Chetco River, Oregon
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Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Channel Change and Bed-Material Transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5065 Version 2.0, July 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover: Chetco River near Alfred A. Loeb State Park. (Photograph by Jim O’Connor, U.S. Geological Survey, September 2008. Channel Change and Bed-Material Transport in the Lower Chetco River, Oregon By J. Rose Wallick, Scott W. Anderson, Charles Cannon, and Jim E. O’Connor Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5065 Version 2.0, July 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010 Revised: 2012 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Wallick, J.R., Anderson, S.W., Cannon, Charles, and O’Connor, J.E., 2010, Channel change and bed-material transport in the lower Chetco River, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5065, 68 p. iii Contents Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................3 Background............................................................................................................................................3 Locations ...............................................................................................................................................3 Chetco River ...................................................................................................................................................4 Geography and Geology ......................................................................................................................4 Hydrology ...............................................................................................................................................4 Study Area..............................................................................................................................................6 Land-Use and Landscape Disturbance in Chetco River Basin .....................................................8 Forest Management and Fire .....................................................................................................8 Navigation Improvements ..........................................................................................................8 Chetco River Gravel Mining ......................................................................................................9 Valley Bottom Mapping and Analysis of Historical Channel Change ................................................10 Historical Changes in Channel Planform and Vegetation ............................................................11 Acquisition and Rectification of Historical Aerial Photographs ........................................11 Uncertainties and Limitations to Planimetric Mapping .......................................................12 Mapping Channel Features, Flood-Plain Vegetation, and Bank Materials .....................14 Results of Channel Mapping ....................................................................................................15 Results of Land Cover Mapping ..............................................................................................23 Vertical Changes in Channel Morphology and Bathymetry .........................................................23 Survey Data Used in Study .......................................................................................................24 Uncertainty and Limitations Associated with the Repeat Survey Data ............................26 Results of Repeat Surveys .......................................................................................................27 Historical Channel Change ................................................................................................................30 Bed Material—Characterization, Transport, and Budget .....................................................................32 Bed-Material Characterization and Source ...................................................................................32 Gravel Distribution and Textures .............................................................................................32 Sampling ......................................................................................................................................32 Assessment of Bed-Material Sizes ........................................................................................34 Bed-Material Lithology and Sources ....................................................................................36 Bed-Material Particle Attrition ................................................................................................36 Flow Modeling .....................................................................................................................................38 Direct Measurement of Bedload Transport ....................................................................................39 Sampling ......................................................................................................................................39 Results and Discussion of Bedload Sampling .....................................................................44 Estimation of Bed-Material Transport Rates Using Established Transport Equations ............44 Equation Selection and Analysis ............................................................................................44 Results and Discussion of Bed-Material Transport Equation Calculations ....................50 iv Contents—Continued Estimation of Bed-Material Flux by Assessment of Channel Change ........................................53 Morphologic Analysis ...............................................................................................................53 Assessment of Sediment Volumes from Morphologic Analysis ........................................59 Bed-Material Sediment Budget for the Lower Chetco River ......................................................60 Comparison with Sediment Yield from Regional Drainage Basins .............................................61 Summary of Bed-Material Observations and Analyses ...............................................................61 Summary .......................................................................................................................................................62 Primary Findings..................................................................................................................................62 Implications Regarding Possible Future Trends and Monitoring Strategies ............................63 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................64 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................64 Figures Figure 1. Map showing drainage basin and study area, Chetco River, Oregon …………… 2 Figure 2. Graphs showing flow records for USGS streamflow-gaging station 14400000, Chetco River near Brookings, Oregon …………………………………………… 5 Figure 3. Map and orthophotograph showing example of alternate bar sequence near flood-plain kilometer 11, Chetco River, Oregon …………………………………… 6 Figure 4. Graph showing channel bed and water-surface elevations along study area, Chetco River, Oregon ……………………………………………………………… 7 Figure 5. Graph showing annual and cumulative navigational dredging volumes, 1962–2008, Chetco River, Oregon ………………………………………………… 9 Figure 6. Graph showing annual and cumulative extraction volume for instream commercial gravel mining, Chetco River, Oregon, 1993–2008 …………………… 10 Figure 7. Graph showing bar area inundation compared with discharge, Chetco River, Oregon …………………………………………………………………………… 13 Figure 8. Oblique photographs showing examples of landcover mapping categories, as depicted in an orthophotograph from 2005 near flood-plain kilometer 9 of the Chetco River, Oregon ……………………………………………………………… 15 Figure 9. Graphs showing summary of channel change in the study area, Chetco River, Oregon, 1939–2008 ………………………………………………………………… 16 Figure