Evaluating fine sediment mobilization and storage in a gravel-bed river using controlled reservoir releases

Two controlled flow events were generated by releasing water from a reservoir into the Olewiger Bach, located near Trier, Germany. This controlled release of near bank-full flows allowed an investigation of the fine sediment (<63 μm) mobilized from channel storage. Both a winter (November) and a summer (June) release event were generated, each having very different antecedent flow conditions. The characteristics of the release hydrographs and the associated sediment transport indicated a reverse hysteresis with more mass, but smaller grain sizes, moving on the falling limb. Fine sediment stored to a depth of 10 cm in the gravels decreased following the release events, indicating the dynamic nature and importance of channel-stored sediments as source materials during high flow events. Sediment traps, filled with clean natural gravel, were buried in riffles before the release of the reservoir water and the total mass of fine sediment collected by the traps was measured following the events. Twice the mass of fine sediment was retained by the gravel traps compared with the natural gravels, which may be due to their altered porosity. Although the amount of fine sediment collected by the traps was not significantly related to measures of gravel structure, it was found to be significantly correlated to measures of local flow velocity and Froude number. A portion of the traps were fitted with lids to restrict surface exchange of water and sediment. These collected the highest amounts of event-mobilized sediments, indicating that inter-gravel lateral flows, not just surface infiltration of sediments, are important in replenishing and redistributing the channel-stored fines. These findings regarding the magnitude and direction of fine sediment movement in gravel beds are significant in both a geomorphic and a biological context. Copyright  2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.