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Dynamic modelling of suspended sediment transport in streams as a function of sediment supply

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  • Sediment supplies and stream discharge together determine the patterns, over time, of suspended sediment loads in small streams. Most of the uncertainty in empirical streamflow-sediment relationships can be attributed to changing supplies. Our transport model utilizes a power function of the form C = aQᵇ, where C and Q are sediment concentration and stream discharge, respectively. This expression was augmented with a variable S representing sediment storage in the channel system. The resulting supply-based model was calibrated to concentration and streamflow time series data from four storm events in a small, forested watershed in coastal Oregon. We also calibrated the model to data from a controlled reservoir release in Utah, during which streamflow was held constant for an extended period. In all cases, the supply-based model followed observed concentration time series more accurately than did a transport model based on Q alone. We further enhanced performance of the supply-based model by distributing sediment supplies S among several compartments which were accessed at different levels of stream discharge. Both the single-compartment and distributed models demonstrate that a knowledge of sediment supplies can improve predictions of suspended sediment concentrations during storm runoff.
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