A comparison between different methods for determining grain distribution in coarse channel beds

The determination of grain size distribution in alluvial channels plays a crucial role in understanding fluvial dynamics and processes (e.g., hydraulic resistance, sediment transport and erosion, and habitat suitability). However, to determine an accurate distribution, tremendous field efforts are often required. Traditionally, the grain size distribution of channel beds have been obtained by manually counting a set of randomly selected stones (the “pebble count”). Based on this elementary principle, many authors have proposed different adaptations to overcome weaknesses and problems with the original method; with the development of digital technology, photographic methods have been developed in order to significantly reduce the time spent in the field. Two of these “image-assisted” methods include Automated Grain Sizing, AGS, and Manual Photo Sieving, MPS. In this study, AGS and MPS were applied under ideal laboratory conditions, to be used as reference, and in two field conditions with different degrees of difficulty in terms of visual determination of the grain size distribution; these included an artificial unlined channel and two natural mountainous streams. The results were compared with those obtained with the pebble-count method. In general, strong agreement between the methods was found when they were applied under favorable conditions (”the laboratory”), and the differences between the image-assisted and pebble count methods were similar to those found in previous studies. Despite being more time consuming, MPS was deemed preferable to AGS when conditions are not optimal; in these cases, the time spent on image elaboration significantly increased in the AGS method (approximately three-fold), but the estimation error of the median grain size decreased by approximately 37%. The use of image-assisted analysis has proven to be robust for characterizing sediment in watercourse beds and reducing fieldwork time, but because field conditions can significantly affect the accuracy of results, the method choice must be carefully considered.