Fumitoshi Imaizumi

Linkage of sediment supply and transport processes in Miyagawa Dam catchment, Japan

[1]xa0Linkages between sediment supply by episodic geomorphic processes (obtained from aerial photographs and field surveys) and sediment transport (estimated from changes in sediment deposition behind a large dam) were investigated in the Miyagawa Dam catchment, central Japan. A total of 6667 landslides were confirmed in the period from 1965 to 2000 on the basis of seven temporal pairs of aerial photographs. Both the occurrence of landslides and discharge into the dam lake affect sediment yield, indicating that fluvial systems in Miyagawa Dam catchment are supply limited with respect to sediment. Sediment yields are affected by not only the initial failed volume of landslides but also the mobility of landslides and debris flows. In Miyagawa Dam catchment, percentages of landslides reaching channels varied from 56% in 1997–2000 to 75% in 1976–1981 and were correlated with maximum hourly rainfall. In addition, the mobility of debris flows was higher during periods with high maximum instantaneous discharge compared to lower discharge, suggesting that the water content both in initially failed materials and transported sediment controlled their mobility. Topography also affected the mobility of landslides/debris flows. For catchments >0.1 km2, the percentage of channel network length impacted by debris flows decreased with increasing catchment area due to reduced channel gradient. Thus both the magnitude of rainfall-runoff events and the catchment topography affect how landslide sediment contributes to sediment yield at the large catchment scale.

Hydrogeomorphic processes in a steep debris flow initiation zone

[1]xa0Many debris flows initiate in steep channels (>20 degrees), yet studies have focused on lower-gradient streams where failure is controlled by water height above channel deposits. Multiple debris flows in a steep channel in Ohya landslide, central Japan, were linked to infilling processes (i.e., freeze-thaw and dry ravel) and partial saturation of accumulated sediment. Because of very active geomorphic processes in this catchment, 39 debris flows were observed in the past 6 yr. Pre- and post event imagery indicates selective transport of finer materials during most debris flows that comprise saturated and unsaturated flows; however, fluvial sediment processes, important in relation to debris flow initiation in gentler channels, were minimal. Critical conditions for the movement of such unsaturated materials are derived by equating shear stress with solid friction of the channel bed.

Short-term responses of macroinvertebrate drift following experimental sediment flushing in a Japanese headwater channel

We examined short-term responses of macroinvertebrate drift associated with experimental sediment flushing in a headwater. Increases in the drifting abundances of Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera coincided with increases in bed load yield rather than peaks in discharge or suspended sediment concentrations. The approach and arrival of a sediment wave may provide a physical cue that initiates the escape of benthic macroinvertebrates. Because fine bed load sediments, with diameters <4xa0mm, tended to accumulate on and in the substrate matrix, such sedimentation affected the benthic macroinvertebrates residing on and in the substrate, increasing the number of macroinvertebrates in the drift. Therefore, the decreases observed in the densities of most macroinvertebrate taxa following sediment flushing were probably associated with sediment deposition and the resulting escape of macroinvertebrates from benthic habitats. The magnitudes of the decreases in macroinvertebrate density were lower at sites located 200xa0m downstream from the sediment sources than at sites located 20xa0m downstream. The results from this experimental flushing study suggest that bed load movement and resulting sediment accumulation alter macroinvertebrate drift patterns and cause decreases in the abundances of benthic macroinvertebrates in headwater streams.