S&T Project Number 1871 Final Report:Monitoring Sediment Transport in an Ephemeral Stream

The research focuses on physical measurements of sediment flux and surrogate techniques in order to establish a relationship between the two in an ephemeral stream environment. This relationship is necessary because: standard methods for estimating sediment yield are derived from perennial systems and are inapplicable to ephemeral systems; the nature of ephemeral streams (infrequent and short-lived) means that standard data collection methods are insufficient; and 30% of the world’s inhabited land surface is made up of desert climates and is home to approximately 2 billion people and this research will help fill the gap in scientific knowledge such that management of desert channel networks (including the semi-arid southwestern United States) will be improved.