Geology topics

Matt Kaplinski

Publications and source records attributed to Matt Kaplinski.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2022

Channel mapping of the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona

Bathymetric and topographic data were collected from May 2013 to February 2016 along the 15.84-mile reach of the Colorado River spanning from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona. Channel bathymetry was mapped using multibeam and singlebeam echo sounders; subaerial topography was mapped using a combination of ground-based total stations and aerial photogrammetry. These data were combined to produce a digital elevation model (DEM), spatially variable estimates of DEM uncertainty, and bed-substrate distribution maps. This project is part of a larger effort to monitor the status and trends of sand storage along the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. This report documents the study methodologies (survey methods and post-processing procedures, DEM production and uncertainty assessment, and bed-substrate classification) and presents the resulting datasets.

Arizona↗

USGS2017

Channel mapping river miles 29–62 of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, May 2009

Bathymetric, topographic, and grain-size data were collected in May 2009 along a 33-mi reach of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The study reach is located from river miles 29 to 62 at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers. Channel bathymetry was mapped using multibeam and singlebeam echosounders, subaerial topography was mapped using ground-based total-stations, and bed-sediment grain-size data were collected using an underwater digital microscope system. These data were combined to produce digital elevation models, spatially variable estimates of digital elevation model uncertainty, georeferenced grain-size data, and bed-sediment distribution maps. This project is a component of a larger effort to monitor the status and trends of sand storage along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. This report documents the survey methods and post-processing procedures, digital elevation model production and uncertainty assessment, and procedures for bed-sediment classification, and presents the datasets resulting from this study.

Arizona↗

USGS2014

The influence of controlled floods on fine sediment storage in debris fan-affected canyons of the Colorado River basin

Prior to the construction of large dams on the Green and Colorado Rivers, annual floods aggraded sandbars in lateral flow-recirculation eddies with fine sediment scoured from the bed and delivered from upstream. Flows greater than normal dam operations may be used to mimic this process in an attempt to increase time-averaged sandbar size. These controlled floods may rebuild sandbars, but sediment deficit conditions downstream from the dams restrict the frequency that controlled floods produce beneficial results. Here, we integrate complimentary, long-term monitoring data sets from the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons downstream from Glen Canyon dam and the Green River in the Canyon of Lodore downstream from Flaming Gorge dam. Since the mid-1990s, several controlled floods have occurred in these canyon rivers. These controlled floods scour fine sediment from the bed and build sandbars in eddies, thus increasing channel relief. These changes are short-lived, however, as interflood dam operations erode sandbars within several months to years. Controlled flood response and interflood changes in bed elevation are more variable in Marble Canyon and Grand Canyon, likely reflecting more variable fine sediment supply and stronger transience in channel bed sediment storage. Despite these differences, neither system shows a trend in fine-sediment storage during the period in which controlled floods were monitored. These results demonstrate that controlled floods build eddy sandbars and increase channel relief for short interflood periods, and this response may be typical in other dam-influenced canyon rivers. The degree to which these features persist depends on the frequency of controlled floods, but careful consideration of sediment supply is necessary to avoid increasing the long-term sediment deficit.

Arizona, Colorado↗

USGS2014

Monitoring fine-sediment volume in the Colorado River ecosystem, Arizona: construction and analysis of digital elevation models

Digital elevation models (DEMs) of eleven 2–5 kilometer reaches of the Colorado River ecosystem (CRE) in Grand Canyon were constructed from repeat bathymetric and topographic surveys collected between August 2000 and December 2004. The DEMs will be used by researchers to study the effects of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) operations on the sediment resources of the CRE in Grand Canyon by quantifying morphological changes and sediment transfer within and among the study reaches. Airborne surveys collected light detection and ranging (lidar) and photogrammetric data, whereas ground topographic and bathymetric data were collected simultaneously on river trips. Surveys were conducted in August 2000, September 2000, May 2002, May 2004, November 2004, and December 2004. The aerial lidar and photogrammetric data were merged with the ground topographic and bathymetric data to create DEMs of the study areas with a grid resolution of 1 meter. For each survey period, the vertical component of uncertainty (specifically, reproducibility or precision) was estimated for each data type (lidar/photogrammetry, ground surveys, bathymetry) and for two different types of bed-surface texture (smooth and rough). The resulting DEMs from this study are a valuable contribution to ongoing efforts in assessing the effects of GCD operations on the CRE. The DEMs can be used to map the spatial characteristics of geomorphic change within the study reaches and to estimate sediment budgets for different time periods by calculating the difference in sediment volume between surveys. In addition, the DEMs provide essential boundary conditions for numerical models of sediment transport and deposition, as well as help define the spatial distribution of habitat for fisheries investigations.

Arizona↗

USGS2014

Colorado River campsite monitoring, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1998-2012

River rafting trips and hikers use sandbars along the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons as campsites. The U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on campsite areas on sandbars along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Campsite area was measured annually from 1998 to 2012 at 37 study sites between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, Arizona. The primary purpose of this report is to present the methods and results of the project. Campsite area surveys were conducted using total station survey methods to outline the perimeter of camping area at each study site. Campsite area is defined as any region of smooth substrate (most commonly sand) with no more than an 8 degree slope and little or no vegetation. We used this definition, but relaxed the slope criteria to include steeper areas near boat mooring locations where campers typically establish their kitchens. The results show that campsite area decreased over the course of the study period, but at a rate that varied by elevation zone and by survey period. Time-series plots show that from 1998 to 2012, high stage-elevation (greater than the 25,000 ft 3 /s stage-elevation) campsite area decreased significantly, although there was no significant trend in low stage-elevation (15,000–20,000 ft 3 /s) campsite area. High stage-elevation campsite area increased after the 2004 and 2008 high flows, but decreased in the intervals between high flows. Although no overall trend was detected for low stage-elevation campsite areas, they did increase after high-volume dam releases equal to or greater than about 20,000 ft 3 /s. We conclude that dam operations have not met the management objectives of the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management program to increase the size of camping beaches in critical and non-critical reaches of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead.

Arizona↗

USGS2014

Gully monitoring at two locations in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1996-2010, with emphasis on documenting effects of the March 2008 high-flow experiment

Many archeological sites in the Grand Canyon are being impacted by gully incision. In March 2008, a high-flow experiment (2008 HFE) was conducted with the intention of redistributing fine sediment (sand, silt, and clay) from the bed of the Colorado River to higher elevations along the channel margin. Deposition of fine sediment in gully mouths has been hypothesized to slow gully erosion rates and lessen impacts to archeological sites. The effects of the 2008 HFE on gullies were evaluated by comparing the topographic changes of three gullies at two study sites before and after the 2008 HFE. Comparison results indicated that sediment was deposited in gully mouths during the 2008 HFE, and that the inundated areas nearest to the river can be extensively altered by mainstream flow during high-flow events. Additionally, the history of gully evolution at the two study sites was examined between 1996 and 2010 and indicated that gullies have been subjected to thalweg incision and gully widening processes over a decadal timescale. Although the small sample size precludes extrapolating the results to other gullies, the findings contribute to the understanding of gully erosion in archeologically significant areas and have implications for future monitoring of gully erosion and evaluating the effectiveness of check dams intended to mitigate that erosion at archaeological sites in the Grand Canyon National Park.

Arizona↗

USGS2014

Monitoring and research to describe geomorphic effects of the 2011 controlled flood on the Green River in the Canyon of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah

In 2011, a large magnitude flow release from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming and Utah, occurred in response to high snowpack in the middle Rocky Mountains. This was the third highest recorded discharge along the Green River downstream of Flaming Gorge Dam, Utah, since its initial closure in November 1962 and motivated a research effort to document effects of these flows on channel morphology and sedimentology at four long-term monitoring sites within the Canyon of Lodore in Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah. Data collected in September 2011 included raft-based bathymetric surveys, ground-based surveys of banks, channel cross sections and vegetation-plot locations, sand-bar stratigraphy, and painted rock recovery on gravel bars. As part of this surveying effort, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data were collected at benchmarks on the canyon rim and along the river corridor to establish a high-resolution survey control network. This survey control network allows for the collection of repeatable spatial and elevation data necessary for high accuracy geomorphic change detection. Nearly 10,000 ground survey points and more than 20,000 bathymetric points (at 1-meter resolution) were collected over a 5-day field campaign, allowing for the construction of reach-scale digital elevation models (DEMs). Additionally, we evaluated long-term geomorphic change at these sites using repeat topographic surveys of eight monumented cross sections at each of the four sites. Analysis of DEMs and channel cross sections show a spatially variable pattern of erosion and deposition, both within and between reaches. As much as 5 meters of scour occurred in pools downstream from flow constrictions, especially in channel segments where gravel bars were absent. By contrast, some channel cross sections were stable during the 2011 floods, and have shown almost no change in over a decade of monitoring. Partial mobility of gravel bars occurred, and although in some locations vegetation such as tamarisk ( Tamarix ramosissima ) was damaged, wholesale bed motion necessary to fully clear these surfaces was not evident. In flow recirculation zones, eddy sandbars aggraded one meter or more, increasing the area of bars exposed during typical dam operations. Yet overall, the 2011 flood resulted in a decrease in reach-scale sand storage because bed degradation exceeded bar deposition. The 2011 response is consistent with that of a similar event in 1999, which was followed by sand-bar erosion and sediment accumulation on the bed during subsequent years of normal dam operational flows. Although the 1999 and 2011 floods were exceptional in the post-dam system, they did not exceed the pre-dam 2-year flood, isolating their effects to the modern active channel with minor erosion or reworking of pre-dam deposits stabilized through vegetation encroachment.

Colorado;Utah↗

USGS2013

Linking morphodynamic response with sediment mass balance on the Colorado River in Marble Canyon: issues of scale, geomorphic setting, and sampling design

Measurements of morphologic change are often used to infer sediment mass balance. Such measurements may, however, result in gross errors when morphologic changes over short reaches are extrapolated to predict changes in sediment mass balance for long river segments. This issue is investigated by examination of morphologic change and sediment influx and efflux for a 100 km segment of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona. For each of four monitoring intervals within a 7 year study period, the direction of sand-storage response within short morphologic monitoring reaches was consistent with the flux-based sand mass balance. Both budgeting methods indicate that sand storage was stable or increased during the 7 year period. Extrapolation of the morphologic measurements outside the monitoring reaches does not, however, provide a reasonable estimate of the magnitude of sand-storage change for the 100 km study area. Extrapolation results in large errors, because there is large local variation in site behavior driven by interactions between the flow and local bed topography. During the same flow regime and reach-average sediment supply, some locations accumulate sand while others evacuate sand. The interaction of local hydraulics with local channel geometry exerts more control on local morphodynamic response than sand supply over an encompassing river segment. Changes in the upstream supply of sand modify bed responses but typically do not completely offset the effect of local hydraulics. Thus, accurate sediment budgets for long river segments inferred from reach-scale morphologic measurements must incorporate the effect of local hydraulics in a sampling design or avoid extrapolation altogether.

Arizona↗

USGS2011

Recent sediment studies refute Glen Canyon Dam hypothesis

Recent studies of sedimentology hydrology, and geomorphology indicate that releases from Glen Canyon Dam are continuing to erode sandbars and beaches in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, despite attempts to restore these resources. The current strategy for dam operations is based on the hypothesis that sand supplied by tributaries of the Colorado River downstream from the dam will accumulate in the channel during normal dam operations and remain available for restoration floods. Recent work has shown that this hypothesis is false, and that tributary sand inputs are exported downstream rapidly typically within weeks or months under the current flow regime.

Arizona↗

USGS2010

Sandbar response in Marble and Grand Canyons, Arizona, following the 2008 high-flow experiment on the Colorado River

A 60-hour release of water at 1,203 cubic meters per second (m 3 /s) from Glen Canyon Dam in March 2008 provided an opportunity to analyze channel-margin response at discharge levels above the normal, diurnally fluctuating releases for hydropower plant operations. We compare measurements at sandbars and associated campsites along the mainstem Colorado River, downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, at 57 locations in Marble and Grand Canyons. Sandbar and main-channel response to the 2008 high-flow experiment (2008 HFE) was documented by measuring bar and bed topography at the study sites before and after the controlled flood and twice more in the following 6 months to examine the persistence of flood-formed deposits. The 2008 HFE caused widespread deposition at elevations above the stage equivalent to a flow rate of 227 m 3 /s and caused an increase in the area and volume of the high-elevation parts of sandbars, thereby increasing the size of campsite areas. In this study, we differentiate between four response styles, depending on how sediment was distributed throughout each study site. Then, we present the longitudinal pattern relevant to the different response styles and place the site responses in context with two previous high-release experiments conducted in 1996 and 2004. We find that (1) nearly every measured sandbar aggraded above the 227-m 3 /s water-surface elevation, resulting in sandbars as large or larger than occurred following previous high flows; (2) reaches closest to Glen Canyon Dam were characterized by a greater percentage of sites that incurred net erosion, although the total sand volume in all sediment-flux monitoring reaches was greater following the 2008 HFE than following previous high flows; and (3) longitudinal differences in topographic response in eddies and in the channel suggest a greater and more evenly distributed sediment supply than existed during previous controlled floods from Glen Canyon Dam.

Arizona↗

USGS2010

Geomorphic response of sandbars to the March 2008 high-flow experiment on the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam

The completion of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963 drastically altered the downstream flow regime and resulted in more than a 90 percent reduction of sand supply to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Sandbars that were maintained by annual floods and a large sediment supply are now fewer in number and smaller in area and volume. Efforts to maintain sandbars in the current era of dam management utilize controlled floods timed to occur during brief periods of sediment enrichment that result from tributary floods. Repeat surveys of 22 sandbars made before and after controlled floods conducted in 1996, 2004, and 2008 document changes in sandbar volume; and repeat surveys at more than 100 sites document changes in sandbar elevation and morphology for the 2008 event. Each of the controlled floods resulted in sandbar deposition that was followed by erosion in the 6-month post-flood period. Erosion rates are positively correlated with post-flood dam release volumes and negatively correlated with post-flood tributary sediment supply volume. October 2008 sandbar volume was similar or larger than sandbar volume in February 1996, before the first of the three controlled floods. Deposition during the 2008 controlled flood was also associated with increases in the quantity of backwater habitat, which is used by native and non-native fish.

Arizona↗

USGS2009

Monitoring fine-sediment volume in the Colorado River ecosystem, Arizona: Bathymetric survey techniques

In 2002, a fine-grained sediment (sand, silt, and clay) monitoring effort was initiated in the Colorado River ecosystem, the river corridor downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, to directly survey channel topography at scales previously unobtainable in this canyon setting. This report presents an overview of the equipment and the methods used to collect and process the high-resolution bathymetric data required for this monitoring effort. The survey methods were employed in up to 11 discrete reaches during various time intervals. The reaches varied in length from 1.3 to 6.4 km. An assessment of depth-measurement uncertainty is presented that shows the surveys meet or exceed the requirement needed to detect changes at the 0.25-m level with 95 percent confidence. These data, in the form of high-resolution digital elevation models, will be integrated in a geographic information system and used to compare maps of topography, grain size, and other information to study the spatial distribution of fine sediment in this system.

Arizona↗

USGS2008

Aggradation and Degradation of the Palisades Gully Network, 1996 to 2005, with Emphasis on the November 2004 High-Flow Experiment, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

This study examines a large drainage network incised into alluvial terraces located along the Colorado River downstream of Palisades Creek in Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz. Gully erosion in the drainage affects archaeological sites found on the wide, relatively flat alluvial terraces. In 1996, 7-d release of 1,274 cubic meters per second of water from Glen Canyon Dam, known as a controlled flood, deposited fine-grained sediment - sand, silt, and clay - in the mouth of the network's largest gully, informally known as south gully. The deposit persisted for several years, but the drainage network steepened in the downstream reaches between 1999 and 2004. A high-flow experiment similar to the 1996 controlled flood was conducted in November 2004. The 2004 experiment was of a lower magnitude and shorter duration compared to the 1996 controlled flood. Topographic surveys were made in the field before, immediately after, and 6 months following the November 2004 experiment, and these measurements were compared to those made in 1996 and in other years. Similar to the response in 1996, fine-grained sediment was deposited in the mouth of the south gully and this mass was largely retained during the 6 months following the 2004 event. The magnitude of deposition in 2004 was nearly two times greater than that resulting from the 1996 controlled flood. We attribute this marked difference to increased accommodation space for deposition in the gully mouth, which was more deeply eroded in 2004 than it was in 1996. The second of the two primary gullies found within the Palisades gully network, the north gully, was largely unaffected by either high flow. Between 1996 and 2005, erosion was primarily confined to the lower reach of the south gully, while the upper reach remained relatively stable. The available data suggest that local base-level changes in the south gully mouth were not linked to the stability of the upstream gully reach. It could not be determined whether temporary base-level increases or maintenance of erosion-control structures were causal factors in limiting erosion in the upstream reaches of the drainage network.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2008

Monitoring fine-grained sediment in the Colorado River ecosystem, Arizona — Control network and conventional survey techniques

In 2002, fine-grained sediment (sand, silt, and clay) monitoring in the Colorado River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam was initiated to survey channel topography at scales previously unobtainable in this canyon setting. This report presents the methods used to establish the high-resolution global positioning system (GPS) control network required for this effort as well as the conventional surveying techniques used in the study. Using simultaneous, dual-frequency GPS vector-based methods, the network points were determined to have positioning accuracies of less than 0.03 meters (m) and ellipsoidal height accuracies of between 0.01 and 0.10 m at a 95-percent degree of confidence. We also assessed network point quality with repeated, electronic (optical) total-station observations at 39 points for a total of 362 measurements; the mean range was 0.022 m in horizontal and 0.13 in vertical at a 95-percent confidence interval. These results indicate that the control network is of sufficient spatial and vertical accuracy for collection of airborne and subaerial remote-sensing technologies and integration of these data in a geographic information system on a repeatable basis without anomalies. The monitoring methods were employed in up to 11 discrete reaches over various time intervals. The reaches varied from 1.3 to 6.4 kilometers in length. Field results from surveys in 2000, 2002, and 2004 are described, during which conventional surveying was used to collect more than 3000 points per day. Ground points were used as checkpoints and to supplement areas just below or above the water surface, where remote-sensing data are not collected or are subject to greater error. An accuracy of +or- 0.05 m was identified as the minimum precision of individual ground points. These results are important for assessing digital elevation model (DEM) quality and identifying detection limits of significant change among surfaces generated from remote-sensing technologies.

Arizona↗

USGS2007

Stage-Discharge Relations for the Colorado River in Glen, Marble, and Grand Canyons, Arizona, 1990-2005

This report presents stage-discharge relations for 47 discrete locations along the Colorado River, downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. Predicting the river stage that results from changes in flow regime is important for many studies investigating the effects of dam operations on resources in and along the Colorado River. The empirically based stage-discharge relations were developed from water-surface elevation data surveyed at known discharges at all 47 locations. The rating curves accurately predict stage at each location for discharges between 141 cubic meters per second and 1,274 cubic meters per second. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the fit to the data ranged from 0.993 to 1.00. Given the various contributing errors to the method, a conservative error estimate of ?0.05 m was assigned to the rating curves.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2007

Streamflow and Sediment Data Collected to Determine the Effects of Low Summer Steady Flows and Habitat Maintenance Flows in 2000 on the Colorado River between Lees Ferry and Bright Angel Creek, Arizona

The low summer steady flows (LSSF) experiment of 2000 further demonstrated that spike flows released from Glen Canyon Dam redistribute sand from the channel bed and lower elevation parts of eddy sandbars to channel-margin deposits and the higher elevation parts of eddy sandbars. Unfortunately, summer 2000 was a period of unusually low tributary influx of sediment and there was little fine sediment (i.e., sand and finer material) available for redistribution. Nevertheless, the low steady flows, which held releases from the dam steady at 230 m3/s (8,100 ft3/s), during the summer of 2000 effectively retained on the channel bed the little sediment that was supplied by tributaries, and a subsequent 4-day, 870 m3/s (30,700 ft3/s) spike flow caused modest increases in the area of the mid-elevation zone of eddy sandbars.

Open-File Report↗