Modeling the impact of dam removal on channel evolution and sediment delivery in a multiple dam setting

Poeppl, R.E.; Coulthard, T.; Keesstra, S.D.; Keiler, Margreth (2019). Modeling the impact of dam removal on channel evolution and sediment delivery in a multiple dam setting. International journal of sediment research, 34(6), pp. 537-549. International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation IRTCES 10.1016/j.ijsrc.2019.06.001

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Dam removal can generate geomorphic disturbances, including channel bed and bank erosion andassociated abrupt/pulsed release and downstream transfer of reservoir sediment, but the type and rate ofgeomorphic response often are hard to predict. The situation gets even more complex in systems whichhave been impacted by multiple dams and a long and complex engineering history. In previous studiesone-dimensional (1-D) models were used to predict aspects of post-removal channel change. However,these models do not consider two-dimensional (2-D) effects of dam removal such as bank erosionprocesses and lateral migration. In the current study the impacts of multiple dams and their removal onchannel evolution and sediment delivery were modeled by using a 2-D landscape evolution model(CAESAR-Lisflood) focusing on the following aspects: patterns, rates, and processes of geomorphicchange and associated sediment delivery on annual to decadal timescales. The current modeling studyrevealed that geomorphic response to dam removal (i.e., channel evolution and associated rates ofsediment delivery) in multiple dam settings is variable and complex in space and time. Complexity ingeomorphic system response is related to differences in dam size, the proximity of upstream dams,related buffering effects and associated rates of upstream sediment supply, and emerging feedbackprocesses as well as to the presence of channel stabilization measures. Modeled types and rates ofgeomorphic adjustment, using the 2-D landscape evolution model CAESAR-Lisflood, are similar to thosereported in previous studies. Moreover, the use of a 2-D method showed some advantages compared to1-D models, generating spatially varying patterns of erosion and deposition before and after damremoval that provide morphologies that are more readily comparable tofield data as well as features likethe lateral re-working of past reservoir deposits which further enables the maintenance of sedimentdelivery downstream.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography > Physical Geography > Unit Geomorphology
08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography
08 Faculty of Science > Institute of Geography > Physical Geography
10 Strategic Research Centers > Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) > MobiLab

UniBE Contributor:

Keiler, Margreth

Subjects:

900 History > 910 Geography & travel

ISSN:

1001-6279

Publisher:

International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation IRTCES

Language:

English

Submitter:

Chantal Laeticia Schmidt

Date Deposited:

12 Dec 2019 08:28

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:33

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.ijsrc.2019.06.001

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Reservoir and river management, Landscape evolution modeling, Sediment pulses, River engineering, Legacy effects, Complexity

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.136507

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/136507

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