Tracing bedload transport in Alpine mountain streams by means of PIT-tagged particles: interplay between sediment supply and hydro-meteorological forcing

Conceptual models of first-order controls governing river channel dynamics in mountain streams have been rarely tested in the field. In this Ph.D. thesis we examine the effects of hydro-meteorological forcing and sediment supply on the bedload transport dynamics of mountain streams. To this purpose we select three step-pool mountain streams that share identical granitic lithology, but exhibit contrasting sediment supply and hydro-climatic conditions. The three study sites, which are located in Trentino, Eastern Italian Alps, include the Ussaia Creek (2.3 km2) in Val di Sole, and the Grigno and Tolvà Creeks (7 km2) in Valsugana. The former is characterized by high, sand-rich sediment supply delivered by some 20 m-thick glacigenic deposits. The latter two, which flow through glacially carved bedrock terrain, are disconnected from colluvial sediment inputs so that sediment sources are limited to channel banks and bars during high flows. Mean annual precipitation is respectively 844 mm in Ussaia Creek and 1511 mm in Grigno and Tolvà Creeks. All study streams experience, to variable extents, snowmelt and rainfall-induced bedload transporting flows. To estimate quantitatively the effects and the interactions associated with sediment supply and hydro-meteorological forcing, we monitor precipitation and atmospheric temperature. Hydrological levels at instrumented sections are recorded via pressure transducers. Bedload transport is monitored by tagging and tracking 632 stones (b-axis: 30 to 131 mm; weight 88-4004 g). The tracking of these PIT-tagged tracers was conducted from December 2013 to December 2015 by means of an RFID portable pole antenna. Cumulatively, a total of 16, 11 and 19 bedload events were monitored respectively at Grigno, Tolvà and Ussaia Creek. We measured displacement lengths occurred during inter-survey periods, induced by peak flows associated to snowmelt, rainfall or a combination of the two (mixed-type). Active channel depth was evaluated via direct d