Stable channel analysis of the rio grande in the upper reaches of elephant butte reservoir

摘要

The Middle Rio Grande flows through wide valleys of New Mexico carrying large quantities of sediment to Elephant Butte Reservoir (Figure 1). The river has been aggrading for the last 11,00 years. Although two large dams (Cochiti and Abiquiu Dams) limit sediment supply in the basin, tributaries such as the Rio Puerco and other smaller ephemeral washes deliver large quantities of sediment to The Rio Grande south of Albuquerque. Much of this sediment has been deposited in the upper reaches of Elephant Butte Reservoir. Coupled with a highly variable hydrologic cycle varying from long wet to long dry periods, sediment management in the delta of Elephant Butte Reservoir has proven to represent a difficult engineering task.