Long Term Resource Monitoring Program

Program Report

2002-P001

September 2002

Workshop Report

Recommended Investigations of Sediment

Transport and Deposition for Predicting Future

Configurations of Upper Mississippi River System

Channels and Floodplain
The Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center issues LTRMP Program Reports

to provide Long Term Resource Monitoring Program partners

with programmatic documentation, procedures manuals, and annual status reports.

Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement

or recommendation for use by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
Workshop Report

Recommended Investigations of Sediment Transport and

Deposition for Predicting Future Configurations of Upper

Mississippi River System Channels and Floodplain

by

Robert F. Gaugush and Daniel B. Wilcox

Final Report to

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Rock Island, Illinois

for

Long Term Resource Monitoring Program

Scope of Work Number 6.3

(Sediment and Geomorphology Work Plan)

September 2002

U.S. Geological Survey

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, Wisonsin 54603
ii

Suggested citation:

Gaugush, R. F., and D. B. Wilcox. 2002. Recommended Investigations of Sediment Transport and Deposition for Predicting

Future Configurations of Upper Mississippi River System Channels and Floodplain. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper

Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin, September 2002. LTRMP 2002-P001.

5 pp. + Appendix.

Additional copies of this report may be obtained from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal

Road, Springfield, VA 22161 (1-800-553-6847 or 703-487-4650). Also available to registered users from the Defense

Technical Information Center, Attn: Help Desk, 8725 Kingman Road, Suite 0944, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6218

(1-800-225-3842 or 703-767-9050).
iii

Contents

Page

Preface .................................................................................................................................................. v

Background............................................................................................................................................. 1

Approach ................................................................................................................................................ 2

Task 1. Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 2

Task 2. Compilation and Review of Existing Hydraulic, Sediment, and Geomorphic Data ........... 2

Task 3. Obtain Floodplain Elevation Data ....................................................................................... 2

Task 4. Map the Geomorphology of the UMRS Floodplain ............................................................ 3

Task 5. Establish an Expanded Sediment Monitoring Network ...................................................... 3

Task 6. Estimate Tributary Sediment Discharge .............................................................................. 3

Task 7. Investigate and Quantify Sediment and Depositional Processes within the UMRS

Floodplain .................................................................................................................................. 3

Task 8. Backwater Areas Sediment Budgets ................................................................................... 4

Task 9. Synthesis and Estimation of Future Configuration of UMRS Channels and Floodplain.... 4

Summary of Working Group Recommendations ................................................................................... 4

References .............................................................................................................................................. 4

Appendix. Members of the Sediment Transport and Geomorphology Working Group ....................A-1
v

Preface

The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) was authorized under the Water Resources

Development Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-662) as an element of the Environmental Management Program

for the Upper Mississippi River System. The LTRMP is implemented by the Upper Midwest

Environmental Sciences Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the five Upper

Mississippi River System states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin), with guidance

and Program responsibility provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The mission of the LTRMP is to provide decision makers with information to maintain the Upper

Mississippi River System as a viable large river ecosystem given its multiple-use character. The longterm goals of the Program are to understand the system, determine resource trends and impacts, develop

management alternatives, manage information, and develop useful products.

This report supports two tasks in the LTRMP Operating Plan: Task 1.2.1.2, Select Processes for

Research, and Task 1.2.1.3, Establish Experimental Design, under Strategy 1.2.1, Determine Effects of

Sedimentation and Sediment Transport Processes on the Upper Mississippi River System Ecosystem.

This workshop report was developed with funding provided by the Long Term Resource Monitoring

Program.
1

Workshop Report

Recommended Investigations of Sediment Transport and

Deposition for Predicting Future Configurations of Upper

Mississippi River System Channels and Floodplain

by

Robert F. Gaugush

U.S. Geological Survey

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603

and

Daniel B. Wilcox

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

190 Fifth Street East

St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1638

Background

The fluvial processes of sediment transport and

alluviation determine the configuration of the

channels and floodplain of the Upper Mississippi

River System (UMRS). This configuration, in turn,

provides the physical template for the mosaic of

habitats in the system. Previous studies of sediment

and sediment processes in the UMRS have

addressed many topics but have not produced

quantitative and spatially complete estimates of

changes in the geometry of the UMRS channels

and floodplain. This information is needed to

predict conditions in the river under various

management alternatives and thus guide the

development of plans for managing the riverine

ecosystem. In an attempt to define these

information needs, a Sediment Transport and

Geomorphology Working Group was convened in

1994 to develop a detailed description of activities

needed to understand sediment transport processes

and the changing geomorphology of the UMRS.

The findings of this initial working group were

summarized in a technical report (Gaugush and

Wilcox 1994) that identified nine overriding tasks

to be addressed to meet the information needs in

this area. In brief, those tasks were as follows:

1. Literature review.

2. Compilation and review of existing

hydraulic, sediment, and geomorphic data.

3. Obtain floodplain elevation data.

4. Map the geomorphology of the UMRS

floodplain.

5. Establish an expanded sediment

monitoring network.

6. Estimate tributary sediment discharge.

7. Investigate and quantify sediment transport

and depositional processes within the

UMRS floodplain.

8. Backwater areas sediment budgets.

9. Synthesis and estimation of future

configuration of UMRS channels and

floodplain.
2

Since the development of that planning

document, Long Term Resource Monitoring

Program (LTRMP) sediment- and geomorphologyrelated work—including bathymetric surveys,

development of GIS databases for land use/land

cover and aquatic areas, and initiation of monitoring

of the inflow and export of suspended sediment

from selected navigation pools—has progressed.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)

conducted an assessment of the cumulative effects

of the navigation system as part of the Upper

Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway Navigation

Study, which included a review of historical

geomorphological changes, an update of the

sediment budget for a series of navigation pools of

the Mississippi River, and a forecast of river

conditions. In August 2000, a second Sediment

Transport and Geomorphology Working Group was

formed to review progress and to reexamine the

proposed directions for research.

Approach

The second working group revisited the tasks

identified by the first working group, identified

subsequent work performed under each of the tasks

since the first workshop, and made

recommendations for future investigations. Of

primary concern to the second working group were

research and monitoring activities carried out by

the LTRMP and those conducted by the Corps in

support of their navigation study.

Task 1. Literature Review

This task was intended to provide a thorough

review of the scientific literature pertaining to

sediment delivery, transport, and depositional

processes within the channels, floodplain, and

geomorphology of the UMRS. This task has been

completed and an annotated bibliography produced

(DeHaan 1998).

Task 2. Compilation and Review of Existing

Hydraulic, Sediment, and Geomorphic Data

The objective of this task was to compile

existing data on historical land use, upland erosion,

sediment transport and deposition, hydraulic

conditions, and geomorphology of the UMRS.

Much of this task has been accomplished as part

of the Corps’ navigation study. The second working

group recommended that the report be made

available through the U.S. Geological Survey Upper

Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

(UMESC) Web site.

The second working group strongly

recommended that UMESC assume the role of data

curator as part of its LTRMP responsibilities.

Whereas it was recognized that the LTRMP has

done well in managing and serving their own data,

the group identified a significant need for the

LTRMP to provide these same services for nonLTRMP data. In particular, some historical data that

do not exist in electronic format may be lost as

investigators retire.

An example is the Sediment-Contaminant

Database for the Upper Mississippi River and

Selected Tributaries, a database recently compiled

by the UMESC and the University of WisconsinLa Crosse, River Studies Center with funds from

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the

U.S. Geological Survey. This database will

facilitate the assessment of riverine contamination,

increase the availability of sediment-contaminant

data, and facilitate management and scientific

efforts related to contaminated-sediment issues in

the river system (Bartsch et al. 2000). The

sediment-contaminant database is available on the

UMESC web site <http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/

data_library/sediment_contaminants/

sediment_contaminant_page.html>.

Task 3. Obtain Floodplain Elevation Data

This task was envisioned as the conduct of a

comprehensive elevation survey of the UMRS

floodplain and the development of a GIS database

of the floodplain elevation data. The Corps and the

UMESC are jointly investigating the use of a

LIDAR (LIght Distance And Ranging) survey to

obtain these data with funding provided in part by

the LTRMP.

The second working group stressed that this

remains a critical information need. In particular,

the bathymetric data already collected by LTRMP

should be linked to data above flat pool elevation.

The data presently available are limited to 5-foot

contours provided by digital elevation models, these
3

data simply do not have the required resolution and

accuracy needed for river management and

assessment.

Task 4. Map the Geomorphology of the Upper

Mississippi River System Floodplain

The purpose of this task was to develop a

comprehensive set of maps of the geomorphology

of the UMRS floodplain. Little work has been done

on this task, primarily due to lack of the required

floodplain elevation data mentioned in Task 3. The

St. Paul District of the Corps has, however,

produced some geomorphological maps for pools

in their district primarily for use in archaeological

investigations.

Task 5. Establish an Expanded Sediment

Monitoring Network

The objective of this task was to establish a

series of elevation survey transects, properly

monumented and documented for long-term

monitoring of sedimentation in the lower reaches

of tributaries and at key locations along the UMRS.

To a limited extent, this task is being carried out

and reported (Rogala and Boma 1996).

The working group recommended that this

effort be greatly expanded and approached in a

more systematic manner. For example, historical

siltation surveys (elevation transects across the

mouths of most tributaries) that were performed

by the Corps before impoundment (in the late 1920s

and early 1930s) could be rerun to document

changes in elevation since impoundment.

The working group also identified the need for

a qualitative system model that could deal with the

problem of scale in a hierarchical manner. Primary

issues that could be addressed by such a model

would include sediment, climatological factors,

engineering alterations to the system, and basin

hydrology. Such a model would facilitate the

planning process for the Environmental

Management Program’s Habitat Rehabilitation and

Enhancement Projects that are now evolving toward

a pool-scale model.

Task 6. Estimate Tributary Sediment

Discharge

This task was originally envisioned as a

geospatial investigation in which UMRS tributary

watersheds would be classified by their size,

hydrology, land use, and geomorphic

characteristics. The goal, by relating known

information about sediment delivery to such

watershed characteristics, was to estimate sediment

delivery from unsampled watersheds. Some of this

work is ongoing, but is largely limited to estimating

nutrient and sediment delivery to the Mississippi

River in relation to Gulf hypoxia.

Task 7. Investigate and Quantify Sediment

and Depositional Processes within the

Upper Mississippi River System Floodplain

This broad task was developed to address the

fundamental need to understand the basic processes

of sediment transport and deposition within the

UMRS. Three subtasks related to wave effects,

resuspension of sediment, and bedload transport

and deposition were specifically identified.

Considerable activity has been directed at this

task. Sediment budgets for Pool 13 and the La

Grange Pool were estimated (Gaugush 2000).

Long-term average sediment budgets for Pools 11–

26 were derived as part of the Corps’ Cumulative

Effects Study (WEST Consultants, Inc. 2000). A

relatively simple model of wind and wave relations

was developed (Chamberlin 1994), as well as a GIS

model describing the distribution of wind fetch for

UMRS pools (J. T. Rogala, USGS-UMESC, La

Crosse, Wisconsin, personal communication). Bed

material maps for Pools 4 and 8 were developed

with the use of an in-situ sediment penetrometer

(Rogala 1996).

The working group identified the need for

further studies directed at the development of a GIS

database of bed material for the UMRS. This

database would be composed of bed material

coverages (maps of sediment types for channel and

off-channel areas) for the UMRS. The working

group also identified the need for further research

estimating transport of bed material.
4

Task 8. Backwater Areas Sediment Budgets

This task was directed at elucidating a number

of features about backwater areas. Backwater areas

were specifically identified because of the

widespread concern about the effects of continued

sedimentation on these aquatic areas. Backwater

areas were to be identified and classified by their

hydraulic connection to the main channel. Detailed

investigations, including two-dimensional

hydraulic modeling, suspended sediment budgets,

and sedimentation rates, were also identified as

major information needs.

The Corps’ navigation study developed a GIS

database identifying backwater areas and

characterizing their hydraulic connection to the

main channel (WEST Consultants, Inc. 2000).

Sedimentation rates in selected backwaters have

also been studied (Rogala et al. 1997). Two

backwater areas, Weaver Bottoms (Anderson et al.

1999) and Peterson Lake (J. Hendrickson, St. Paul

District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul,

Minnesota, personal communication), have been

intensively studied and sediment budgets have been

developed.

The second working group recommended that

a more detailed geomorphological analysis of

backwater areas be conducted. They envisioned the

use of preimpoundment elevation data (where

available) to develop information on the change in

elevation since impoundment. This would allow for

mapping areas of sediment accumulation. The

working group also suggested that a rigorous review

of aerial photographs would provide insight into

ongoing processes and could aid in forecasting river

conditions. This process would support the

development of a relatively simple transition matrix

that could document past changes in

geomorphological features and provide some

estimation of future trends.

Task 9. Synthesis and Estimation of Future

Configuration of Upper Mississippi River

System Channels and Floodplain

This task was originally proposed to be a

synthesis of the information provided by the

previous tasks and was envisioned to forecast the

configuration of the channels and floodplains of

the UMRS over the next 50 years. The Cumulative

Effects Report (WEST Consultants, Inc. 2000),

developed as part of the Corps’ navigation study,

was seen by the second working group as a first

approximation in meeting the information needs

for this task.

The second working group also recommended

the development of a systems model with sufficient

resolution to predict pool-scale changes in

morphology. Further, more “tailored” models could

be developed for specific areas of the river.

Summary of Working Group

Recommendations

1. The LTRMP should consider serving a role

as data curator for non-LTRMP data related

to sediments, sedimentation, and

geomorphology of the UMRS.

2. Floodplain elevation data remains a critical

information need that should receive high

priority within LTRMP.

3. Greater use of elevation transects should

be made to document sedimentation rates

in backwater areas.

4. A qualitative system model should be

developed to address sediment issues.

5. Data should be acquired to support the

development of a geospatial database of

bed material.

6. Further research on bed material transport

is urgently needed.

7. A more detailed geomorphological

analysis of backwater areas should be

conducted and used to develop a transition

matrix to estimate future geomorphology.

8. A systems model should be developed with

sufficient resolution to estimate pool-scale

changes in morphology.

References

Anderson, D., R. Anfang, J. Hendrickson, J. Lee,

G. Wege, S. Yess, S. Tap, J. Sullivan, M. Davis,

E. Nelson, and C. Damberg. 1999. The Weaver

Bottoms Rehabilitation Project, Resource

Analysis Program, 1995–1997, Final Report.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul

District, St. Paul, Minnesota.
5

Bartsch, M. R., J. G. Wiener, D. A. Olsen, B. E.

Frazier, and D. E. Hansen. 2000. Sedimentcontaminant database for the Upper Mississippi

River and selected tributaries (version 2). Final

Report to the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Region V, Chicago, Illinois. 50 pp.

Chamberlin, F. 1994. Wind-generated waves in

navigation pools. Report by the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, St. Paul, the National

Biological Service, Environmental

Management Technical Center, Onalaska,

Wisconsin, December 1994. LTRMP 94-S001.

16 pp.

DeHaan, H. C. 1998. Large river sediment transport

and deposition: an annotated bibliography. U.S.

Geological Survey, Environmental

Management Technical Center, Onalaska,

Wisconsin, April 1998. LTRMP 98-T002. 85

pp.

Gaugush, R. F. 2001. A 3-year suspended sediment

budget for Pool 13 of the Upper Mississippi

River and the La Grange Pool of the Illinois

River. Project Completion Report, U.S.

Geological Survey, Upper Midwest

Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse,

Wisconsin.

Gaugush, R. F., and D. B. Wilcox. 1994. Planning

Document: Investigate sediment transport/

deposition and predict future configuration of

UMRS channels and floodplain. National

Biological Survey, Environmental

Management Technical Center, Onalaska,

Wisconsin. Report LTRMP 94-P004.

Rogala, J. T., and P. J. Boma. 1996. Rates of

sedimentation along selected backwater

transects in Pools 4, 8, and 13 of the Upper

Mississippi River. U.S. Geological Survey,

Environmental Management Technical Center,

Onalaska, Wisconsin. Technical Report

LTRMP 96-T005. 24 pp.

Rogala, J. T. 1996. Surficial sediment

characteristics in Pools 4 and 8, Upper

Mississippi River. U.S. Geological Survey,

Environmental Management Technical Center,

Onalaska, Wisconsin. Technical Report

LTRMP 96-T006. 22 pp.

Rogala, J. T., W. F. James, and H. L. Eakin. 1997.

Rates of net fine sediment accumulation in

selected backwater types of Pool 8, Upper

Mississippi River. Upper Mississippi River -

Illinois Waterway System Navigation Study

ENV Report 2.

WEST Consultants, Inc. 2000. Upper Mississippi

River and Illinois Waterway Cumulative

Effects Study, Volume 1: Geomorphic

Assessment. Upper Mississippi River - Illinois

Waterway System Navigation Study ENV

Report 40-1, June 2000.
Appendix

Members of the Sediment Transport and Geomorphology Working Group

Nani Bhowmik, Ph.D.

Illinois State Water Survey

2204 Griffith Drive

Champaign, Illinois 61820

Michael Church, Ph.D.

Department of Geography

University of British Columbia

Room 217, 1984 West Mall

Vancouver, British Columbia

Canada V6T 1Z2

Robert F. Gaugush, Ph.D.

U.S. Geological Survey

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

2630 Fanta Reed Road

La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603

Jon Hendrickson

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

190 Fifth Street East

St. Paul, Minnesota 55101

Jim Knox, Ph.D.

Geography Department

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Science Hall 234

550 N. Park St.

Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Jeffrey Steuer

U.S. Geological Survey -Water Resources Division

8505 Research Way

Middleton, Wisconsin 53562

Stanley Trimble, Ph.D.

Department of Geography

University of California Los Angeles

1255 Bunche Hall

Box 951524

Los Angeles, California 90095

Daniel Wilcox

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

190 Fifth Street East

St. Paul, Minnesota 55101

A-1
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4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 

Recommended Investigations of Sediment Transport and Deposition for Predicting Future Configurations of UMRS Channels 

and Floodplain 

5. FUNDING NUMBERS 

6. AUTHOR(S) 

Robert F. Gaugush1

 and Daniel B. Wilcox2 

7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 

1

U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 

54603; 2

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, 190 Fifth Street East, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101. 

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U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, 2630 Fanta Reed Road, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54603 

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Release unlimited. Available from National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161 

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12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 

13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) 

Reviews the progress made in the study of sediment transport and geomorphology in the Upper Mississippi River System since the 1994 meeting of the working group that 

developed a description of activities needed. Identifies the work performed in the prescribed tasks and describes additional work to be performed, in particular the research 

and monitoring by the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

14. SUBJECT TERMS 

Geomorphology, backwater, floodplain, hydraulic, monitoring, sediment transport. 

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5 pp + Appendix 

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20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 
The Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) for the Upper Mississippi

River System was authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 as

an element of the Environmental Management Program. The mission of the LTRMP

is to provide river managers with information for maintaining the Upper Mississippi

River System as a sustainable large river ecosystem given its multiple-use character.

The LTRMP is a cooperative effort by the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers, and the States of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin.