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H2020Individual fellowship2018–2020

WoodJam · Sediment dynamics of instream wood jams and managed installations

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2018-08-27 → 2020-08-26
EU contribution
€195,455
Participants
1
Scheme
MSCA-IF-EF-ST

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Results in brief

WoodJam—Sediment dynamics of instream wood jams and managed installations

To combat expected increases in the frequency and severity of drought, floods, unpredictable rainfall and other extreme weather conditions, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Paris Agreement signatories have called for substantial investment in adaptation infrastructure required to secure future water supplies, with 2018 green bond investment in water projects totalling approximately £14 billion. The EU Water Framework Directive and the Water Criteria of the Climate Bonds Standard have encouraged the use of nature-based solutions, including instream leaky wood barriers, to improve catchment physical and ecological resilience and reduce the need for hard engineering infrastructure. Instream leaky wood barriers cause a backwater rise behind the structure, enhancing water storage and channel-floodplain connectivity. The contributions of natural instream wood to increased fishery production, improved ecological status, and channel roughness in wooded catchments are well documented. However, little is known about the engineering performance of constructed leaky barriers during extreme events, optimum design to reduce dam collapse impacts, and the effect of leaky barriers on channel incision and water quality. The work carried out investigated the hydraulic and sediment transport effects of instream leaky wood barriers using a combination of hydraulic flume epxeriments, fieldwork, and hydraulic modelling, to improve the representation of leaky barriers in modelling frameworks and the design and assessment of engineered logjams used in natural flood management projects.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Natural flood management practices, including engineered logjam installations, can slow floodwaters in upstream catchments, promoting infiltration and reducing flood severity. In order to reduce flood damages and prepare for an expected increase in severe floods due to climate change, the EU Water Framework Directive encourages the use of engineered logjams and other natural flood management interventions. It is necessary to consider the effects of channel-spanning engineered log jam installations, which are the most common, on stream hydrodynamics and sediment scour and retention in order to guide management interventions and accurately assess the implications of natural flood management projects. The proposed project objectives will fill existing knowledge gaps related to the quantification of logjam-induced sediment storage and flow resistance, in addition to the prediction of the length over which an engineered logjam influences the downstream river channel. WoodJam will experimentally investigate the impact of jam geometry and spacing on sediment storage and develop a method to assess the porosity of a jam without disassembly. Experimental studies conducted in sediment flumes at Cardiff University will be related to observations of existing natural flood management projects in the UK and Germany, with design and management recommendations transferred to environmental resource managers through discussion and policy documents. Hydraulic modelling studies will identify methods to represent common engineered logjam designs in 2D flood modelling tools, validated by experimental results. These methods will enable accurate modelling of natural flood management project effects. The project approach will provide an innovative approach by uniting CU expertise in LW hydraulics and modelling with Dr. Follett’s previous experience investigating flow and sediment transport through porous obstructions (Professor Heidi Nepf, MIT).

Original text from CORDIS.

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Data: CORDIS, © European Union