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Three large-scale field experiments were conducted on the Colorado
River downstream from Glen Canyon Dam in 1996, 2004, and 2008 to
evaluate whether artificial (that is, controlled) floods released
from the dam could be used in conjunction with the sand supplied by
downstream tributaries to rebuild and sustainably maintain eddy
sandbars in the river in Grand Canyon National Park. Higher
suspended-sand concentrations during a controlled flood will lead
to greater eddy-sandbar deposition rates. During each controlled
flood experiment, sediment-transport and bed-sediment data were
collected to evaluate sediment-supply effects on sandbar
deposition. Data collection substantially increased in spatial and
temporal density with each subsequent experiment. The suspended-
and bed-sediment data collected during all three controlled-flood
experiments are presented and analyzed in this report. Analysis of
these data indicate that in designing the hydrograph of a
controlled flood that is optimized for sandbar deposition in a
given reach of the Colorado River, both the magnitude and the grain
size of the sand supply must be considered. Because of the opposing
physical effects of bed-sand area and bed-sand grain size in
regulating suspended-sand concentration, larger amounts of coarser
sand on the bed can lead to lower suspended-sand concentrations,
and thus lower rates of sandbar deposition, during a controlled
flood than can lesser amounts of finer sand on the bed. Although
suspended-sand concentrations were higher at all study sites during
the 2008 controlled-flood experiment (CFE) than during either the
1996 or 2004 CFEs, these higher concentrations were likely
associated with more sand on the bed of the Colorado River in only
lower Glen Canyon. More sand was likely present on the bed of the
river in Grand Canyon during the 1996 CFE than during either the
2004 or 2008 CFEs. The question still remains as to whether
sandbars can be sustained in the Colorado River in Grand Canyo
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