Sediment transport in headwaters of a volcanic catchment—Kamchatka Peninsula case study

Abstract

Due to specific environmental conditions, headwater catchments located on volcanic slopes and valleys are characterized by distinctive hydrology and sediment transport patterns. However, lack of sufficient monitoring causes that the governing processes and patterns in these areas are rarely well understood. In this study, spatiotemporal water discharge and sediment transport from upstream sources was investigated in one of the numerous headwater catchments located in the lahar valleys of the Kamchatka Peninsula Sukhaya Elizovskaya River near Avachinskii and Koryakskii volcanoes. Three different subcatchments and corresponding channel types (wandering rivers within lahar valleys, mountain rivers within volcanic slopes and rivers within submountain terrains) were identified in the studied area. Our measurements from different periods of observations between years 2012–2014 showed that the studied catchment was characterized by extreme diurnal fluctuation of water discharges and sediment loads that were influenced by snowmelt patterns and high infiltration rates of the easily erodible lahar deposits. The highest recorded sediment loads were up to 9·10⁴ mg/L which was related to an increase of two orders of magnitude within a one day of observations. Additionally, to get a quantitative estimate of the spatial distribution of the eroded material in the volcanic substrates we applied an empirical soil erosion and sediment yield model – modified universal soil loss equation (MUSLE). The modeling results showed that even if the applications of the universal erosion model to different non-agricultural areas (e.g., volcanic catchments) can lead to irrelevant results, the MUSLE model delivered might be acceptable for non-lahar areas of the studied volcanic catchment. Overall the results of our study increase our understanding of the hydrology and associated sediment transport for prediction of risk management within headwater volcanic catchments.

Keywords

sediment transport / volcanoes / lahars / Kamchatka Peninsula / MUSLE / erosion

References

[1] Alexeevsky N I, Chalov R S, Berkovich K M, Chalov S R (2013). Channel changes in largest Russian rivers: natural and anthropogenic effects. International Journal of River Basin Management, 11(2): 175–191

[2] Appel K, Mueller E N, Francke T, Opp C (2006). Soil-erosion modelling along badland hillslopes in a dryland environment of NE Spain. Geophys Res Abstr, 8: 02874

[3] Ballantyne C K, McCann S B (1980). Short-lived damming of a high-Arctic ice-marginal stream, Ellesmere Island, N. W. T., Canada. J Glaciol, 25: 487–491

[4] Blaszczynski J (2003). Estimating watershed runoff and sediment yield using a GIS interface to curve number and MUSLE models. Soils and Geology, Resources Notes No. 66, National Science and Technology Center, Denver

[5] Boardman J (1996). Soil erosion by water: problems and prospects for research. In: Anderson M G, Brooks S M, eds. Advances in Hillslope Processes. Chichester: Wiley, 489–505

[6] Bøggild C E (2000). Preferential flow and melt water retention in cold snow packs in West-Greenland. Hydrol Res, 31(4–5): 287–300

[7] Borselli L, Cassi P, Torri D (2008). Prolegomena to sediment and flow connectivity in the landscape: a GIS and field numerical assessment. Catena, 75: 268–277

[8] Carranza E J M, Castro O T (2006). Predicting lahar-inundation zones: case study in West Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. Nat Hazards, 37(3): 331–372

[9] Chalov S R, Leman V N, Chalova A S (2014). In-channel processes hazards and salmon habitats at the Kamchatka Peninsula. Moscow: VNIRO (in Russian)

[10] Chandramohan T, Venkatesh B, Balchand A N (2015). Evaluation of three soil erosion models for small watersheds. Aquatic Procedia, 4: 1227–1234

[11] Cronin S J, Neall V E, Lecointre J A, Palmer A S (1999). Dynamic interactions between lahars and stream flow: a case study from Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand. Geol Soc Am Bull, 111(1): 28–38

[12] Doyle E E, Cronin S J, Thouret J C (2011). Defining conditions for bulking and debulking in lahars. Geol Soc Am Bull, 123(7–8): 1234–1246

[13] Eiriksdottir E S, Louvat P, Gislason S R, Óskarsson N, Hardardóttir J (2008). Temporal variation of chemical and mechanical weathering in NE Iceland: evaluation of a steady-state model of erosion. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 272(1–2): 78–88

[14] Ermakova A S (2008). Correspondence of longitudinal profiles and vertical riverbed deformations with the riverbed types on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Geomorphology RAS, 4: 65–74 (in Russian)

[15] Erskine W D, Mahmoudzadeh A, Myers C (2002). Land use effects on sediment yields and soil loss rates in small basins of Triassic sandstone near Sydney, NSW, Australia. Catena, 49(4): 271–287

[16] Gerdel R W (1954). The transmission of water through snow. Eos (Wash DC), 35(3): 475–485

[17] Gran K B, Montgomery D R (2005). Spatial and temporal patterns in fluvial recovery following volcanic eruptions: channel response to basin-wide sediment loading at Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. Geol Soc Am Bull, 117(1): 195–211

[18] Hayes S K, Montgomery D R, Newhall C G (2002). Fluvial sediment transport and deposition following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Geomorphology, 45(3–4): 211–224

[19] Hock R (1999). A distributed temperature-index ice-and snowmelt model including potential direct solar radiation. J Glaciol, 45(149): 101–111

[20] Jaramillo F (2007). Estimating and modeling soil loss and sediment yield in the Maracas-St. Joseph River Catchment with empirical models (RUSLE and MUSLE) and a physically based model (Erosion 3D). Thesis (MSc), Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, McGill University, Montreal

[21] Jensen J R (2000). Remote Sensing of the Environment: An Earth Resource Perspective. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

[22] Kilgour G, Manville V, Della Pasqua F, Graettinger A, Hodgson K A, Jolly G E (2010). The 25 September 2007 eruption of Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand: directed ballistics, surtseyan jets, and ice-slurry lahars. J Volcanol Geotherm Res, 191(1): 1–14

[23] Kuksina L V, Chalov S R (2012). The suspended sediment discharge of the rivers running along territories of contemporary volcanism in Kamchatka. Geogr Nat Resour, 33(1): 67–73 (English Translation of Geografiya I Prirodnye Resursy)

[24] Lavigne F, Thouret J C, Voight B, Suwa H, Sumaryono A (2000). Lahars at Merapi volcano, Central Java: an overview. J Volcanol Geotherm Res, 100(1–4): 423–456

[25] Major J J, Pierson T C, Dinehart R L, Costa J E (2000). Sediment yield following severe volcanic disturbance – A two-decade perspective from Mount St. Helens. Geology, 28(9): 819–822

[26] Manville V, Hodgson K A, Houghton B F, Key J R H, White J D L (2000). Tephra, snow and water: complex sedimentary responses at an active snow-capped stratovolcano, Ruapehu, New Zealand. Bull Volcanol, 62(4–5): 278–293

[27] Marenina T U, Sirin A N, Timerbaeva K M (1962). Koryakskii volcano on Kamchatka Peninsula. Proc. Lab. Volcanology. 1962. No 22. P. 67–130

[28] Mitasova H, Hofierka J, Zlocha M, Iverson L R (1996). Modelling topographic potential for erosion and deposition using GIS. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 10(5): 629–641

[29] Mouri G, Ros C F, Chalov S R (2014). Characteristics of suspended sediment and river discharge during the beginning of snowmelt in volcanically active mountainous environment. Geomorphology, 213: 266–276

[30] Neitsch S L, Arnold J G, Kiniry J R, Williams J R, King K W (2005). SWAT theoretical documentation. Soil and Water Research Laboratory: Grassland, 494: 234–235

[31] Oguchi T, Saito K, Kadomura H, Grossman M (2001). Fluvial geomorphology and paleohydrology in Japan. Geomorphology, 39(1–2): 3–19

[32] Oliveira A H, da Silva M A, Silva M L N, Curi N, Neto G K, de Freitas D A F (2013). Development of topographic factor modeling for application in soil erosion models. In: Soriano M C H, ed. Soil Processes and Current Trends in Quality Assessment. InTech, 111–138

[33] Pellerin B A, Saraceno J F, Shanley J B, Sebestyen S D, Aiken G R, Wollheim W M, Bergamaschi B A (2012). Taking the pulse of snowmelt: in situ sensors reveal seasonal, event and diurnal patterns of nitrate and dissolved organic matter variability in an upland forest stream. Biogeochemistry, 108(1–3): 183–198

[34] Pierson T C, Janda R J, Thouret J C, Borrero C A (1990). Perturbation and melting of snow and ice by the 13 November 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia, and consequent mobilization, flow and deposition of lahars. J Volcanol Geotherm Res, 41(1): 17–66

[35] Pietroń J, Jarsjö J, Romanchenko A O, Chalov S R (2015). Model analyses of the contribution of in-channel processes to sediment concentration hysteresis loops. J Hydrol (Amst), 527: 576–589

[36] Ponomareva V, Melekestsev I, Braitseva O, Churikova T, Pevzner M, Sulerzhitsky L (2007). Late Pleistocene–Holocene Volcanism on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Northwest Pacific Region. In: Eichelberger J, Gordeev E, Izbekov P, Kasahara M, Lees J, eds. Volcanism and Subduction: The Kamchatka Region. Washington D.C.: American Geophysical Union, 165–198

[37] Rad S D, Allègre C J, Louvat P (2007). Hidden erosion on volcanic islands. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 262(1–2): 109–124

[38] Renard K G, Foster G R, Weesies G A, McCool D K, Yoder D C (1997). Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses—A Guide to Conservation Planning with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Agricultural Handbook 703, Washington, DC

[39] Rodolfo K S, Arguden A T (1991). Rain-lahar generation and sediment-delifery systems at Mayon volcano, Philippines. In: Fisher R V, Smith G A, eds. Sedimentation in Volcanic Settings. Society for Sedimentary Geology, Tulsa: SEPM Special Publication 45, 59–70

[40] Sadeghi S H R, Gholami L, Khaledi Darvishan A, Saeidi P (2014). A review of the application of the MUSLE model worldwide. Hydrol Sci J, 59(2): 365–375

[41] Sadeghi S H R, Mizuyama T, Miyata S, Gomi T, Kosugi K, Mizugaki S, Onda Y (2007). Is MUSLE apt to small steeply reforested watershed? J For Res, 12(4): 270–277

[42] Smith G A, Fritz W J (1989). Volcanic influence on terrestrial sedimentation. Geology, 17(4): 375–376

[43] Smith G A, Lowe D R (1991). Lahars: Volcano-hydrologic events and deposition in the debris flow – hyperconcentrated flow continuum. In: Fisher R V, Smith G A, eds. Sedimentation in Volcanic Settings. Society for Sedimentary Geology, Tulsa: SEPM Special Publication 45, 59–70

[44] Stott T A, Grove J R (2001). Short-term discharge and suspended sediment fluctuations in the proglacial Skeldal River, nort-east Greenland. Hydrol Processes, 15(3): 407–423

[45] Sun X, Rosin P L, Martin R R, Langbein F C (2007). Fast and effective feature-preserving mesh denoising. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph, 13(5): 925–938

[46] Tanarro L M, Andrés N, Zamorano J J, Palacios D, Renschler C S (2010). Geomorphological evolution of a fluvial channel after primary lahar deposition: Huiloac Gorge, Popocatépetl volcano (Mexico). Geomorphology, 122(1–2): 178–190

[47] Tarboton D (1997). A new method for the determination of flow directions and upslope areas in grid digital elevation models. Water Resour Res, 33(2): 309–319

[48] Thouret J C, Oehler J F, Gupta A, Solikhin A, Procter J N (2014). Erosion and aggradation on persistently active volcanoes—A case study from Semeru Volcano, Indonesia. Bull Volcanol, 76(10): 857

[49] Tweddales S C, Eschlaeger C R, Seybold W F (2000). An Improved Method for Spatial Extrapolation of Vegetative Cover Estimates (USLE/RUSLE C factor) using LCTA and Remotely sensed imagery. Champaign: Construction Engineering Research Laboratory

[50] Vigiak O, Borselli L, Newham L T H, Mcinnes J, Roberts A M (2012). Comparison of conceptual landscape metrics to define hillslope-scale sediment delivery ratio. Geomorphology, 138(1): 74–88

[51] Waitt R B (1989). Swift snowmelt and floods (lahars) caused by great pyroclastic surge at Mount St Helens volcano, Washington, 18 May 1980. Bull Volcanol, 52(2): 138–157

[52] Wang L, Liu H (2006). An efficient method for identifying and filling surface depressions in digital elevation models for hydrologic analysis and modelling. Int J Geogr Inf Sci, 20(2): 193–213

[53] Williams J R (1975). Sediment-yield prediction with universal equation using runoff energy factor. Present and Prospective Technology for Predicting Sediment Yield and Sources, ARS., S-40: 244–252

[54] Williams J R (1995). The EPIC model: Chapter 25. In: Sing V P, ed. Computer Model of Watershed Hydrology. Highlands Ranch: Water Resources Publications, 909–1000

[55] Wischmeier W H, Smith D D (1960). A universal soil-loss equation to guide conservation farm planning. Trans Int Congr Soil Sci, 7: 418–425

[56] Wischmeier W H, Smith D D (1978). Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses – A Guide to Conservation Planning. Agricultural Handbook 537, Washington D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Unified National Soil Register

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg