Sediment Transport in Stream Assessment and Design

This course is intended for those who wish to understand and apply the principles of sediment transport to alluvial channel assessment and design. Principles of open channel flow and sediment transport are combined with watershed-scale, hydrologic and sediment source analysis to place channel assessment and design in the appropriate context. Tools for estimating sediment supply at the watershed to reach level are applied in class exercises. The course balances advance reading, lecture, field work, and hands-on exercises for estimating sediment supply, calculating sediment transport rates, and forecasting channel response to water and sediment supply. This course builds upon the principles of river geomorphology taught in the Sagehen course; its lead instructor (Peter Wilcock) is co-instructor of the Sagehen course.