Evaluating channel response to an extreme sedimentation event in the context of historical range of variability: Upper Colorado River, USA

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Volumn 38, Issue 4, 2013, Pages 391-406

  Rathburn, Sara L ^a   Rubin, Zan K ^a   Wohl, Ellen E ^a  

^a Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery   (United States)

Author keywords

Channel adjustment; Colorado River; Debris flow; Historical range of variability; Rocky Mountain National Park; Step pool; Stream restoration

Indexed keywords

CHANNEL ADJUSTMENT; COLORADO RIVER; DEBRIS FLOWS; HISTORICAL RANGE OF VARIABILITY; ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK; STEP-POOL; STREAM RESTORATION;

DEBRIS; LAKES; SEDIMENTOLOGY; SEDIMENTS;

RIVERS;

DEBRIS FLOW; GRAIN SIZE; RIVER CHANNEL; SEDIMENT TRANSPORT; SEDIMENTATION; STREAM;

COLORADO; COLORADO RIVER [NORTH AMERICA]; ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK; UNITED STATES;

EID: 84875515007     PISSN: 01979337     EISSN: 10969837     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/esp.3329     Document Type: Article

References (75)

1. Abrahams AD, Li G, Atkinson JF. 1995. Step-pool streams: adjustment to maximum flow resistance. Water Resources Research 31: 2593-2602.
2. Allen TF, Hoeskstra TW. 1992. Toward a Unified Ecology. Columbia University Press: New York.
3. Andrews E. 1980. Effective and bankfull discharges of streams in the Yampa River basin, Colorado and Wyoming. Journal of Hydrology 46: 311-330.
4. Andrews E, Nankervis J. 1995. Effective discharge and the design of channel maintenance flows for gravel-bed rivers. Natural and anthropogenic influences in fluvial geomorphology. Geophysical Monograph 89: 151-164.
5. Benda L, Dunne T. 1987. Sediment routing by debris flow. In Erosion and Sedimentation in the Pacific Rim, Corvallis, OR. International Association of Hydrological Sciences 165: 213-223.
6. Biedenharn D, Copeland R, Thorne C, Soar P, Hey R. 2000. Effective Discharge Calculation: A Practical Guiderep. US Army Corps of Engineers: Vicksburg, MS.
7. Billi P, D'Agostino VD, Lenzi MA, Marchi L. 1998. Bedload, slope and channel processes in a high-altitude alpine torrent. In Gravel-bed Rivers in the Environment, Klingeman PC, Beschta RL, Komar PD, Bradley JB (eds). Water Resources Publications, LLC: Highlands Ranch, CO; 15-37.
8. Bisson PA, Bilby RE, Bryant MD, Dolloff CA, Grette GB, House RA, Murphy ML, Koski KV, Sedell JR. 1987. Large woody debris in forested streams in the Pacific Northwest; past, present and future. In Streamside Management Forestry and Fishery Interactions, Salo EO, Cundy TA (eds). Institute for Forest Resources Contribution: University of Washington; 57:143-190.
9. Braddock WA, Cole JC. 1990. Geologic Map of Rocky Mountain National Park and Vicinity, Colorado. US Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series Map I-1973. US Geological Survey: Reston, VA.
10. Bravo-Espinosa M, Osterkamp WR, Lopes VL. 2003. Bedload transport in alluvial channels. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers 129(10): 783-795.
11. Bunte K, Abt SR, Potyondy JP, Ryan SE. 2004. Measurement of coarse gravel and cobble transport using portable bedload traps. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, American Society of Civil Engineers 130(9): 879-893.
12. Bunte K, Swingle KW, Abt SR. 2007. Guidelines for using Bedload Traps in Coarse-bedded Mountain Streams; Construction, Installation, Operation, and Sample Processing, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-191. US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fort Collins, CO; 91.
13. Caine N. 1984. Elevational contrasts in contemporary geomorphic activity in the Colorado Front Range. Studia Geomorphologicia Carpatho-Balcanica, Krakow 18: 5-31.
14. Capesius J, Stephens V. 2010. Regional Regression Equations for Estimation of Natural Streamflow Statistics in Colorado, Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5136U. US Geological Survey: Reston, VA.
15. Chin A. 1999. The morphologic structure of step-pools in mountain streams. Geomorphology 27: 191-204.
16. Clayton JA, Westbrook CJ. 2008. The effect of the Grand Ditch on the abundance of benthic invertebrates in the Colorado River, Rocky Mountain National Park. River Research and Applications 24: 975-987. DOI. 10:1002/rra.1117
17. Cordova KP. 2006. Assessment of Injury to Vegetation, Grand Ditch Breach, May 30, 2003. Draft report prepared for Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain National Park: Estes Park, CO.
18. Curran JC, Wilcock PR. 2005. Characteristic dimensions of the step-pool bed configuration: an experimental study. Water Resources Research 41: W0203. DOI. 10.1029/2004WR003568
19. Curran JH, Wohl EE. 2003. Large woody debris and flow resistance in step-pool channels, Cascade Range, Washington. Geomorphology 51: 141-157. DOI. 10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00333-1
20. David GCL, Wohl EE, Yochum SE, Bledsoe BP. 2010. Controls on spatial variations in flow resistance along steep mountain streams. Water Resources Research 46: W03513. DOI. 10.1029/2009WR008134
21. Dietrich WE, Dunne T. 1978. Sediment budget for a small catchment in mountainous terrain. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie N.F. Supplementband 29: 191-206.
22. Doyle M, Shields K, Boyd K, Skidmore P, Dominick D. 2007. Channel-forming discharge selection in river restoration design. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering 133: 831-837.
23. Ehrenfeld JG. 2001. Defining the limits of restoration: the need for realistic goals. Restoration Ecology 8: 2-9.
24. Emmett W, Wolman M. 2001. Effective discharge and gravel-bed rives. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26: 1369-1380.
25. Gomi T. 2002. Dynamics of Sediment and Woody Debris in Headwater Streams, Southeast Alaska. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; 200.
26. Gomi T, Sidle RC. 2003. Bedload transport in managed steep-gradient head water streams of southern Alaska. Water Resources Research 39: 1336. DOI. 10.1029/2003WR002440
27. Gran K, Montgomery D. 2005. Spatial and temporal patters in fluvial recovery following volcanic eruption: channel response to basin-wide sediment loading at Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. Geological Society of America Bulletin 103: 723-736.
28. Grant GE, Swanson FJ, Schmidt KH, Wolman MG. 1990. Pattern and origin of stepped-bed morphology in high-gradient streams, Western Cascades, Oregon. Geological Society of America Bulletin 102: 340-352.
29. Grimsley K. 2012. A Debris Flow Chronology and Analysis of Controls on Debris Flow Occurrence in the Upper Colorado River Valley, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
30. Grimsley K, Rathburn SL, Grosicki G. 2011. A debris flow chronology and an analysis of controls on debris flow occurrence, Upper Colorado River Valley, CO, American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstracts with Program, EP31B-0822. American Geophysical Union: Washington, DC.
31. Hassan MA, Church M, Lisle TE, Brardinoni F, Benda L, Grant GE. 2005. Sediment transport and channel morphology of small, forested streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association Paper 04072: 853-876.
32. Imaizumi F, Gomi T, Kobayashi S, Negishi JN. 2008. Changes in bedload transport rate associated with episodic sediment supply in a Japanese headwater channel. Catena 77: 207-215.
33. Kaufmann MR, Graham RT, Boyce DA, Moir WH, Perry L, Reynolds RT, Bassett RL, Mehlhop P, Edminster CB, Block WM, Corn PS. 1994. An Ecological Basis for Ecosystem Management, US Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-246. Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fort Collins, CO.
34. Keller EA, Swanson FJ. 1979. Effects of large organic material on channel form and fluvial process. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 4: 361-380.
35. Klingman PC, Emmett WW. 1982. Gravel bedload transport processes. In Gravel-bed Rivers: Fluvial Processes, Engineering and Management, Hey RD, Bathurst JC, Thorne CR (eds). John Wiley & Sons: Chichester; 141-169.
36. Landres PB, Morgan P, Swanson FJ. 1999. Overview of the use of natural variability concepts in managing ecological systems. Ecological Applications 9(4): 1179-1188.
37. Lenzi MA. 2001. Step-pool evolution in the Rio Cordon, northeastern Italy. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26: 991-1008. DOI. 10.1002/esp.239
38. Leopold LB. 1994. A View of the River. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA; 298.
39. Lisle TE. 1995. Effects of coarse woody debris and its removal on a channel affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington. Water Resources Research 31: 1797-1808.
40. Lisle TE. 2008. The evolution of sediment waves influenced by varying transport capacity in heterogeneous rivers. In Gravel Bed Rivers VI: From Process Understanding to River Restoration, Habersack H, Piegay H, Rinaldi M (eds). Elsevier: Amsterdam; 443-472.
41. Lisle TE, Cui Y, Parker G, Pizzuto JE, Dodd A. 2001. The dominance of dispersion in the evolution of bed material waves in gravel-bed rivers. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26: 1409-1420. DOI. 10.1002/ESP.300
42. Lisle TE, Nelson JM, Pitlick J, Madej MA, Barkett BL. 2000. Variability of bed mobility in natural gravel-bed channels and adjustments to sediment load at the local and reach scales. Water Resources Research 36: 3743-3756.
43. MacFarlane WA, Wohl EE. 2003. Influence of step composition and flow resistance in step-pool streams of the Washington Cascades. Water Resources Research 39: 3-11-3-13. DOI. 10.1029/2001WR001238
44. Madej MA, Ozaki V. 1996. Channel response to sediment wave propagation and movement, Redwood Creek, California, USA. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 21: 911-927.
45. McDonald A, Lane SN, Haycock NE, Chalk EA. 2004. Rivers of dreams: on the gulf between theoretical and practical aspects of an upland river restoration. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 29: 257-281.
46. Menounos B. 2000. A Holocene debris-flow chronology for an alpine catchment. In Colorado Front Range. Geomorphology, Human Activity and Global Environmental Change, Slaymaker O (ed.). John Wiley & Sons: Chichester; 117-149.
47. Morgan P, Aplet GH, Haufler JB, Humphries HC, Moore MM, Wilson WD. 1994. Historical range of variability: a useful tool for revaluating ecosystem change. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 2: 87-111.
48. Mosely MP. 1981. The influence of organic debris on channel morphology and bedload transport in a New Zealand forest stream. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 6: 571-579.
49. Nonaka E, Spies TA. 2005. Historical range of variability in landscape structure: a simulation study in Oregon, USA. Ecological Applications 15: 1727-1746.
50. Pickett STA. 1989. Space-for-time substitution as an alternative to long-term studies. In Long-term Studies in Ecology: Approaches and Alternatives, Liken GE (ed.). Springer-Verlag: New York; 110-135.
51. Pitlick J. 1993. Response and recovery of a subalpine stream following a catastrophic flood. Geological Society of America Bulletin 105: 657-670.
52. Rantz S. 1982. Measurement and Computation of Stream Flow: Volume 2, Computation of Discharge, USGS Water-supply Paper 2175. US Geological Survey: Reston, VA; 347.
53. Rathburn SL, Wohl EE. 2003. Predicting fine sediment dynamics along a pool-riffle mountain channel. Geomorphology 55: 111-124.
54. Rathburn SL, Grimsley K, Rubin ZK. 2011. Sediment Transport and Bed Material Grain Size Distributions along the Upper Colorado River, Rocky Mountain National Park. American Geophysical Union Meeting Abstracts with Program, San Francisco, CA, EP51A-0833.
55. Rubin ZK. 2010. Post-glacial Valley Evolution and Post-disturbance Channel Response as a Context for Restoration, Upper Colorado River, Rocky Mountain National Park. Unpublished MS Thesis, Department of Geosciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO; 143.
56. Rubin ZK, Rathburn SL, Wohl EE, Harry DH. 2012. Historic range of variability in geomorphic processes as a context for restoration: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. DOI. 10.1002/esp.2249
57. Ryan SE, Dwire KA, Dixon MK. 2011. Impacts of wildfire on runoff and sediment loads at Little Granite Creek, western Wyoming. Geomorphology 129: 113-130.
58. Sanford B. 2010. Implications of Hydrothermal Alteration for Landscape Stability and Environmental Geochemistry. Paper presented at Rocky Mountain National Park Research Conference. Rocky Mountain National Park: Estes Park, CO.
59. Schumm SA, Parker RS. 1973. Implications of complex response of drainage systems for Quaternary alluvial stratigraphy. Nature 243: 99-100.
60. Stoddard JL, Larsen DP, Hawkins CP, Johnson RK, Norris RH. 2006. Setting expectations for the ecological conditions of streams: the concept of reference condition. Freshwater Bioassessment 16: 1267-1276.
61. Sutherland D, Hansler Ball M, Hilton S, Lisle T. 2002. Evolution of a landslide-induced sediment wave in the Navarro River, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 114: 1036-1048.
62. Swanson FJ, Lienkaemper GW, Sedell JR. 1976. History, Physical Effects, and Management Implications of Large Organic Debris in Western Oregon Streams, US Forest Service General Technical Report PNW-56. USDA Forest Service: Washington, DC.
63. Turner MG, Dale VH, Everham EH. 1997. Fires, hurricanes, and volcanoes: comparing large disturbances. BioScience 47: 758-768.
64. Ward JV, Tockner K, Uehlinger U, Malard F. 2001. Understanding natural patterns and processes in river corridors as the basis for effective river restoration. Regulated Rivers: Research & Management 17: 311-323.
65. Westbrook CJ, Cooper DJ, Baker BW. 2006. Beaver dams and overbank floods influence groundwater-surface water interactions of a Rocky Mountain riparian area. Water Resources Research 42: W06404.
66. Wilcox AC, Wohl EE, Comiti F, Mao L. 2011. Hydraulics, morphology, and energy dissipation in an alpine step-pool channel. Water Resources Research 47: W07514. DOI. 10.1029/2010WR010192
67. Williams GP. 1978. Bank-full discharge of rivers. Water Resources Research 14: 1141-1154.
68. Wohl E. 2011. What should these rivers look like? Historical range of variability and human impacts in the Colorado Front Range, USA. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 36: 1378-1390.
69. Wohl E, Cadol D. 2011. Neighborhood matters: patterns and controls on wood distribution in old-growth forest streams of the Colorado Front Range, USA. Geomorphology 125: 132-146.
70. Wohl E, Cenderelli D. 2000. Sediment deposition and transport patterns following a reservoir sediment release. Water Resources Research 36: 319-333.
71. Wohl E, Dust E. 2012. Geomorphic response of a headwater channel to flow augmentation. Geomorphology 138: 329-338.
72. Wolman MG. 1954. A method of sampling coarse river-bed material. Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 35(6): 951-956.
73. Wolman MG, Miller JP. 1960. Magnitude and frequency of forces in geomorphic processes. Journal of Geology 68: 54-74.
74. Woods S. 2000. Hydrologic Effects of the Grand Ditch on Streams and Wetlands in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Unpublished Thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
75. Zimmermann A, Church M. 2001. Channel morphology, gradient profiles and bed stresses during flood in a step-pool channel. Geomorphology 40: 311-327.