Two-Fraction Model of Initial Sediment Motion in Gravel-Bed Rivers

The prediction of sediment transport in gravel-bed rivers is essential to the management of land, water, and ecological resources in mountain regions. Dividing the bed sediment into two populations-sand and gravel-permits realistic and useful predictions of the onset of sediment transport. The critical flow initiating grain motion decreases rapidly with sand content over the transition from a gravel-framework bed to a sand-matrix bed. The two-fraction model provides a simple means of forecasting the movement of excess fine sediment supply. The model also helps to explain the development of the abrupt gravel-sand transition commonly observed in natural rivers.