Articles | Volume 7, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-859-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-859-2019
Research article
 | 
17 Sep 2019
Research article |  | 17 Sep 2019

Introducing PebbleCounts: a grain-sizing tool for photo surveys of dynamic gravel-bed rivers

Benjamin Purinton and Bodo Bookhagen

Related authors

Measuring decadal vertical land-level changes from SRTM-C (2000) and TanDEM-X ( ∼ 2015) in the south-central Andes
Benjamin Purinton and Bodo Bookhagen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 971–987, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-971-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-971-2018, 2018
Short summary
Validation of digital elevation models (DEMs) and comparison of geomorphic metrics on the southern Central Andean Plateau
Benjamin Purinton and Bodo Bookhagen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 211–237, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-211-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-211-2017, 2017
Short summary

Related subject area

Physical: Geomorphology (including all aspects of fluvial, coastal, aeolian, hillslope and glacial geomorphology)
Haloturbation in the northern Atacama Desert revealed by a hidden subsurface network of calcium sulfate wedges
Aline Zinelabedin, Joel Mohren, Maria Wierzbicka-Wieczorek, Tibor Janos Dunai, Stefan Heinze, and Benedikt Ritter
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 257–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-257-2025, 2025
Short summary
An evaluation of flow-routing algorithms for calculating contributing area on regular grids
Alexander B. Prescott, Jon D. Pelletier, Satya Chataut, and Sriram Ananthanarayan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 239–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025, 2025
Short summary
Geometric constraints on tributary fluvial network junction angles
Jon D. Pelletier, Robert G. Hayes, Olivia Hoch, Brendan Fenerty, and Luke A. McGuire
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 219–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Automatic detection of floating instream large wood in videos using deep learning
Janbert Aarnink, Tom Beucler, Marceline Vuaridel, and Virginia Ruiz-Villanueva
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 167–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025, 2025
Short summary
Investigating uncertainty and parameter sensitivity in bedform analysis by using a Monte Carlo approach
Julius Reich and Axel Winterscheid
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 191–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Agisoft: AgiSoft PhotoScan Professional, available at: http://www.agisoft.com/downloads/installer/ (last access: 12 September 2019), 2018. a
Attal, M. and Lavé, J.: Changes of bedload characteristics along the Marsyandi River (central Nepal): Implications for understanding hillslope sediment supply, sediment load evolution along fluvial networks, and denudation in active orogenic belts, Geol. S. Am. S., 398, 143–171, https://doi.org/10.1130/2006.2398(09), 2006. a
Attal, M., Mudd, S. M., Hurst, M. D., Weinman, B., Yoo, K., and Naylor, M.: Impact of change in erosion rate and landscape steepness on hillslope and fluvial sediments grain size in the Feather River basin (Sierra Nevada, California), Earth Surf. Dynam., 3, 201–222, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-201-2015, 2015. a
Bertin, S. and Friedrich, H.: Field application of close-range digital photogrammetry (CRDP) for grain-scale fluvial morphology studies, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 41, 1358–1369, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3906, 2016. a, b
Bertin, S., Groom, J., and Friedrich, H.: Isolating roughness scales of gravel-bed patches, Water Resour. Res., 53, 6841–6856, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016WR020205, 2017. a
Download
Short summary
We develop and test new methods for counting pebble-size distributions in photos of gravel-bed rivers. Our open-source algorithms provide good estimates in complex imagery from high-energy mountain rivers. We discuss methods of river cross-section photo collection and processing into seamless georeferenced imagery. Application of a semi-automated version of the algorithm in small patches can be used as validation data for upscaling to entire survey sites using a fully automated version.
Share