Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology
Abstract At‐many‐stations hydraulic geometry (AMHG), while useful for estimating river discharge from satellite data, remains empirical and has yet to be reconciled with the at‐a‐station hydraulic geometry (AHG) from which it was originally derived. Here we present evidence, using United States Geol...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084529 |
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| author | C. B. Brinkerhoff C. J. Gleason D. W. Ostendorf |
| author_facet | C. B. Brinkerhoff C. J. Gleason D. W. Ostendorf |
| author_sort | C. B. Brinkerhoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract At‐many‐stations hydraulic geometry (AMHG), while useful for estimating river discharge from satellite data, remains empirical and has yet to be reconciled with the at‐a‐station hydraulic geometry (AHG) from which it was originally derived. Here we present evidence, using United States Geological Survey field measurements of channel hydraulics for 155 rivers, that AMHG can be hydraulically and geomorphically reconciled with AHG. Our results indicate that AMHG is rightly understood as an expression of a river‐wide model of hydraulics driven by changes in slope imposed upon AHG physics. The explanatory power of AHG and this river‐wide model combine to determine whether AMHG exists: if both AHG and the river‐wide model adequately describe hydraulics, then we show that AMHG is a necessary mathematical consequence of these two phenomena. We also orient these findings in the context of river discharge estimation and other applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2bd226f237974db3a0ca604dcd45fc6f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-2bd226f237974db3a0ca604dcd45fc6f2025-08-20T02:24:35ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-08-0146169637964710.1029/2019GL084529Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide GeomorphologyC. B. Brinkerhoff0C. J. Gleason1D. W. Ostendorf2Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USADepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Massachusetts Amherst MA USAAbstract At‐many‐stations hydraulic geometry (AMHG), while useful for estimating river discharge from satellite data, remains empirical and has yet to be reconciled with the at‐a‐station hydraulic geometry (AHG) from which it was originally derived. Here we present evidence, using United States Geological Survey field measurements of channel hydraulics for 155 rivers, that AMHG can be hydraulically and geomorphically reconciled with AHG. Our results indicate that AMHG is rightly understood as an expression of a river‐wide model of hydraulics driven by changes in slope imposed upon AHG physics. The explanatory power of AHG and this river‐wide model combine to determine whether AMHG exists: if both AHG and the river‐wide model adequately describe hydraulics, then we show that AMHG is a necessary mathematical consequence of these two phenomena. We also orient these findings in the context of river discharge estimation and other applications.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084529AMHGhydraulic geometryfluvial geomorphologyhydrologyopen channel flowrivers |
| spellingShingle | C. B. Brinkerhoff C. J. Gleason D. W. Ostendorf Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology Geophysical Research Letters AMHG hydraulic geometry fluvial geomorphology hydrology open channel flow rivers |
| title | Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology |
| title_full | Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology |
| title_fullStr | Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology |
| title_short | Reconciling at‐a‐Station and at‐Many‐Stations Hydraulic Geometry Through River‐Wide Geomorphology |
| title_sort | reconciling at a station and at many stations hydraulic geometry through river wide geomorphology |
| topic | AMHG hydraulic geometry fluvial geomorphology hydrology open channel flow rivers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084529 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cbbrinkerhoff reconcilingatastationandatmanystationshydraulicgeometrythroughriverwidegeomorphology AT cjgleason reconcilingatastationandatmanystationshydraulicgeometrythroughriverwidegeomorphology AT dwostendorf reconcilingatastationandatmanystationshydraulicgeometrythroughriverwidegeomorphology |