VERIFICATION OF THE METHOD FOR OBSERVING SUSPENDED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT DURING SNOWMELT RUNOFF PIRIODS BY A FLOW-CELL TYPE ULTRASONIC ATTENUATION SPECTROMETER

Abstract

 An observation of suspended sediment transport during the snowmelt runoff periods is important for the management of sediment in river systems in cold regions with snow. Suspended sediment transport can be calculated by L-Q equations. This method is difficult to use for continuous long-term observation because L-Q equations differ at time the discharge increases and decreases, and depend on the progress of snowmelt. Although in recent years an ultrasonic attenuation spectrometer was developed, some problems remain such as measurement during snowmelt runoff period and continuous long-term measurement. In this study, we observed a suspended sediment concentration of up to 0.6 kg·m^-3 and particle size distribution during the snowmelt runoff periods by a flow-cell type ultrasonic attenuation spectrometer, and found that suspended sediment transport could be observed from the sampling data for a few days and the measured data.