Estimating the Variation of Travel Time in Rivers by Use of Wave Speed andHydraulic Characteristics

摘要

Predicting the effect of a pollutant spill on downstream water quality isprimarily dependent on the speed of movement downstream, the rate of longitudinal mixing, and the chemical or physical reactions that affect the total mass of pollutant in the water column. Of these three processes, the speed of movement is probably the most important and most difficult to predict. A time-of-travel study often is conducted to quantify the mixing properties and speed of movement of a pollutant, but these results are expensive and applicable only for the flow conditions under which they were obtained. The purpose of this report is to provide guidance on extrapolating travel-time information obtained at one flow to a different flow in the same reach of river.