VERDE RIVER: FLOW MECHANICS, ROUGHNESS, AND SHEAR STRESS
This lab will introduce you to some common field techniques and some general understanding of the geomorphic processes operating in a stream. The primary objective of this field project is to learn field and quantitative analysis of basic flow hydraulics (flow discharge, velocity, bed roughness, Mannings n, bed shear stress). Thus, the lab will focus on how the channel affects the flow on the various factors that cause resistance to flow and the large number of approaches to determining the amount and cause of that resistance. This effort will concentrate on data collection in 4 cross sections and additional vertical velocity profiles. We will alternate tasks in 4 research teams to take best advantage of the equipment we have and to maximize efficiency. There are three basic lines of evidence that you will pursue: (1) the distribution of sediment sizes as an indicator of differential sediment motion during channel-forming flows; (2) the behavior of the present flow (boundary shear stress, velocity, slope, etc.) in response to the various elements of channel geometry and roughness; and (3) estimating bankfull flow conditions.
We will compare our measurement of flow discharge among cross-sections and to nearby gage records to evaluate accuracy.