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Fine sediment being measured in French Creek using the V* technique. Select photo 2 and 3 to see more about the V* method.


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The drawing above shows how a pool is divided into a series of transects as measurements are taken to determine the amount of fine sediment in pools versus the combined total of water and fine sediment. Where the small circles appear along the transect, a probe is used to measure the depth of fine sediment. This drawing was taken from the paper describing the V* method (Hilton and Lisle, 1992).


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The V* technique requires that the depth of water spilling from the back of the pool (riffle crest) be measured and subtracted from pool depth to calculate residual pool volume. This allows the calculation of relative fine sediment volume regardless of stream flow. Use the arrow to tab down on the drawing above to see how the V* probe is used to calculate sediment depth. Drawing from Hilton and Lisle (1992).