Dunes and associated sand transport in a tidally influenced sand-bed channel: Fraser River, British Columbia

2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
P V Villard ◽  
M Church
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Sand Transport ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Material Transport ◽  
Coefficients Of Variation ◽  
Dune Migration ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Dune Height

Dunes form annually on the sand bed of the tidally influenced South Arm of Fraser River, British Columbia. Bathymetric surveys along the center of the main channel throughout a snow-melt freshet provided measurements of dune geometry and migration. Dune length, height, and steepness all increase with river discharge. However, lag between the highest flow conditions and development of the largest, steepest dunes reflects the influence of antecedent flow conditions on dune geometry. Population averages of dune height and steepness ratio change more rapidly than dune length, whilst coefficients of variation of dune height, length, and steepness ratio indicate high variability in dune geometry within the estuarine reach during periods of dune growth and decay. Unlike dune geometry, dune migration rates display little lag with flow conditions. The largest coefficients of variation for dune migration occur during periods of rapid change in discharge and tidal fall, corresponding to the onset of rapid change in dune geometry on both rising and falling limbs. Migration rate estimates and geometry measurements are used to estimate associated sand transport. In the absence of hydraulic measurements in the estuary, Mission and Hope discharges are adopted to drive simple statistical models of sand transport as a function of discharge and tidal fall. The models cover 65–70% of the transport, and tidal fall is only marginally significant. Comparison with historical direct measurements indicates that the dune-associated transport coincides with bed-load transport in the estuary, and arguments are made that it constitutes the preponderance of all bed-material transport.

Limited behavioural thermoregulation by adult upriver-migrating sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Lower Fraser River, British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 480-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Donaldson ◽  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
D. A. Patterson ◽  
S. G. Hinch ◽  
D. Robichaud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Oncorhynchus Nerka ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
And Migration

The objective of this study was to combine radio telemetry with individual thermal loggers to assess the extent to which adult migrating sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum in Artedi, 1792)) behaviourally thermoregulate during their migration through the Fraser River mainstem, British Columbia. The Fraser mainstem represents a region of the migration route that contains some of the highest mean temperatures encountered by sockeye salmon during their life history. We found that throughout the study area, individual sockeye salmon body temperatures occasionally deviated from ambient temperatures (ΔT), yet individuals maintained a ΔT of –1 °C or cooler for only 5% of their migration through the study region. There were moderate mean deviations of ΔT in two segments that are known to contain thermally stratified waters. In one of the study segments with the greatest ΔT, mean body temperatures decreased as river temperatures increased and ΔT became increasingly positive with higher river discharge rates, but these relationships were not observed in any of the other study segments. No relationship existed between ΔT and migration rate. While periodic associations with cool water were evident, mean body temperatures were not significantly different than mean river temperatures throughout the lower Fraser mainstem. This finding raises further conservation concerns for vulnerable Fraser River sockeye stocks that are predicted to encounter increasing peak summer river temperatures in the coming decades.

scholarly journals DUNE MIGRATION AND SAND TRANSPORT RATES IN TIDAL ESTUARIES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE RIVER ELBE

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (32) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Anna Christina Zorndt ◽  
Andreas Wurpts ◽  
Torsten Schlurmann ◽  
Nino Ohle ◽  
Thomas Strotmann
Keyword(s):  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Offshore Structures ◽  
Sand Transport ◽  
Correlation Technique ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
River Elbe ◽  
Tidal Estuaries ◽  
Dune Migration ◽  
And Migration

Large parts of the tidal estuary of river Elbe (Germany) are characterized by regular patterns of sand dunes. They are presumed to evolve due to complex sand transport mechanisms and show multi-faceted migration patterns. Direction and magnitude of their migration are influenced by hydrodynamic boundary conditions such as river runoff and tides. Dune Migration can lead to residual sand transport rates, depending on its direction and magnitude and the dune’s characteristics. The understanding of dune migration patterns and associated sand transport is the basis of an effective sediment management as well as an important requirement for planning offshore structures. This study focuses on methods for computing migration and sand transport rates in automated ways. In a comparison and validation of different approaches, a cross-correlation technique was found to produce best results. From a unique data set of up to six annual bathymetrical multi-beam soundings between 1995 and 2010, dune characteristics and migration rates were processed and analysed autonomously. The findings show that in a long perspective, average dune migration and sand transport rates in the present study reach are directed upstream.

Sources of Chlorophenolic Compounds to the Fraser River Estuary

1988 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Carey ◽  
J. H. Hart
Keyword(s):  
River Flow ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Pulp Mills ◽  
Flow Conditions ◽  
Downstream Site ◽  
Upstream Site ◽  
The North ◽  
Main River

Abstract The identity and concentrations of chlorophenolic compounds in the Fraser River estuary were determined under conditions of high and low river flow at three sites: a site upstream from the trifurcation and at downstream sites for each main river arm. Major chlorophenolics present under both flow regimes were 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol (2,3,4,6-TeCP), pentachlorophenol (PCP), tetrachloroguaiacol (TeCG) and a compound tentatively identified as 3,4,5-trichloroguaiacol (3,4,5-TCG). Under high flow conditions, concentrations of the guaiacols were higher than any of the Chlorophenols and concentrations of all five chlorophenolics appeared to correlate. Under low flow conditions, concentrations of chloroguaiacols were higher than Chlorophenols at the upstream site and at the downstream site on the Main Arm, whereas at the downstream site on the North Arm, concentrations of 2,3,4,6-TeCP and PCP were higher than the chloroguaiacols in some samples. Overall, the results indicate that pulp mills upstream from the estuary are important sources of chlorophenolics to the estuary under all flow conditions. Additional episodic inputs of 2,3,4,6-TeCP and PCP from lumber mills occur along the North Arm. When these inputs occur, they can cause the concentrations of Chlorophenols in the North Arm to exceed provisional objectives. If chloroguaiacols are included as part of the objective, concentrations of total chlorophenolics in water entering the estuary can approach and exceed these objectives, especially under low flow conditions.

Bedforms, bed material, and bedload transport in a salt-wedge estuary: Fraser River, British Columbia

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1440-1452 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Kostaschuk ◽  
M. A. Church ◽  
J. L. Luternauer
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
River Discharge ◽  
Bedload Transport ◽  
Fraser River ◽  
Seasonal Fluctuations ◽  
Salt Wedge ◽  
Migration Rates ◽  
Material Load ◽  
Bed Material

The lower main channel of the Fraser River, British Columbia, is a sand-bed, salt-wedge estuary in which variations in velocity, discharge, and bedform characteristics are contolled by river discharge and the tides. Bed-material composition remains consistent over the discharge season and in the long term. Changes in bedform height and length follow but lag behind seasonal fluctuations in river discharge. Migration rates of bedforms respond more directly to river discharge and tidal fall than do height and length. Bedform characteristics were utilized to estimate bedload transport in the estuary, and a strong, direct, but very sensitive relationship was found between bed load and river discharge. Annual bedload transport in the estuary is estimated to be of the order of 0.35 Mt in 1986. Bedload transport in the estuary appears to be higher than in reaches upstream, possibly because of an increase in sediment movement along the bed to compensate for a reduction in suspended bed-material load produced by tidal slack water and the salt wedge.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document