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The 1996 Controlled Flood in Grand Canyon: Flow, Sediment Transport, and Geomorphic Change

2001; Wiley; Volume: 11; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3061108

1939-5582

John C. Schmidt, Roderic A. Parnell, Paul E. Grams, Joseph E. Hazel, Matt Kaplinski, Lawrence E. Stevens, Timothy L. Hoffnagle,

Soil erosion and sediment transport

Ecological ApplicationsVolume 11, Issue 3 p. 657-671 Article THE 1996 CONTROLLED FLOOD IN GRAND CANYON: FLOW, SEDIMENT TRANSPORT, AND GEOMORPHIC CHANGE John C. Schmidt, John C. Schmidt Department of Geography and Earth Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-5240 USASearch for more papers by this authorRoderic A. Parnell, Roderic A. Parnell Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorPaul E. Grams, Paul E. Grams Department of Geography and Earth Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-5240 USASearch for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Hazel, Joseph E. Hazel Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorMatthew A. Kaplinski, Matthew A. Kaplinski Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorLawrence E. Stevens, Lawrence E. Stevens Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, P.O. Box 1315, Flagstaff, Arizona 86002 USASearch for more papers by this authorTimothy L. Hoffnagle, Timothy L. Hoffnagle Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2221 W. Greenway Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85023 USASearch for more papers by this author John C. Schmidt, John C. Schmidt Department of Geography and Earth Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-5240 USASearch for more papers by this authorRoderic A. Parnell, Roderic A. Parnell Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorPaul E. Grams, Paul E. Grams Department of Geography and Earth Resources, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-5240 USASearch for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Hazel, Joseph E. Hazel Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorMatthew A. Kaplinski, Matthew A. Kaplinski Geology Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011 USASearch for more papers by this authorLawrence E. Stevens, Lawrence E. Stevens Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, P.O. Box 1315, Flagstaff, Arizona 86002 USASearch for more papers by this authorTimothy L. Hoffnagle, Timothy L. Hoffnagle Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2221 W. Greenway Road, Phoenix, Arizona 85023 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 June 2001 https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0657:TCFIGC]2.0.CO;2Citations: 63Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Abstract The 1996 controlled flood released from Glen Canyon Dam into the Colorado River was a small magnitude, short duration event compared to pre-dam floods. The controlled flood was of lesser magnitude than a 1.25-yr recurrence, and only 10% of the pre-dam spring snowmelt floods during the period 1922–1962 were of lower magnitude. The flood occurred unusually early: 36–38 d prior to any previous annual flood since 1922. The stage difference between the flood's peak and the recessional baseflow was smaller than in those pre-dam years of similar magnitude or annual volume. However, the controlled flood was large from the perspective of the post-dam flood regime. The flood had a recurrence of 5.1 yr for the period between 1963 and 1999 and a similar magnitude flood had not occurred in 10 yr. The sediment flux of the flood was small in relation to pre-dam floods, and the suspended sand concentration was within the historical variance for flows of similar magnitude. This flood reworked fine-grained deposits that are primarily composed of sand, but the flood caused much less reworking of coarser grained deposits. Scour primarily occurred in the offshore parts of eddies, in many eddy return-current channels, and in some parts of the main channel. Return-current channels constitute important nursery habitats for the native fishery when baseflows are low, because these channels become areas of stagnant and warmer water. The number and area of these backwaters increased greatly after the flood. Fluvial marshes were extensively scoured because these habitats occur in the low elevation centers of eddies where velocities during the flood were large. Riparian shrubs that were inundated along the banks were not scoured, however, because these shrubs occur where flood velocities were very low and where deposition of suspended sediment occurred. Some physical changes persisted for several years, but other changes, such as the area of newly formed backwaters decreased quickly. Thus, the lasting effect of this flood varied among different small-scale fluvial environments. Literature Cited Baker, V. R., R. C. Kochel, and P. C. Patton . 1988. Flood geomorphology. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA. Bevin, K. J., and P. A. Carling . 1989. Floods: hydrological, sedimentological and geomorphological implications. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA. Blinn, D. W., J. P. Shannon, L. E. Stevens, and J. P. Carder . 1995. Consequences of fluctuating discharge for lotic communities. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 14: 233– 248. Brock, J. T., T. V. Royer, E. B. Snyder, and S. A. Thomas . 1999. Periphyton metabolism: a chamber approach. Pages 217–223 in R. H. Webb, J. C. Schmidt, G. R. Marzolf, and R. A. Valdez, editors. The controlled flood in Grand Canyon. 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