Ferguson, Robert I. (2021) 'Roughness Calibration to Improve Flow Predictions in Coarse‐Bed Streams.', Water Resources Research, 57 (6). e2021WR029979.
Abstract
Logarithmic and variable-power equations that use the bed D84 grain size as a roughness metric reproduce the general trend of flow resistance in streams with coarse beds, but they are unreliable for predictions in individual reaches. For site-specific application of these equations, I propose that an effective roughness height can be calibrated by making a single flow measurement. I test this idea using published velocity-depth data for eight coarse-bed reaches of varied character. In 52 trials (8 reaches × 2 equations × 3 or 4 alternative calibration measurements), single-measurement calibration reduced the root-mean-square error in predicting velocity at all depths by up to 79% (median 66%) compared to using D84. This approach may be useful when prescribing environmental flows, estimating bankfull discharge, or predicting bedload transport in coarse-bed channels in which Manning's n is likely to vary considerably with discharge.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Full text: | (VoR) Version of Record Available under License - Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Download PDF (1125Kb) |
Status: | Peer-reviewed |
Publisher Web site: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021WR029979 |
Publisher statement: | © 2021. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Date accepted: | 29 May 2021 |
Date deposited: | 13 August 2021 |
Date of first online publication: | 14 June 2021 |
Date first made open access: | 13 August 2021 |
Save or Share this output
Export: | |
Look up in GoogleScholar |