Compilation of memorandums and other materials concerning office procedures for sediment records
In Reply Refer To: January 7, 1994
Mail Stop 415
OFFICE OF SURFACE WATER TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM NO. 94.04
Subject: Compilation of memorandums and other materials
concerning office procedures for sediment records
Office of Surface Water Technical Memorandum No. 92.08 listed all
Water Resources Division (WRD), Office of Water Quality (OQW), and
Office of Surface Water (OSW) memorandums issued since 1971 that
pertain to sediment activities. The present memorandum builds
upon OSW Technical Memorandum No. 92.08 by summarizing
documentation relevant to office procedures for sediment records
computations. Information contained in this memorandum should
provide a reference for field personnel involved with sediment
records.
Published reports
Glysson, G.D., 1987, Sediment transport curves: U.S. Geological
Survey Open-File Report 87-218, 47 p.
This report describes several methods of developing sediment
transport curves for use in estimating sediment loads or
concentrations at times when streamflow data are available but
sediment data are limited.
Porterfield, George, 1972, Computation of fluvial sediment
discharge: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources
Investigations, Book 3, Chapter C3, 66 p.
This report remains the standard reference guide for sediment
records computation. Although newer computer techniques are not
discussed, the currently-available software, such as SEDCALC, is
designed to follow the Porterfield computation methods as closely
as possible.
Kolton, G.F., Gray, J.R., and McElhone, T.J., in preparation,
SEDCALC User's Manual [currently in draft, anticipated release in
WY 1994]
This report describes sediment-records computation using SEDCALC.
SEDCALC is a FORTRAN computer program supported by OSW that can be
used on both the PRIME and DG systems.
Office of Surface Water Memorandums
Memorandum
number Title
OSW.90.08 Policy and guidelines for the collection and
publication of bedload data
This memorandum includes guidelines for computation, publication,
documentation, and storage of bedload data as well as information
on sampling equipment and techniques.
OSW.91.15 Guidelines for the analyses of sediment data
This memorandum describes procedures for computing and publishing
suspended-sediment, bed material, bedload, and total-sediment
data. Guidelines are provided for station descriptions, field
notes, records processing, station analysis, and publication
format.
OSW.92.06 New parameter codes for bedload data
This memorandum provides new parameter codes for mandatory
information needed to document bedload-sampling procedure and
equipment.
OSW.92.08 Compilation of memorandums related to sediment
This memorandum lists all previous OSW, OQW, and WRD memorandums
dealing with any aspect of sediment work.
OSW.93.08 Recommendations for use of retransformation methods in
regression models used to estimate sediment loads ("The bias
correction problem")
This memorandum describes three methods of correcting for
retransformation bias when using logarithmic sediment transport
curves to estimate sediment concentrations or loads. OSW
recommends the use of the Minimum Variance Unbiased Estimator
(MVUE) for cases in which regression residuals are normally
distributed and the Duan "smearing" estimator when regression
residuals are not normally distributed.
OSW.93.11 WRD policy on publication of sediment size data
determined by use of the Sedigraph
This memorandum endorses the use of the Sedigraph for sediment
size analyses and provides guidelines for its use.
OSW.93.13 Example attachment to the Office of Surface Water
Technical Memorandum No. 93.08
This memorandum provides a correction and clarification for page 6
of OSW Technical Memorandum No. 93.08.
OSW.93.21 Policy and technical guidance for conversion of
sediment concentration from parts per million (ppm) to milligrams
per liter (mg/l)
This memorandum provides additional guidelines for the use of
standard conversion factors to convert sediment concentrations,
expressed in parts per million (ppm), to milligrams per liter
(mg/L).
Unnumbered OSW memorandum dated May 28, 1992: Guidelines for use
of SEDCALC
This memorandum endorses SEDCALC for use in computing daily
sediment loads.
Office of Water Quality Memorandums
Memorandum
number Title
OQW.72.10 Sediment Computations--Conversion of suspended-sediment
concentration from parts per million to milligrams per liter
This memorandum provides a table for converting suspended-sediment
concentrations in parts per million to milligrams per liter. The
table included with the memorandum and
OSW 93.21 supersede the table in TWRI Book 5, Chapter C1,
p.4.
OQW.77.08 Open-file report: Relationship of sediment discharge to
streamflow, by B.R. Colby
This memorandum announces the reprinting of Colby's 1956 open-file
report. The report provides a detailed description of sediment-
transport curves and factors that affect relations between
streamflow and suspended-sediment discharge.
OQW.79.19 New WATSTORE parameter codes
Parameter codes are provided for depth at sample location in feet
(81903) and for point stream velocity in feet per second (81904).
OQW.80.12 Transmittal of "Summary of WRD memorandums relating to
water-quality practices and policies"
This memorandum lists all WRD memorandums pertaining to water-
quality investigations. Memorandums from October 1, 1972, through
February 29, 1980, are included.
Charles W. Boning, Chief
Office of Surface Water
WRD DISTRIBUTION LIST: A, B, FO, PO