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Environmental and Engineering Geoscience; November 2003; v. 9; no. 4; p. 305-312; DOI: 10.2113/9.4.305
© 2003 Association of Engineering Geologists
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Effects of Arroyo Sediment Influxes on the Rio Grande River Channel near El Paso, Texas

RICHARD JEPSEN1, RICHARD LANGFORD2, JESSE ROBERTS3 and JOSEPH GAILANI4

1 Sandia National Labs, Mechanical Environments, 4100 National Parks Highway, Albuquerque, NM 88220
2 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968
3 Sandia National Labs, 4100 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, NM 88220
4 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, MS 39180

Arroyos that flow into the Rio Grande River channel along the U.S.–Mexico border provide intermittent influxes of sediment that may obstruct the channel and cause overflow as well as sedimentation problems downstream. These phenomena were studied using a recently developed, unique, in situ method for measuring the erosion properties of sediments with depth and at high shear stresses. Results of the investigation confirm that the arroyo sediments can affect the channel of the Rio Grande by introducing sediments that are more difficult to erode compared to those already present. Two sites were mapped and characterized in terms of vegetation and soil distribution. Sediment samples were collected, and erosion rates, mineralogy, and sediment grain-size distributions were determined. Results showed that large flows in both arroyos were capable of obstructing the Rio Grande channel by introducing sediments that were more difficult to erode than the existing channel sediments.

Key Words: Sediments • Erosion • Arroyos • Flood • Rio Grande River






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