Short communication: Field data reveal that the transport probability of clasts in Peruvian and Swiss streams mainly depends on the sorting of the grains
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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Short communication: Field data reveal that the transport probability of clasts in Peruvian and Swiss streams mainly depends on the sorting of the grains
Description:
<jats:p>Abstract. We present field observations from coarse-grained streams in the Swiss Alps
and the Peruvian Andes to explore the controls on the probability of
material entrainment. We calculate shear stress that is expected for a mean
annual water discharge and compare these estimates with grain-specific
critical shear stresses that we use as thresholds. We find that the
probability of material transport largely depends on the sorting of the bed
material, expressed by the D96∕D50 ratio, and the reach gradient but
not on mean annual discharge. The results of regression analyses
additionally suggest that among these variables, the sorting exerts the
largest control on the transport probability of grains. Furthermore, because
the sorting is significantly correlated neither to reach gradient nor to
water discharge, we propose that the granulometric composition of the
material represents an independent, yet important control on the motion of
clasts in coarse-grained streams.
</jats:p>