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Tucannon River Offsite Study Sediment Intrusion and Dissolved-Oxygen Transport Model SIDO: Abstract
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Carlos V. Alonso
USDA Agricultural Research Service

Fred D. Theurer
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

David W. Zachmann
Colorado State University

Abstract

This report describes the development and initial testing of the Sediment Intrusion and Dissolved Oxygen Transport (SIDO) Model. This model was formulated to quantify the cause and effect relationship between the survival of anadromous salmon species and the quality of aquatic habitat supported by gravel-bed streams. It is a deterministic model which operates on two coupled stream and redd domains. First, the flow of oxygen-saturated and sediment-laden water over a gravel stream bed is simulated in the one-dimensional stream domain. Second, the intrusion of sediment fines and movement of oxygenated water through the gravel substrate is simulated in the two-dimensional redd domain. Simulated substrate processes include deposition of fines in the gravel interstices, and oxygen consumption by respiration of salmonid embryos and fry and by sediment organic matter. The model is designed to handle any mixture of fine sediment matrix and gravel framework.

The Tucannon River watershed, southeastern Washington state, was the nucleous about which the model was developed. The model has been calibrated and tested on data from the Krouse Ranch site on the Tucannon River. The model was also tested using synthetic hydrologic data to confirm that the model responds in a realistic manner under different watershed scenarios. Results from all these tests were satisfactory.

This work resulted from a cooperative research effort between the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Colorado State University under the sponsorship of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly the Soil Conservation Service. This work is part of a systematic evaluation of the effects of agricultural conservation measures on channel sedimentation, water quality, and aquatic habitats in streams supporting anadromous salmon species.