S.R. Fassnacht's Sediment Research - Colorado State University
ABSTRACTS from various sediment related papers
SEDIMENT TRANSPORT AND CHANNEL STABILITY
previous work:
From 1991 to 1994, I was involved in the Northern Oil and Gas Action Program (NOGAP) in the Mackenzie River Delta, NWT, Canada.
This Environment Canada multi-disciplinary project examined the hydrologic and sediment regime of the Mackenzie Delta area to
provide an understanding required for environmental assessment and engineering design of future oil and gas infrastructure.
My involvement entailed:
- the application of a hydraulic flow model (ONE-D),
- bathymetric data were collected for the model
- methodologies were developed to improve vertical control for cross-sectional data
- systematic calibration of the model using geomorphological channel characteristics
- the development of a multi-channel suspended sediment transport model (FOSH-MC),
- model linkage of an advection-dispersion sediment model and an hydraulic model to consider network sediment movement
- process investigations to understand sedimentation/erosion activity at channel bi(tri)furcations
- initial application to the Slave River Delta, NWT
- the investigation of channel stability at three locations.
- examine channel dynamics and/or stability at potential pipeline crossings
- investigate channel stability at an anomalous 'scour hole' in the East Channel (Mackenzie Delta).
Upstream of this location, the channel is ~ 200 m wide and 5 m deep with a thalweg of ~12 m.
At the 'scour hole', the channel deepens to 30 m. There is spherical (3-D) flow in the area of the hole.
This flow appears to be maintaining the hole. The origin of the hole is unknown, but likely cryospheric.
current interests and possible future work:
Three potential study areas are:
- the Mackenzie River Delta,
- to revisit the Channel Stability issues
- the Slave River Delta,
- to investigate channel geomorphic processes, especially at bifurcations
- to model the hydraulics and sediment regime of the system in order to distinguish between climatic and anthropogenic induced changes.
This model would use aerial photographs with GIS to investigate changes since 1933.
- to investigate variations in sediment and fluvial inputs into the Great Slave Lake
- the Colorado River Delta,
- similar to the work proposed for the Slave River Delta
srf@cnr.colostate.edu
©2002-5
Last update: SRF, 2005.X.04