Laserfiche WebLink
2 <br />essentially sediment-free, the majority of the seiment load in this reach is <br />obtained -from the bed resulting in a lowering of the streambed. Downstreams <br />of the am to the confluence with the_Duchesne River, drews_noted Anew <br />uasi-e uilibrium con ion exist with in transport t the <br />sediment supp ied to it as shown by his sediment budget computations for the <br />Geological Survey gauge near Jensen. Below the Duchesne confluence, Andrews <br />described the Green as actively radin with the supply of sediment from <br />tributary streams exceeding the ability of the Green to transport it. This <br />information provided the starting point for the current investigations of the <br />channel morphology history of the Green and its present-day sediment <br />transport regime. <br />HISTORICAL TRENDS IN CHANNEL CHARACTERISTICS <br />Channel Width <br />Studies of channel width of the Green were conducted for two reaches of the <br />river by Pucherelli ([4] and [5]). These studies are included in the appendix <br />of this report. Aerial photography covering a 73-mile reach of the Green from <br />river mile 237 to river mile 310 (upper study reach) was obtained for the <br />following years: 1952, 1963, 1964, 1974, 1978, and 1986. The photography was <br />analyzed as five data sets with the photography from 1963 and 1964 comprising <br />one set designated 1964 and presumed to reflect preregulation channel con- <br />ditions. All photographs are black and white and of various scale: <br />1952-1:20,000; 1964-1:24,000; 1974-1:31,680; 1978-1:33,000; and 1986-1:24,000. <br />A 27-mile reach of the Green in the vicinity of Green River, Utah, from river <br />mile 94 to river mile 121 (lower study reach) was examined on photography <br />obtained in 1952, 1974, 1981, and 1987. The 1952, 1974, and 1987 photographs <br />are black and white, and the 1981 photos are color-infrared. The scale varied <br />as followed: 1952-1:20,000; 1974-1:34,500; 1981-1:38,500; and 1987-1:26,000. <br />Each photograph was fitted with a mylar overlay on which the river channel was <br />delineated by drawing the high-water embankment lines and vegetated islands. <br />Following photointerpretation, the delineated polygons were transferred to a <br />1:24,000 map base and the length of each map reach of river was determined. <br />The data was then digitized into a Geographic Information System using <br />Geographic Entry System software. Channel area for each data set was tabulated <br />and an average channel width computed using the measured channel length for <br />each data set. This channel width data is presumed accurate to within <br />20 feet. <br />Average channel width for the upper study reach was estimated to be 700 feet <br />in 1952, 710 feet in 1964, 667 feet in 1974, 669 feet in 1978, and 683 feet in <br />1986. Average channel width for the lower study reach was estimated to be <br />473 feet in 1952, 475 feet in 1974, 453 feet in 1981, and 459 feet in 1987. <br />About 40 percent of the channel narrrowing was attributed to island attachment <br />to the banks. <br />These average channel width data are comparable to the average channel widths <br />reported by Andrews. For the upper study reach, Andrews measured channel