analysis fo r par t ic les larger than s i l t (>0.062 mm) and pipet analyses fo r par t ic les of s i l t s ize and smaller. In a l l instances, data a re expressed in percentage, by weight, f ine r than indicated particle s ize.
1 / Table 2.--Values o f d a i l y mean d i s c h a r g e ( f t 3 / s e c ) 1977 Water Year
Tanana River a t Fairbanks , Alaska (1 5435500)
~ ' r r i n t e r f l o w period, October through Apr i 1 , estimated based on per iod ic discharge measurements, c l ima to log ica l records, and co r re l a t i on w i t h da ta obtained f o r Tanana River a t Nenana, Alaska.
Day Oct. tiov. I
! 13,000 12,600
3 12,200
6,000 6,000 6,000 5,900 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500
4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 1 22 2 3 2 4 2 5 26 2 7 28 29 30 3 1
Dec.
1 12,000 12,000 11,500 11,800 11,700 11 ,OC)O 11,000 10,500 10,000 10,000 10,000 9,000 9,000 9,000 9,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 6,000 6,000 6,000
4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500
Jan.
4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,500 4,800 4,800 5,000
Feb. Mar.
5,200 5,200 5,200 5,400 5,400 5,600 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200 6,200
6,200 6,200 6,200 6,000 6,000 6,000 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,800 5,600 5,600 5,600 5,600 5,600 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,4011 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400
1 / Table 2.--Values o f d a i l y mean d i s c h a r g e ( f t 3 / s e c ) 1977 Water Year
Tanana River a t Fairbanks, Alaska--Continued
''winter flow per iod , October through A p r i l , es t imated based on p e r i o d i c d i s cha rge measurements, c l ima to log ica l r eco rds , and c o r r e l a t i o n wi th d a t a ob t a ined f o r Tanana River a t Nenana, Alaska.
J u1 y
51,400 48,000 ,
45,100 47,800 42,600 39,000 37,300 36,400 36,400 38,900 40,600 40,600 43,200 45,100 46,800 48,400 48,400 48,000 47,500 56,000 57,000 54,000 55,000 56,000 54,000 52,000 49,000 46,000 44,000 40,700 40,600
Aug .
40,900 38,800 35,300 33,100 31,000 62,100 60,300 56,200 52,600 52,500 53,400 52,000 52,000 52,000 54,000 52,000 52,000 51,600 53,000 54,000 56,000 60,000 62,400 60,000 58,000 56,000 54,000 52,000 48,000 46,600 47,700
Sept.
48,100 44,600 39,700 36,400 33,200 30,900 28,700 28,600 27,600 25,400 23,500 25,000 26,900 27,000 26,209 26,000 25,600 25,200 24,400 24,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 24,000 23,000 23,200 23,300 23,500 23,600 24,800
Day
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 1 3 14 15 16 17 1 8 19 2 0 2 1 22 2 3 2 4 2 5 2 6 2 7 28 2 9 30 31
May
14,000 15,000 16,000 19,000 23,600 26,000 28,000 29,000 29,000 28,300
, 24,300 16,900 16,600 16,800 16,700 17,300 17,100 16,800 18,400 24,500 24,800 19,600 17,300 16,500 15,700 15,600 16,600 18,800 20,200 23,000 26,000
Apr.
5,400 5,400 5,600 5,600 5,600 5,800 6,000 6,200 6,400 6,400 6,600 6,800 7,000 7,000 7,000 7,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 8,000 9,000 9,000 9,000
10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 11,000 12,000 13,000
June
30,600 30,600 29,000 27,300 27,000 28,000 27,300 24,800 23,800 23,300 24,000 25,500 31,100 38,700 38,800 39,800 41,000 41,700 43,400 43,600 40,600 41,400 46,400 49,000 50,000 50,000 50,800 50,600 49,900 54,100
Table 3.--Summary o f suspended-sediment data, Tanana R iver , Alaska, 1977
*Tanana R ive r near Nor th Pole, Alaska; a l l o t h e r data f rom Tanana R iver a t
Fairbanks , A1 aska.
Date
Apr. 13
Apr . 26
June 7
June 16
June 29
J u l y 6
J u l y 12
J u l y 20
J u l y 26
Aug. 3
Aug. 4*
Aug. 11
Aug. 18
Aug. 19*
Aug. 31
Oct . 3
Discharge ( f t 3 / s e c )
6,950
10,200
26,500
40,100
46,700
41 ,200
38,100
44,800
50,200
59,300
59,000
51,500
51,100
59,000
49,800
20,900
Suspended sediment conc. 1 oad (mg/L) ( t ons lday )
58 1,088
146 4,021
952 68,120
1,642 177,800
1 ,865 235,200
1,512 168,200
1,487 153,000
2,205 266,700
1,818 246,400
4,340 694,900
3,100 493,800
3,269 454,600
2,625 362,200
1 ,729 487,600
2,017 271,200
563 31 ,770
Median p a r t i c l e s i z e (mm)
- .19
.077
.033
-062
.077
.053
.064
.033
.023
,023
.040
.029
.045
,092
.16
C, C-C 0 -I-'+'+ L 3-x 0 0 % Z " % * i'. *
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CnOOt-U2Lno NLnM7CDO-l ,--w 7 - N F - P -
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- m e m e n m m e n n
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e m e m e m
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n a 4 all- o\ 7 - v "5
3 as- O Q l Q - L + La-
3- C - r Vl m U \ a 0 4 E-+
a- >
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- aJ U T rd 4- r t W Q L -r Y- 33- v,
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.v m m 7 m * m 7 - m o m -r v 0
aJ .V nY n
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a
m
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c a ! W = - , = , h . . . . . -Q C E - - r - O 7 0 7 W ~ t J ) + ~ L 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 0 0 97771<4<<0 Z
D I S C H A R G E , I N C U B I C FEET PER SECOND
F igu re 3.--Suspended- and bedload-sediment t r a n s p o r t as func t ions o f stream d ischarge, Tanana R i v e r i n t h e v i c i n i t y o f Fairbanks A 1 aska.
Table 5 . - -Par t i c le - s ize d i s t r ibu t ion o f suspended sediment, Tanana River, Alaska, 1977 [Percentage, by weight, f i n e r than pa r t i c l e size indicated] .
*Tanana River near Nor th Pole; a l l o ther da ta , Tanana River a t Fairbanks, Alaska.
1 . o 0.50
0.25
0.125
0.062
0.031
0.016
0.008
0.004
0.002
July 20
100
9 7
75
5 2
36
3 1
2 3
14
5
Part i cl e s i z e ( m m >
1 .o 0.50
0.25
0.125
0.062
0.031
0.016
0.008
0.004
0.002
July 26
100
9 7
8 5
6 3
49
34
31
18
14
7
June 7
100
9 5
6 8
4 5
3 7
29
22
16
10
Aug. 3
100
98
8 8
7 1
56
4 3
2 7
2 1
12
June 16
100
9 9
89
69
4 9
3 8
24
15
11
July 6
100
9 9
94
71
43
2 9
2 0
16
14
8
June 29
100
9 6
74
5 1
3 5
30
16
9
6
Aug. 4*
100
9 9
9 0
7 0
56
43
2 9
23
11
July 12
100
97
7 7
52
44
3 3
2 3
15 6
Aug. 11
100
98
81
6 1
4 5
36
2 6
19
8
Aug. 19*
100
9 9
89
72
39
36
3 2
18
12
Aug. 18
100
97
83
62
51
39
2 7
20
11
Aug. 31
100
95
6 1
41
31
2 5
18
12
5
r
Oct. 3
100
88
32
2 0
14
10
6
4
2
S I E V E S I Z E , I N M l L l l M E T E R S
Figure 4b. --Partic1 e-s ize distribution of suspended sediment for Tanana R i v e r at Fairbanks, Alaska.
a 3 1 1 3 ION I 32 I S 3 1 3 11hVd N V H l d3N I d 'lH9 13M 10 ' 3 9 V l N 3 3 1 3 d
16
L . F
ra LL"
C1 ra
L 01 > .r CZ
m s ra s a +
.I-
L +J Ln 'I-
-0
ul N .7
Values of median par t ic le s ize were read from the graphs of figure 6 and included as part of the suspended-sediment data presented in table 3. Although i t i s not a well-defined relat ion, median par t ic le size of suspended sediment decreases as water discharge increases. This suggests a watershed source of sediment during snowmelt runoff 'and a within- channel source o f sediment during lower runoff periods.
Table 6 presents the size-distribution data for bedload sediment as determined by dry sieve analysis. Data a re expressed in percentage by weight, f i n e r than sieve s ize indicated. S t a t i s t i c s of the particle- s ize determinations a re presented in table 7; t h i s compilation o f data i s especially useful i n the visualization of bedload-particle sizes as functions of discharge or transport ra te . The median par t ic le s ize, D S 0 9 from t h i s compilation i s included i n table 4 as part of the bedload transport data. The median part ic le s i ze of bedload i s generally gravel, b u t a t several low bedload-transport r a t e s , the median par t ic le s ize i s median sand. This abrupt change in median par t ic le s i t e has been observed previously (Emmett, 1976) and i s related to the ava i lab i l i ty and mobility of par t ic le s izes composing the bed material.
Tables 8 and 9 show the transport-weighted, composite s ize distribu- tion of bedload f o r the Fairbanks s tat ion and North Pole s ta t ion, respec- t ively. Figure 6 i s a graph of these data and clear ly shows that the par t ic le s izes of bedload transported past the two stat ions are of the same s izes , an expected observation for two locations only 15 river miles apart . The graphs of figure 6 allow presentation of particle-size d a t a referenced to standard sieve s izes and these data are included in tables 8 and 9. S t a t i s t i c s of the particle-size data are shown a t the !-?ttom of tables 8 and 9 and indicate a bimodal dis t r ibut ion of par t ic le ,izes. On the average, bedload composition i s about one-third medium sand, and about one-half to two-thirds gravel tha t i s coarser t h a n 10 millimeters. Intermediate sizes of material, coarse sand and fine gravel, a r e present in much smaller quant i t ies .
The bimodal s i ze distribution of bedload suggests a bimodal s ize dis t r ibut ion of bed material. A single representative sample of bed material was not obtained fo r s ize analysis; however, s ize data are available f o r scattered bed-material samples representative of e i ther sandy or gravelly portions of the bed. A composite of these samples, with consideration given to the percentage of bed area assigned each sample and t o the s i ze distribution of measured bedload, provides an estimated s i z e dis t r ibut ion of bed material. This estimated particle- s ize dis t r ibut ion of bed material i s shown in figure 7. For comparison, an average curve f o r bedload particle-size dis t r ibut ion has been taken from f igure 6 and included in figure 7. The two particle-size curves in figure 7 a re similar, with the bedload curve showing a greater percentage of sand than the bed-material curve. This re f lec ts bed material as the source of bedload, b u t the river has the capabili ty to transport the sand fract ion over a greater range in flow than the gravel fraction.
u w P != ar a V)
3 V)
u- fa O Y
V) != m OF- .? < C,
Table 6.--Particle-size distribution of bedload sediment, Tanana River, Alaska, 1977 [Percentage, by weight, finer than sieve size i ndicated].
*Metric equivalent o f English unit sieves used by the Corps o f Engineers l a b .
Sieve size* (mm)
76.2
50.8
38.1
25.4 19.1
12.7
9.52
4.76
2.00
.84
.42
,297
.I49
.074
FAIRBANKS STATION
June 7
100.0
96.2
83.3
67.1
53.3
36.6
35.4
35.1
34.6
22.0
3.2
- 6
June 29
100.0
96.8
91.8
81.9
62.3
47.1
27.5
25.6
25.1
24.8
16.9
2.5
.9
July 6
100.0
93.6
92.0
57.9
48.7
40.0
-6.4
31 - 4
30.0
29.3
27.8
8.3
.5
-2
I
July 12
100.0
95.6
91.1
77.8
68.9
62.2
53.0
50.3
48.6
46.9
30.1
3.9
.7
July 20
100.0
91 .8
71.1
67.2
57.3
43.9
37.2
29.5
27.7
27.2
23.6
12.8
2.2
. 7
T a b l e 6 . - - P a r t i c 1 e - s i ze d i s t r i b u t i o n of bedload sediment, Tanana R i ve r , Alaska, 1977 [Percentage, by weight, f i n e r than s i eve s i z e ind ica ted ] - -Cont inued
I FAIRBANKS STATION--Continued
S i e v e s i z e * Aug. 31 Oct. 3
*Met r i c e q u i v a l e n t of Eng l i sh u n i t s ieves used by the Corps o f Engineers l a b .
Table 6 . - - P a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f bedload sediment, Tanana River , Alaska, 1977 [Percentage, by weight , f i n e r than s i e v e s i z e i n d i c a t e d ] . - -Cont inued
*Met r i c e q u i v a l e n t of E n g l i s h u n i t s ieves used by t h e Corps of Engineers l a b .
S ieve s i z e * (mm)
76.2
50.8
38.1
25.4
19.1
12.7
9.52
4.76
2.00
.84
.42
.297
. I 49
,074
NORTH POLE STATION
N o r t h Channel
100.0
85.5
73.1
64.9
51.4
43.1
34.6
33.0
32.1
32.0
21.9
7.3
1.8
No r th Channel
100.0
90.7
84.5
61.4
45.3
29.7
29.0
28.8
28.5
17.9
2.8
.8
August South
Channel
100.0
83.8
66.6
59.9
44.6
38.5
30.4
29.5
28.8
27.7
17.1
2 . 3 - 7
4 To ta l
100.0
85.1
71.7
63.7
49.9
42.1
33.6
32.2
31.3
31 .O 20.8
6.1
1.5
August 19, South
Channel
100.0
85.3
76.4
72.1
65.9
61 -8
48.6
45.7
44.7
43.3
26.7
5.4
1.6
To ta l
100.0
95.9
86.8
81.1
62.6
49.9
34.9
33.6
33.2
32.6
20.3
3.5
1 .O
Table 7 . - - S t a t i s t i c a l d a t a , p a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f bedload sediment, Tanana R i v e r , A1 aska, 1977 [ P a r t i c l e d i a m e t e r (mm) a t g iven percen t-f i ner parameter]
P e r c e n t - f i ner
parameter
D 5
D l 6
"35
0 5 0
D6 5
D84
D9 o
D95
Largest*
*Smal les t s i e v e s i z e t h a t l a r g e s t p a r t i c l e passed .
D 5
Dl 6
D 3 5
D5 0
D6 5
"84
D9 0
Dg 5
FAIRBANKS STATION
i a r g e r f * I 51 1 76 1 38 1 38 1 8.0
Aug. 3
0.21
.31
9.4
1 5
20
34
3 9
45
J u l y 6
0 . 2 5
.32
8.0
20
28
32
36
5 8
7 6
J u n e 7
0 .17
.26
.80
9 .0
1 2
2 0
2 2 2 4
3 8
J u l y 1 2
0.16
.23
.32
1 . 8
11
2 2
58
37
5 1
A u g . 1 1
0 .16
.27
2.5
2 0
2 4
33
44
59
Aug.18
0 .14
.19
. 2 7
- 4 4
.58
1 4
1 7
23
June 19
0 .19
.29
7.0
10
1 3
20
2 4
3 1
5 1
J u l y 20
0.18
.33
8.0
16
2 4
45
4 8
5 6
76
Aug.31
0 . 1 5
.21
.27
- 3 0
.40
17
2 2
2 7
O c t . 3
0.14
.20
.26
.30
.32
.37
.40
.43
Table 7 . - - S t a t i s t i c a l d a t a , p a r t i c l e - s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f bedload sediment, Tanana River , A1 aska , 1977 [ P a r t i c l e d iameter (mm) a t given percent - f i n e r parameter]--Conti nued
NORTH POLE STATION 1
*Small e s t s i e v e s i z e t h a t l a r g e s t p a r t i c l e passed.
Percent - f i n e r
parameter
D5
6
D 3 5
D5 o DS 5
08 4
09 o
" 9 5
Largest*
August 4 iqorth
Channel
0.12
.23
4.8
12
19
3 6
4 2
47
5 1
August 19 North
Channel
3.17
.28
6.5
11
1 3
19
2 4
29
38
South Channel
0.18
.28
7.5
15
2 3 38
45
48
51
Total
0.14
- 2 5
6.0
13
2 1
3 7
43
47
5 1
A
South Channel
0.14
- 2 3
.34
5.4
12
35 4 2
4 7
5 1
Total
0.16
.25
4 . 3
9.6
1 3
2 1
28
3 6
51
Table 8.--Composite s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n ( t r a n s p o r t we igh ted) o f bedload sediment, Fa i rbanks S ta t i on , Tanana 'R iver , A laska, June 7-Aug. 31 , 1977 [Data expressed i n percentage by weight ] .
*Standard s i e v e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n i s i n t e r p o l a t e d from d i s t r i b u t i o n curves determined f rom t h e Corps o f Engineers s ieves .
Sieve s i z e (mm 1
76.2
50.8
38.1
25.4
19.1
12.7
9.52
4.76
2.00
.84
.42
.297
,149
,074
Pan
i ?.. 1 h a ; , I .*I_ ..., i
Parameter S i z e (mm)
Ill 5 0.175
Percen t r e t a i n e d
1.9
5.2
10.9
11 .O
13.9
8.8
11.2
1.8
.6
1.6
12.8
17.2
2.2
.9
P a r t i c l e - s i z e S t a t i s t i c s
Percent f i n e r
100.0
98.1
92.9
82.0
71 .O
57.1
48.3
37.1
35.3
34.7
33.1
20.3
3.1
.9
.o
Standard s i e v e s i z e *
(m>
128
6 4
32
16
8
4
2.0
1 .O
- 5
-25
. I 2 5
.062
Pan
Percent r e t a i n e d
0.5
10.5
24.5
20.0
8.0
1.2
. 3
1 .o 20.0
12.5
1 .O
.5
Percent f i n e r
100.0
99.5
89.0
64.5
44.5
36.5
35.3
35.0
34.0
14.0
1.5
.5
0
Table 9.--Composi t e s i z e d i s t r i h u t i o n ( . t ranspor t we igh ted) o f bedload sediment, No r th Po le S t a t i o n , Tanana R iver , Alaska, Aug. 4-19, 1977 [Data expressed i n percentage by weight ] .
S ieve s i z e (mm)
. I 4 9
.074
Pan
Percent r e t a i n e d
Percent f i n e r
Pan
Standard s i e v e s i z e *
( m )
P a r t i c l e - s i z e S t a t i s t i c s
Parameter S ize ( m )
D 5 .15
6 - 2 5
"2 5 .33
D 3 5 5.6
D 5 0 11 .o D6 5 16.5
"7 5 22.5
D84 32.0
D90 40.0
09 5 46.0
Percent r e t a i n e d
Percent f i ner
*Standard s i e v e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n i s i n t e r p o l a t e d f rom d i s t r i b u t i o n curves determl ned from t h e Corps o f Engineers s ieves .
REFERENCES
>I Emmett, W . W . , 1976, Bedload t r a n s p o r t i n two l a r g e g rave l -bed r i v e r s ,
i Idaho and Washington: T h i r d Federal Inter-Agency Sedimentat ion
i Conference, Denver, Colo. , Mar. 22-26, 1976, P r o c . , p. 4-100 t o 4-113.
G U Y , H.P., and Norman, V.W., 1970, F i e l d methods f o r measurement o f
f l u v i a l sed iment : Techniques o f Water-Resources Inv . , U.S. Geol.
Survey, Book 3, Chap. C2, 59 p.
He1 1 ey, E . J . , and Srni t h , Winchel 1 , 1971, Development and c a l i b r a t i o n o f
a p r e s s u r e - d i f f e r e n c e bedload sampler: U.S. Geol. Survey o p e n - f i l e
I
r e p t . , 1 8 p .
Leopold, L . B . , and Maddock, Thomas, J r . , 1953, The h y d r a u l i c geometry o f
s t ream c h a n n e l s and some phys iograph ic i m p l i c a t i o n s : U.S. Geol.
Survey P r o f . Paper 252, 57 p .
