MRI: Acquisition of Multiple Instruments for the College of Natural Resources, Humboldt State University, California for the Investigation of Fluvial Sediment Transport ....

Cal Poly Humboldt Sponsored Programs Foundation, Arcata CA

Investigators

Abstract

0116726 Cashman This grant, funded by the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, provides support for multiple research instruments for laboratory and field investigations of fluvial sediment transport. The instrumentation requested is an interrelated group of equipment necessary for the investigation of sediment transport processes within a watershed. The proposed research instrumentation includes instrumentation for fine-scaled field data collection of suspended sediment concentration, turbidity and topography within a watershed and data collection instrumentation that allows for the quantification of flow velocity and discharge, bed load material transport, suspended load material transport and turbidity levels in the fluid flow. Examples of the instrumentation purchased with the support of this grant include a real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS mapping system, a field two-dimensional acoustic doppler velocimeter (ADV), an automated field turbidity sampling station and photographic equipment and software to analyze changes in topography due to sediment movement. The principal users of the sediment transport research instrumentation are faculty in the College of Natural Resources and Science departments at Humboldt State University (HSU). The primary research areas include: (1) identifying the effects of watershed characteristics such as channel slope, stream velocity and particle size distribution on sediment transport, (2) quantification and verification of the relationship between turbidity and suspended sediment concentration, (3) quantification of sediment transport under varying flow regimes and sediment supply conditions, and (4) laboratory calibration of mathematical modeling of transport. The acquisition of this equipment enhances the opportunity for research training of HSU students in the College of Natural Resources. This group of instrumentation facilitates research that encompasses multi-disciplines and explores the connection between field data collection, laboratory physical modeling and computer mathematical modeling. This research instrumentation has the potential to result in significant improvements to the field estimation of suspended sediment concentrations and bed load transport in rivers. ***