This report documents river response to hydrologic disturbance along a 140-km segment of the main... more This report documents river response to hydrologic disturbance along a 140-km segment of the mainstem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA by assessing fundamental indicators of active sediment transport and dynamic changes in riparian vegetation. A combination of field and remote sensing methods were used to document river response to natural rainfall-runoff events (e.g., 2006 and 2017) and managed flow releases (e.g., 2016 to 2019). Field data provide direct evidence of near-bed sediment transport, episodic scour and fill, and surface flushing of alluvial margins. Remote-sensing data provide spatially-continuous summaries of alluvial features and dynamic vegetation changes. These physical datasets validate channel maintenance flows proposed by Shea and others (2016). Sediment mobility thresholds defined at two USGS gaging stations were 5,210 ft3/s at Iron Gate Dam and 8,810 ft3/s at Seiad Valley. Peak flows during water years 2006 and 2017 resulted in 1 to 2 feet of aggradation o...
The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildli... more The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, compiled a map of geomorphic features along a 140-km segment of the main stem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA. Flood disturbance within the study reach is produced by the combined effect of natural flows and reservoir releases. The physical response of the Klamath River to flood disturbance is strongly dependent upon sediment storage in bars and floodplains. The map provides a summary of channel and riparian features that was used to estimate sediment storage in bars and floodplains. Study results will be useful for interpreting linkages among physical and biological processes and for evaluating the effectiveness of flow management targeted to improve river conditions for endangered salmonid populations. The geomorphic map is contained within an ArcGIS geodatabase (v.10.6.1). The structure of the geodatabase and the methods used to delineate individual geomorphic fea...
ABSTRACT We used ground-based Tripod LiDAR (T-LiDAR) to assess the stability of two engineered st... more ABSTRACT We used ground-based Tripod LiDAR (T-LiDAR) to assess the stability of two engineered structures: a bridge spanning the San Andreas fault following the M6. 0 Parkfield earthquake in Central California and a newly built coastal breakwater located at the Kaumālapa 'u Harbor Lana'i, Hawaii. In the 10 weeks following the earthquake, we found that the surface under the bridge shifted 7.1 cm with an additional 2.6 cm of motion in the subsequent 13 weeks, which deflected the bridge's northern I-beam support 4.3 cm and ...
On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in e... more On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in eastern Yosemite Valley, damaging cabins in Curry Village and causing minor injuries. Subsequent investigation of these rock falls was aided by high resolution photographs and ground-based terrestrial laser scans (LiDAR) of the Glacier Point area collected one year earlier as part of
On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in e... more On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in eastern Yosemite Valley, damaging cabins in Curry Village and causing minor injuries. Subsequent investigation of these rock falls was aided by high resolution photographs and ground-based terrestrial laser scans (LiDAR) of the Glacier Point area collected one year earlier as part of
ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segm... more ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segment of a now bypassed old meander belt on Twitchell Island, California, to understand the effects of live and decaying root systems on levee seepage and slope stability. The field test in May 2012 was centered on a north-south trench with two segments: a shorter control segment and a longer seepage test segment. The complete length of the trench area measured 40.4 meters (m) near the levee centerline with mature trees located on the waterside and landside of the levee flanks. The levee was instrumented with piezometers and tensiometers to measure positive and negative porewater pressures across the levee after the trench was flooded with water and held at a constant head during the seepage test—the results from this component of experiment are not discussed in this report. We collected more than one billion three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) data points before, during, and after the centerline seepage test to assess centimeter-scale stability of the two trees and the levee crown. During the seepage test, the waterside tree toppled (rotated 20.7 degrees) into the water. The landside tree rotated away from the levee by 5 centimeters (cm) at a height of 2 m on the tree. The paved surface of the levee crown had three regions that showed subsidence on the waterside of the trench—discussed as the northern, central, and southern features. The northern feature is an elongate region that subsided 2.1 cm over an area that extends 15.8 m parallel from the northern end of the trench to just north of the trench midpoint with an average width of about 1.35 m, and is associated with a crack 1 cm in height that formed during the seepage test on the trench wall. The central subsidence feature is a semicircular region on the waterside of the trench that subsided by as much as 6.2 cm over an area 3.4 m wide and 11.2 m long. The southern feature is an elongate region that has a maximum subsidence of 3.5 cm over an area 0.75 m wide and 8.1 m long and is associated with a number of small fractures in the pavement that are predominately north-south-trending and parallel to the trench. We determined that there was no significant motion of the levee flank during the last week of the seepage test. We also determined biomorphic parameters for the landside tree, such as the 3D positioning on the levee, tree height, levee parallel/perpendicular cross sectional area, and canopy centroid. These biomorphic parameters were requested by the University of California Berkeley) team to be used in their analysis and computer modeling, which included assessing the wind footprint (cross-sectional area) of the landside tree on the levee. A gridded, 2-cm bare-earth digital elevation model of the levee crown and the landside levee flank from the final terrestrial lidar (T-Lidar) survey provided detailed topographic data for future assessment. Because the T-Lidar was not integrated into the project design, other than an initial courtesy dataset to help characterize the levee surface, our ability to contribute to the overall science goals of the seepage test was limited. Therefore, our analysis focused on developing data collection and processing methodology necessary to align ultra high-resolution T-Lidar data (with an average spot spacing 2–3 millimeters on the levee crown) from several instrument setup locations to detect, measure, and characterize dynamic centimeter-scale deformation and surface changes during the seepage test.
ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segm... more ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segment of a now bypassed old meander belt on Twitchell Island, California, to understand the effects of live and decaying root systems on levee seepage and slope stability. The field test in May 2012 was centered on a north-south trench with two segments: a shorter control segment and a longer seepage test segment. The complete length of the trench area measured 40.4 meters (m) near the levee centerline with mature trees located on the waterside and landside of the levee flanks. The levee was instrumented with piezometers and tensiometers to measure positive and negative porewater pressures across the levee after the trench was flooded with water and held at a constant head during the seepage test—the results from this component of experiment are not discussed in this report. We collected more than one billion three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) data points before, during, and after the centerline seepage test to assess centimeter-scale stability of the two trees and the levee crown. During the seepage test, the waterside tree toppled (rotated 20.7 degrees) into the water. The landside tree rotated away from the levee by 5 centimeters (cm) at a height of 2 m on the tree. The paved surface of the levee crown had three regions that showed subsidence on the waterside of the trench—discussed as the northern, central, and southern features. The northern feature is an elongate region that subsided 2.1 cm over an area that extends 15.8 m parallel from the northern end of the trench to just north of the trench midpoint with an average width of about 1.35 m, and is associated with a crack 1 cm in height that formed during the seepage test on the trench wall. The central subsidence feature is a semicircular region on the waterside of the trench that subsided by as much as 6.2 cm over an area 3.4 m wide and 11.2 m long. The southern feature is an elongate region that has a maximum subsidence of 3.5 cm over an area 0.75 m wide and 8.1 m long and is associated with a number of small fractures in the pavement that are predominately north-south-trending and parallel to the trench. We determined that there was no significant motion of the levee flank during the last week of the seepage test. We also determined biomorphic parameters for the landside tree, such as the 3D positioning on the levee, tree height, levee parallel/perpendicular cross sectional area, and canopy centroid. These biomorphic parameters were requested by the University of California Berkeley) team to be used in their analysis and computer modeling, which included assessing the wind footprint (cross-sectional area) of the landside tree on the levee. A gridded, 2-cm bare-earth digital elevation model of the levee crown and the landside levee flank from the final terrestrial lidar (T-Lidar) survey provided detailed topographic data for future assessment. Because the T-Lidar was not integrated into the project design, other than an initial courtesy dataset to help characterize the levee surface, our ability to contribute to the overall science goals of the seepage test was limited. Therefore, our analysis focused on developing data collection and processing methodology necessary to align ultra high-resolution T-Lidar data (with an average spot spacing 2–3 millimeters on the levee crown) from several instrument setup locations to detect, measure, and characterize dynamic centimeter-scale deformation and surface changes during the seepage test.
... Acknowledgments. We thank David Haddad and Michel Jaboyedoff for constructive manuscript revi... more ... Acknowledgments. We thank David Haddad and Michel Jaboyedoff for constructive manuscript reviews, and Steve Martel and Jonathan Stock for commenting on an earlier draft. We appreciate the assistance of the many volunteer ...
High-resolution ground-based light detection and ranging (lidar), also known as terrestrial laser... more High-resolution ground-based light detection and ranging (lidar), also known as terrestrial laser scanning, was used to quantify the volume of mercury-contaminated sediment eroded from a stream cutbank at Stocking Flat along Deer Creek in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 3 kilometers west of Nevada City, California. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to collect sub-centimeter, three-dimensional images of the complex cutbank surface, which could not be mapped non-destructively or in sufficient detail with traditional surveying techniques. The stream cutbank, which is approximately 50 meters long and 8 meters high, was surveyed on four occasions: December 1, 2010; January 20, 2011; May 12, 2011; and February 4, 2013. Volumetric changes were determined between the sequential, three-dimensional lidar surveys. Volume was calculated by two methods, and the average value is reported. Between the first and second surveys (December 1, 2010, to January 20, 2011), a volume of 143 plus or minus 15 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by Deer Creek. Between the second and third surveys (January 20, 2011, to May 12, 2011), a volume of 207 plus or minus 24 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by the stream. Total volumetric change during the winter and spring of 2010–11 was 350 plus or minus 28 cubic meters. Between the third and fourth surveys (May 12, 2011, to February 4, 2013), the differencing of the three-dimensional lidar data indicated that a volume of 18 plus or minus 10 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank. The total volume of sediment eroded from the cutbank between the first and fourth surveys was 368 plus or minus 30 cubic meters.
This report documents river response to hydrologic disturbance along a 140-km segment of the main... more This report documents river response to hydrologic disturbance along a 140-km segment of the mainstem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA by assessing fundamental indicators of active sediment transport and dynamic changes in riparian vegetation. A combination of field and remote sensing methods were used to document river response to natural rainfall-runoff events (e.g., 2006 and 2017) and managed flow releases (e.g., 2016 to 2019). Field data provide direct evidence of near-bed sediment transport, episodic scour and fill, and surface flushing of alluvial margins. Remote-sensing data provide spatially-continuous summaries of alluvial features and dynamic vegetation changes. These physical datasets validate channel maintenance flows proposed by Shea and others (2016). Sediment mobility thresholds defined at two USGS gaging stations were 5,210 ft3/s at Iron Gate Dam and 8,810 ft3/s at Seiad Valley. Peak flows during water years 2006 and 2017 resulted in 1 to 2 feet of aggradation o...
The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildli... more The USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, compiled a map of geomorphic features along a 140-km segment of the main stem Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam, CA. Flood disturbance within the study reach is produced by the combined effect of natural flows and reservoir releases. The physical response of the Klamath River to flood disturbance is strongly dependent upon sediment storage in bars and floodplains. The map provides a summary of channel and riparian features that was used to estimate sediment storage in bars and floodplains. Study results will be useful for interpreting linkages among physical and biological processes and for evaluating the effectiveness of flow management targeted to improve river conditions for endangered salmonid populations. The geomorphic map is contained within an ArcGIS geodatabase (v.10.6.1). The structure of the geodatabase and the methods used to delineate individual geomorphic fea...
ABSTRACT We used ground-based Tripod LiDAR (T-LiDAR) to assess the stability of two engineered st... more ABSTRACT We used ground-based Tripod LiDAR (T-LiDAR) to assess the stability of two engineered structures: a bridge spanning the San Andreas fault following the M6. 0 Parkfield earthquake in Central California and a newly built coastal breakwater located at the Kaumālapa 'u Harbor Lana'i, Hawaii. In the 10 weeks following the earthquake, we found that the surface under the bridge shifted 7.1 cm with an additional 2.6 cm of motion in the subsequent 13 weeks, which deflected the bridge's northern I-beam support 4.3 cm and ...
On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in e... more On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in eastern Yosemite Valley, damaging cabins in Curry Village and causing minor injuries. Subsequent investigation of these rock falls was aided by high resolution photographs and ground-based terrestrial laser scans (LiDAR) of the Glacier Point area collected one year earlier as part of
On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in e... more On October 7 and 8, 2008, two large rock falls occurred from the cliff beneath Glacier Point in eastern Yosemite Valley, damaging cabins in Curry Village and causing minor injuries. Subsequent investigation of these rock falls was aided by high resolution photographs and ground-based terrestrial laser scans (LiDAR) of the Glacier Point area collected one year earlier as part of
ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segm... more ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segment of a now bypassed old meander belt on Twitchell Island, California, to understand the effects of live and decaying root systems on levee seepage and slope stability. The field test in May 2012 was centered on a north-south trench with two segments: a shorter control segment and a longer seepage test segment. The complete length of the trench area measured 40.4 meters (m) near the levee centerline with mature trees located on the waterside and landside of the levee flanks. The levee was instrumented with piezometers and tensiometers to measure positive and negative porewater pressures across the levee after the trench was flooded with water and held at a constant head during the seepage test—the results from this component of experiment are not discussed in this report. We collected more than one billion three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) data points before, during, and after the centerline seepage test to assess centimeter-scale stability of the two trees and the levee crown. During the seepage test, the waterside tree toppled (rotated 20.7 degrees) into the water. The landside tree rotated away from the levee by 5 centimeters (cm) at a height of 2 m on the tree. The paved surface of the levee crown had three regions that showed subsidence on the waterside of the trench—discussed as the northern, central, and southern features. The northern feature is an elongate region that subsided 2.1 cm over an area that extends 15.8 m parallel from the northern end of the trench to just north of the trench midpoint with an average width of about 1.35 m, and is associated with a crack 1 cm in height that formed during the seepage test on the trench wall. The central subsidence feature is a semicircular region on the waterside of the trench that subsided by as much as 6.2 cm over an area 3.4 m wide and 11.2 m long. The southern feature is an elongate region that has a maximum subsidence of 3.5 cm over an area 0.75 m wide and 8.1 m long and is associated with a number of small fractures in the pavement that are predominately north-south-trending and parallel to the trench. We determined that there was no significant motion of the levee flank during the last week of the seepage test. We also determined biomorphic parameters for the landside tree, such as the 3D positioning on the levee, tree height, levee parallel/perpendicular cross sectional area, and canopy centroid. These biomorphic parameters were requested by the University of California Berkeley) team to be used in their analysis and computer modeling, which included assessing the wind footprint (cross-sectional area) of the landside tree on the levee. A gridded, 2-cm bare-earth digital elevation model of the levee crown and the landside levee flank from the final terrestrial lidar (T-Lidar) survey provided detailed topographic data for future assessment. Because the T-Lidar was not integrated into the project design, other than an initial courtesy dataset to help characterize the levee surface, our ability to contribute to the overall science goals of the seepage test was limited. Therefore, our analysis focused on developing data collection and processing methodology necessary to align ultra high-resolution T-Lidar data (with an average spot spacing 2–3 millimeters on the levee crown) from several instrument setup locations to detect, measure, and characterize dynamic centimeter-scale deformation and surface changes during the seepage test.
ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segm... more ABSTRACT A full scale field seepage test was conducted on an on a north-south trending levee segment of a now bypassed old meander belt on Twitchell Island, California, to understand the effects of live and decaying root systems on levee seepage and slope stability. The field test in May 2012 was centered on a north-south trench with two segments: a shorter control segment and a longer seepage test segment. The complete length of the trench area measured 40.4 meters (m) near the levee centerline with mature trees located on the waterside and landside of the levee flanks. The levee was instrumented with piezometers and tensiometers to measure positive and negative porewater pressures across the levee after the trench was flooded with water and held at a constant head during the seepage test—the results from this component of experiment are not discussed in this report. We collected more than one billion three-dimensional light detection and ranging (lidar) data points before, during, and after the centerline seepage test to assess centimeter-scale stability of the two trees and the levee crown. During the seepage test, the waterside tree toppled (rotated 20.7 degrees) into the water. The landside tree rotated away from the levee by 5 centimeters (cm) at a height of 2 m on the tree. The paved surface of the levee crown had three regions that showed subsidence on the waterside of the trench—discussed as the northern, central, and southern features. The northern feature is an elongate region that subsided 2.1 cm over an area that extends 15.8 m parallel from the northern end of the trench to just north of the trench midpoint with an average width of about 1.35 m, and is associated with a crack 1 cm in height that formed during the seepage test on the trench wall. The central subsidence feature is a semicircular region on the waterside of the trench that subsided by as much as 6.2 cm over an area 3.4 m wide and 11.2 m long. The southern feature is an elongate region that has a maximum subsidence of 3.5 cm over an area 0.75 m wide and 8.1 m long and is associated with a number of small fractures in the pavement that are predominately north-south-trending and parallel to the trench. We determined that there was no significant motion of the levee flank during the last week of the seepage test. We also determined biomorphic parameters for the landside tree, such as the 3D positioning on the levee, tree height, levee parallel/perpendicular cross sectional area, and canopy centroid. These biomorphic parameters were requested by the University of California Berkeley) team to be used in their analysis and computer modeling, which included assessing the wind footprint (cross-sectional area) of the landside tree on the levee. A gridded, 2-cm bare-earth digital elevation model of the levee crown and the landside levee flank from the final terrestrial lidar (T-Lidar) survey provided detailed topographic data for future assessment. Because the T-Lidar was not integrated into the project design, other than an initial courtesy dataset to help characterize the levee surface, our ability to contribute to the overall science goals of the seepage test was limited. Therefore, our analysis focused on developing data collection and processing methodology necessary to align ultra high-resolution T-Lidar data (with an average spot spacing 2–3 millimeters on the levee crown) from several instrument setup locations to detect, measure, and characterize dynamic centimeter-scale deformation and surface changes during the seepage test.
... Acknowledgments. We thank David Haddad and Michel Jaboyedoff for constructive manuscript revi... more ... Acknowledgments. We thank David Haddad and Michel Jaboyedoff for constructive manuscript reviews, and Steve Martel and Jonathan Stock for commenting on an earlier draft. We appreciate the assistance of the many volunteer ...
High-resolution ground-based light detection and ranging (lidar), also known as terrestrial laser... more High-resolution ground-based light detection and ranging (lidar), also known as terrestrial laser scanning, was used to quantify the volume of mercury-contaminated sediment eroded from a stream cutbank at Stocking Flat along Deer Creek in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 3 kilometers west of Nevada City, California. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to collect sub-centimeter, three-dimensional images of the complex cutbank surface, which could not be mapped non-destructively or in sufficient detail with traditional surveying techniques. The stream cutbank, which is approximately 50 meters long and 8 meters high, was surveyed on four occasions: December 1, 2010; January 20, 2011; May 12, 2011; and February 4, 2013. Volumetric changes were determined between the sequential, three-dimensional lidar surveys. Volume was calculated by two methods, and the average value is reported. Between the first and second surveys (December 1, 2010, to January 20, 2011), a volume of 143 plus or minus 15 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by Deer Creek. Between the second and third surveys (January 20, 2011, to May 12, 2011), a volume of 207 plus or minus 24 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by the stream. Total volumetric change during the winter and spring of 2010–11 was 350 plus or minus 28 cubic meters. Between the third and fourth surveys (May 12, 2011, to February 4, 2013), the differencing of the three-dimensional lidar data indicated that a volume of 18 plus or minus 10 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank. The total volume of sediment eroded from the cutbank between the first and fourth surveys was 368 plus or minus 30 cubic meters.
Uploads
Papers by Sandra Bond
The stream cutbank, which is approximately 50 meters long and 8 meters high, was surveyed on four occasions: December 1, 2010; January 20, 2011; May 12, 2011; and February 4, 2013. Volumetric changes were determined between the sequential, three-dimensional lidar surveys. Volume was calculated by two methods, and the average value is reported. Between the first and second surveys (December 1, 2010, to January 20, 2011), a volume of 143 plus or minus 15 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by Deer Creek. Between the second and third surveys (January 20, 2011, to May 12, 2011), a volume of 207 plus or minus 24 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by the stream. Total volumetric change during the winter and spring of 2010–11 was 350 plus or minus 28 cubic meters. Between the third and fourth surveys (May 12, 2011, to February 4, 2013), the differencing of the three-dimensional lidar data indicated that a volume of 18 plus or minus 10 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank. The total volume of sediment eroded from the cutbank between the first and fourth surveys was 368 plus or minus 30 cubic meters.
The stream cutbank, which is approximately 50 meters long and 8 meters high, was surveyed on four occasions: December 1, 2010; January 20, 2011; May 12, 2011; and February 4, 2013. Volumetric changes were determined between the sequential, three-dimensional lidar surveys. Volume was calculated by two methods, and the average value is reported. Between the first and second surveys (December 1, 2010, to January 20, 2011), a volume of 143 plus or minus 15 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by Deer Creek. Between the second and third surveys (January 20, 2011, to May 12, 2011), a volume of 207 plus or minus 24 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank and mobilized by the stream. Total volumetric change during the winter and spring of 2010–11 was 350 plus or minus 28 cubic meters. Between the third and fourth surveys (May 12, 2011, to February 4, 2013), the differencing of the three-dimensional lidar data indicated that a volume of 18 plus or minus 10 cubic meters of sediment was eroded from the cutbank. The total volume of sediment eroded from the cutbank between the first and fourth surveys was 368 plus or minus 30 cubic meters.