Water Stewardship Information Sources

Citation Accoustic detection of sediment flux in Fraser River at Mission
Organization SFU
URL https://www.sfu.ca/~jvenditt/research.html
Abstract/Description or Keywords There is a pressing need to make predictions of sediment transport in sand-bedded rivers that empty into the sea because they are often sites of intense urban development world-wide and the dynamics of these natural landscape processes significantly affect the socio-economic viability of this development. We have been examining the mechanics of sand-bedded river channels and deltas to develop physically-based predictive tools for how sediments move between their source and ultimate sink in the ocean. We use the sand-bedded reach of the lower Fraser River as a natural laboratory to investigate and quantify processes. The Fraser also serves as a prototype for more detailed observations in SFU's River Dynamics Laboratory.

At present, there is some understanding of how much sediment is moving into the sand-bedded reach of the Fraser River and how much is being deposited on the Fraser's delta and tidal flats, yet the mechanisms responsible for moving sediment through the 85 km river reach that passes through British Columbia's Lower Mainland is understood only conceptually. The dynamics of sediment in the river control response to flood flows and the quality of habitat in the channel, delta, and tidal flat environments. We quantify sediment dynamics in the river to better predict how the sand-bedded channel and the delta environments will respond to various perturbations (i.e. a warmer climate, changes in water flux, changes in sediment flux associated with land use practices, and contemporary variation in sea level).
Information Type projects
Regional Watershed
Sub-watershed if known
Aquifer #
Comments
Project status ongoing
Contact Name Jeremy Venditti
Contact Email [email protected]