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Robert H. Webb

Publications and source records attributed to Robert H. Webb.

63 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
USGS1999

Lava Falls Rapid in Grand Canyon: Effects of Late Holocene debris flows on the Colorado River

Lava Falls Rapid is the most formidable reach of whitewater on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon and is one of the most famous rapids in the world. Debris flows in 1939, 1954, 1955, 1966, and 1995, as well as prehistoric events, completely changed flow through the rapid. Floods cleared out much of the increased constrictions, but releases from Glen Canyon Dam, including the 1996 controlled flood, are now required to remove the boulders deposited by the debris flows.

Arizona↗
USGS1997

Reworking of aggraded debris fans by the 1996 controlled flood on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Debris flows from 600 tributaries in Grand Canyon periodically deposit poorly sorted sediment on debris fans along the Colorado River between Lakes Powell and Mead. Before regulation, stable fans and rapids along the river resulted from the interaction of tributary debris flows and large, mainstem floods. Floods in the Colorado River maintained fans and rapids as highly-reworked deposits of boulders and cobbles. After the closure of Glen Canyon Dam in 1963, decreases in stage and stream power associated with reduced annual peak flows drastically reduced the amount of debris-fan reworking. Previous research has shown that modest powerplant releases from Glen Canyon Dam, particularly in combination with tributary floods, can significantly rework aggraded debris fans. These limited flows have entrained boulders up to 1 mo in diameter, although discharges greatly exceeding the maximum powerplant release (946 m 3 /s) would be required to completely remove most aggraded fans. From 1987 through 1995, debris flows constricted the Colorado River at the mouths of at least 25 tributary canyons in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, creating 2 new rapids and narrowing at least 9 existing riffles or rapids. The highest peak discharge on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon between 1986 and 1996 was 960 m 3 /s in January 1993. In March-April 1996, we studied the effects of a 7-day flood release that peaked at 1,370 m 3 /s on 18 recently aggraded debris fans downstream from Glen Canyon Dam. The largest changes occurred at Badger and Lava Falls rapids, 38 and 312 km downstream from the dam, respectively; several other aggraded debris fans were only slightly changed. Areas of aggraded debris fans decreased by 2 to 42 percent; only the debris fan at Bedrock Rapid, which is controlled by a large bedrock outcrop, increased in area owing to deposition of reworked sediment on the downstream margin. Volumes decreased on 7 of 9 debris fans by 3 to 34 percent. The distal margins of most recently aggraded debris fans became armored with a lag of cobbles and boulders, and the width of the reworked zone on most debris fans increased by 4 to 30 m. Constriction of the river decreased at 11 of 18 debris fans, although some rapids, such as Tanner Rapid, became slightly more constricted at low discharges owing to changes in stage-discharge relations. Velocities on the left and right sides of Lava Falls Rapid decreased by about half, but velocities increased in three other rapids (e.g., Badger Creek Rapid). Stream power per unit width decreased in 9 of 10 rapids because of decreases in water-surface fall and widening of the rapids. Changes in the sizes of upper pool sand bars were inconsistent, although separation bars downstream from the reworked debris fan generally increased in size. The amount of stream power generated by the controlled flood greatly affected the variability of reworking among the 18 debris fans. For a given discharge, mainstem reworking is expected to vary with channel and debris-fan geometry, the initial particle-size distribution of the deposit, and distance from the dam. The elapsed time between debris flow and the controlled flood also was important because larger particles at older deposits became interlocked, imbricated, and (or) sutured together during smaller dam releases combined with tributary floods in January 1993 and August 1994. The effectiveness of future floods of similar magnitude in reworking debris fans will depend in part on the release history and extent of armoring in the period between the debris flow and the flood. If reworking of debris fans is a criterion for design of future controlled floods, our data support release of a higher peak discharge of shorter duration shortly after constricting debris flows occur.

Arizona↗
USGS1996

When the blue-green waters turn red: Historical flooding in Havasu Creek, Arizona

Havasu Creek, the second largest tributary of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, attracts numerous visitors each year owing to its spectacular scenery. Perennial streamflow seldom exceeds 2 cubic meters per second (m 3 /s), but supports important stands of riparian vegetation, forms unique travertine pools, and spills over spectacular waterfalls. Havasu Canyon is home to the Havasupai Tribe, consisting of 423 members living in Supai, Arizona. Flooding in Havasu Creek poses a hazard to both visitors and residents of Supai. Frequent, large floods occurred in winter and summer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries; the largest occurred in January 1910. Smaller, summer floods occurred between 1935 and 1990. In September 1990, the largest flood in Havasu Creek since 1935, and possibly 1910, was generated by intense thunderstorms that lasted several days. The 1990 flood peaked at 575 m3/s, caused severe damage to Supai, killed hundreds of ash trees (Fraxinus sp.), and altered travertine deposits in lower Havasu Canyon. Smaller floods in July 1992 and February 1993 also damaged Supai, eroded waterfalls, destroyed riparian vegetation, filled pools with gravel, and deposited coarse debris in the Colorado River. Most ash trees in Havasu Canyon germinated after 1940; peak recruitment occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s, possibly in response to human disturbance. Nearly 80 percent of historical Havasu Creek floods have occurred during or immediately following El Niño years. Recent 1990s flooding reflects the flood regime of the first third of the 20th century, and frequency of intense daily precipitation at stations near Havasu Creek has followed patterns in recent flood frequency.

Arizona↗
USGS1992

Climatic variability and flood frequency of the Santa Cruz River, Pima County, Arizona

Past estimates of the 100-year flood for the Santa Cruz River at Tucson, Arizona, range from 572 to 2,780 cubic meters per second. An apparent increase in flood magnitude during the past two decades raises concern that the annual flood series is nonstationary in time. The apparent increase is accompanied by more annual floods occurring in fall and winter and fewer in summer. This greater mixture of storm types that produce annual flood peaks is caused by a higher frequency of meridional flow in the upper-air circulation and increased variance of ocean-atmosphere conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Estimation of flood frequency on the Santa Cruz River is complicated because climate affects the magnitude and frequency of storms that cause floods. Mean discharge does not change significantly, but the variance and skew coefficient of the distribution of annual floods change with time. The 100-year flood during El Niffo-Southern Oscillation conditions is 1,300 cubic meters per second, more than double the value for other years. The increase is mostly caused by an increase in recurvature of dissipating tropical cyclones into the Southwestern United States during El Niffo-Southern Oscillation conditions. Flood frequency based on hydroclimatology was determined by combining populations of floods caused by monsoonal storms, frontal systems, and dissipating tropical cyclones. For 1930-59, annual flood frequency is dominated by monsoonal floods, and the estimated 100-year flood is 323 cubic meters per second. For 1960-86, annual flood frequency at recurrence intervals of greater than 10 years is dominated by floods caused by dissipating tropical cyclones, and the estimated 100-year flood is 1,660 cubic meters per second. For design purposes, 1,660 cubic meters per second might be an appropriate value for the 100-year flood at Tucson, assuming that climatic conditions during 1960-86 are representative of conditions expected in the immediate future.

Water Supply Paper↗
USGS1991

Low-flow sediment transport in the Colorado River

In support of beach-stability research, bedload and suspended sediment were measured during a steady flow of 5,880 ft 3 /s and receding flows from 12,100 to 5,660 ft 3 /s in the Colorado River above National Canyon, near Supai, Arizona, October 7-12, 1989. During steady flows, 75 percent of the mean total-sediment discharge of 128 t/d was in suspension and about half the total-sediement load was finer than 0.062 mm. Median grain sizes of bedload and bed material were 0.43 and 0.40 mm, respecively. Although steady-flow bedload transport varied from the mean by about 45 percent, suspended-sediment discharge remained constant within sampling error. Helley-Smith and BL-86-3 bedload samplers were not significantly different. At larger transport rates, however, the rates measured by the Helley-Smith exceeded those measure by the BL-86-3. Transport rates from bedload samples collected with Helley-Smith and BL-86-3 bedload samplers in sections 8 ft apart demonstrate no consistent autocorrelation or cross correlation. Cross-sectional bedload-transport rates measured concurrently or consecutively with the bedload samplers showed good agreement indicating that bedload varied by at least a factor of 2.4 during the steady-flow period. Ninety-five percent of the bedload transport during low flow occurred in the center one-third of the channel.

Arizona↗
USGS1989

Debris flows from tributaries of the Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

A reconnaissance of 36 tributaries of the Colorado River indicates that debris flows are a major process by which sediment is transported to the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Debris flows are slurries of sediment and water that have a water content of less than about 40 percent by volume. Debris flows occur frequently in arid and semiarid regions. Slope failures commonly trigger debris flows, which can originate from any rock formation in the Grand Canyon. The largest and most frequent flows originate from the Permian Hermit Shale, the underlying Esplanade Sandstone of the Supai Group, and other formations of the Permian and Pennsylvanian Supai Group. Debris flows also occur in the Cambrian Muav Limestone and underlying Bright Angel Shale and the Quaternary basalts in the western Grand Canyon. Debris-flow frequency and magnitude were studied in detail in the Lava-Chuar Creek drainage at Colorado River mile 65.5; in the Monument Creek drainage at mile 93.5; and in the Crystal Creek drainage at mile 98.2. Debris flows have reached the Colorado River on an average of once every 20 to 30 years in the Lava-Chuar Creek drainage since about 1916. Two debris flows have reached the Colorado River in the last 25 years in Monument Creek. The Crystal Creek drainage has had an average of one debris flow reaching the Colorado River every 50 years, although the debris flow of 1966 has been the only flow that reached the Colorado River since 1900. Debris flows may actually reach the Colorado River more frequently in these drainages because evidence for all debris flows may not have been preserved in the channel-margin stratigraphy. Discharges were estimated for the peak flow of three debris flows that reached the Colorado River. The debris flow of 1966 in the Lava-Chuar Creek drainage had an estimated discharge of 4,000 cubic feet per second. The debris flow of 1984 in the Monument Creek drainage had a discharge estimated between 3,600 and 4,200 cubic feet per second. The debris flow of 1966 in the Crystal Creek drainage had a discharge estimated between 9,200 and 14,000 cubic feet per second. Determination of the effective cross-sectional area was a problem in all calculations involving superelevations on bends because areas near superelevation marks were 1.5 to 3.5 times larger than areas of upstream or downstream cross sections. Debris flows in the Grand Canyon generally are composed of 10 to 40 percent sand by weight and may represent a significant source of beach-building sand along the Colorado River. The particle-size distributions are very poorly sorted and the largest transported boulders were in the Crystal Creek drainage. The large boulders transported into the Colorado River by debris flows create or change hydraulic controls (rapids); these controls appear to be governed by the magnitude and frequency of tributary-flow events and the history of discharges on the Colorado River. Reworking of debris fans by the Colorado River creates debris bars that constrain the size of eddy systems and forms secondary rapids and riffles below tributary mouths.

Professional Paper↗
USGS1986

Recovery of compacted soils in Mojave Desert ghost towns

Residual compaction of soils was measured at seven sites in five Mojave Desert ghost towns. Soils in these Death Valley National Monument townsites were compacted by vehicles, animals, and human trampling, and the townsites had been completely abandoned and the buildings removed for 64 to 75 yr. The soils studied (generally sandy, mixed, Typic Calciorthids) were derived from granitic or volcanic alluvium at elevations from 1310 to 1730 m. Compaction measurements in the townsites, including penetration depth, penetration resistance, bulk density, and peak shear stress, indicated that only one site had completely recovered to ambient soil conditions after 75 yr. Recovery times extrapolated using a linear recovery model ranged from 80 to 140 yr and averaged 100 yr. The recovery times were related to elevation, suggesting freeze-thaw loosening as an important factor in ameliorating soil compaction in the Mojave Desert.

California↗