The response of the Lower Mississippi River to river engineering

An examination of the response of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) to a variety of engineering activities is presented through the discussion of: (a) a brief history of engineering investigations and activities on the LMR; (b) the impact of artificial cutoffs on the channel geometry and water surface profiles of adjacent reaches; (c) the impact of channel alignment activities on channel morphology; and (d) the apparent impact of all of the LMR engineering activities on sediment dynamics in the channel.

Investigations by many agencies reflect over 150 years of study of the hydraulics and hydrology of the LMR, which have contributed significantly to our understanding of large alluvial rivers. In an effort to provide for flood control and navigation on the largest river in North America, private landowners and the US Army Corps of Engineers have performed a wide range of river engineering activities, including construction of levees, floodways, artificial cutoffs, bank revetment, training dikes, dredging, channel alignment, and reservoirs on the major tributaries. This unprecedented program of river engineering activities on the river during the last 100 years has resulted in the evolution of a freely meandering alluvial river to a highly trained and confined meandering channel. The LMR has increased its overall gradient and average top-bank width and generally increased its channel depth. The immediate response of the river to increased gradient as a result of the construction of artificial cutoffs was dampened in some locations by local geological controls.

Examination of the trends in sediment dynamics of the LMR reveals that the suspended load of the river has decreased during the 20th century. Conversely, a trend in the bed load transport in the channel for the years 1930 and 1989 cannot be determined with confidence because of the difficulty in acquiring representative samples. The highly trained river now responds to channel forming flows by attempting to build mid-channel bars rather than natural cutoffs of meanders.

The LMR should maintain a relatively stable plan form in the intermediate future, barring a very large and unprecedented flood. The river will continue to adjust its channel geometry and its local gradients as a response to variations in significant discharges. Continued channel maintenance and occasional dredging will insure the present state of sediment and water transport efficiency.     

The lowermost Mississippi River: a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel

In this study, the distribution of channel‐bed sediment facies in the lowermost Mississippi River is analysed using multibeam data, complemented by sidescan sonar and compressed high‐intensity radar pulse seismic data, as well as grab and core samples of bed material. The channel bed is composed of a discontinuous layer of alluvial sediment and a relict substratum that is exposed on the channel bed and sidewalls. The consolidated substratum is made up of latest Pleistocene and Early Holocene fluvio‐deltaic deposits and is preferentially exposed in the deepest thalweg segments and on channel sidewalls in river bends. The exposed substratum commonly displays a suite of erosional features, including flutes that are quantitatively similar in form to those produced under known laboratory conditions. A total of five bed facies are mapped, three of which include modern alluvial deposits and two facies that are associated with the relict substratum. A radius of curvature analysis applied to the Mississippi River centreline demonstrates that the reach‐scale distribution of channel‐bed facies is related to river planform. From a broader perspective, the distribution of channel‐bed facies is related to channel sinuosity — higher sinuosity promotes greater substratum exposure at the expense of alluvial sediment. For example, the ratio of alluvial cover to substratum is ca 1·5:1 for a 45 km segment of the river that has a sinuosity of 1·76 and this ratio increases to ca 3:1 for a 120 km segment of the river that has a sinuosity of 1·21. The exposed substratum is interpreted as bedrock and, given the relative coverage of alluvial sediment in the channel, the lowermost Mississippi River can be classified as a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel. The analyses demonstrate that a mixed bedrock‐alluvial channel boundary can be associated with low‐gradient and sand‐bed rivers near their marine outlet.     

Downstream grain‐size changes associated with a transition from single channel to anabranching

Downstream variation in grain size associated with changes in river pattern is a topic that interests multiple disciplines. How grain size varies between adjacent reaches with strongly contrasting river pattern is an outstanding question. This study presents a combined field and numerical modelling investigation of a river with a downstream planform change from single channel to anabranching, where the planform is controlled by a change in underlying lithology. This approach enabled exploration of the controls on sedimentology in a river for which there is very limited opportunity to collect flow and sediment transport data. This study shows that the surficial grain size decreases as a result of the downstream change in planform. This is because of a decrease in flow velocity and shear stress associated with a decrease in channel depth related to the planform change. Channel geometries in both the field and modelling data fit into distinct groups based on channel depth, the deepest being the single channel reach and the shallowest being the anabranching. This downstream reduction in channel dimension (depth) is caused because the total discharge is split from one channel into multiple channels. The coarsest grain sizes (cobble) are deposited at the terminus of the single channel and in the distributary channels; anabranching channels contain sand‐size sediments. This study shows that, in a transition from single channel to anabranching, the channel dimensions decrease as the number of channels increases, resulting in a decrease in bed shear stress and the fining of bed material downstream.     

Frequency distribution of river bed materials

The size distribution of river bed material plays an important role in the study of fluvial hydraulic processes. It is not always easy to sample the river bed material for the determination of its size distribution, but knowledge of the frequency distribution and of bed material sizes can be used to predict its size distribution. Therefore, data on bed material size distributions of 63 streams from 10 different countries have been analysed to determine the frequency distribution which can be best fitted to them. The log normal distribution cannot be fitted to the bed material mixtures when the entire range of sizes is considered. The method of power transformation is found to normalize these mixtures. Relationships have been proposed between the parameters of the normalization and the stream slope. These relations can be used to predict the size distribution of the river bed material.     

An estimation of discharge using mean velocity derived through Chiu’s velocity equation

To estimate discharge through the year (dry season and flood season), a stage–discharge curve derived through monitoring discharge in about 20 rivers or channels every year has been generally used. As revealed in many studies, however, the stage–discharge curve is inevitably affected by their hydraulic characteristics. This suggests that the use of a stage–discharge curve derived without considering hydraulic characteristics unique to a river or channel may produce significant errors in estimating discharge at not only low stage (during dry seasons) but also high stage (during flood seasons). In this study, the authors proposed a method to calculate the mean velocity and to estimate the discharge considering the hydraulic characteristics of a river or channel (e.g. the bed slope, wetted perimeter, width, kinematic viscosity, etc.); the method was developed using Chiu’s velocity equation. With the proposed method, it is possible to calculate a maximum velocity that is difficult to measure in an open channel, derive an entropy function representing the equilibrium of the channel, and thereby, estimate reliable discharge even in a flood season. To comparatively verify the utility of the proposed method, relations between the results of analysis using Manning’s and Chezy’s mean velocity equations and the values of measured discharge were addressed together. The results of analysis using lab data sets and measured data sets revealed that the proposed method was significantly more accurate in estimating discharge, even in flood seasons, when compared with the conventional method.     

永胜刘官河流域泥石流灾害危险性评价

永胜刘官河位于云南省丽江市永胜县期纳镇境内,该流域在地形、地貌、地层岩性、地质构造和气候等相互作用的影响下,易发生泥石流灾害,严重威胁了当地居民正常的生产生活及生命安全。在调查与理论分析的基础上,选取松散物源储量、流域面积、主沟长度、相对高差、日最大降雨量、切割密度和不稳定沟床比等7个评价因子,通过组合赋权法结合多因素综合评价法构建评价模型对该流域危险性进行评价,得到永胜刘官河流域泥石流属于中度危险,评价结果与该流域泥石流的实际调查基本吻合。评价结果表明在未来的一段时间内,刘官河流域存在诱发间歇性中等规模泥石流灾害的可能,尤其是在雨季降雨条件下,诱发中等规模泥石流的可能性仍然较大,为该流域泥石流灾害潜在危险的预防提供了理论基础。     

Storage of sediment-associated nutrients and contaminants in river channel and floodplain systems

Samples of fine-grained channel bed sediment and overbank floodplain deposits were collected along the main channels of the Rivers Aire (and its main tributary, the River Calder) and Swale, in Yorkshire, UK, in order to investigate downstream changes in the storage and deposition of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn), total P and the sum of selected PCB congeners, and to estimate the total storage of these contaminants within the main channels and floodplains of these river systems. Downstream trends in the contaminant content of the <63 μm fraction of channel bed and floodplain sediment in the study rivers are controlled mainly by the location of the main sources of the contaminants, which varies between rivers. In the Rivers Aire and Calder, the contaminant content of the <63 μm fraction of channel bed and floodplain sediment generally increases in a downstream direction, reflecting the location of the main urban and industrialized areas in the middle and lower parts of the basin. In the River Swale, the concentrations of most of the contaminants examined are approximately constant along the length of the river, due to the relatively unpolluted nature of this river. However, the Pb and Zn content of fine channel bed sediment decreases downstream, due to the location of historic metal mines in the headwaters of this river, and the effect of downstream dilution with uncontaminated sediment. The magnitude and spatial variation of contaminant storage and deposition on channel beds and floodplains are also controlled by the amount of <63 μm sediment stored on the channel bed and deposited on the floodplain during overbank events. Consequently, contaminant deposition and storage are strongly influenced by the surface area of the floodplain and channel bed. Contaminant storage on the channel beds of the study rivers is, therefore, generally greatest in the middle and lower reaches of the rivers, since channel width increases downstream. Comparisons of the estimates of total storage of specific contaminants on the channel beds of the main channel systems of the study rivers with the annual contaminant flux at the catchment outlets indicate that channel storage represents <3% of the outlet flux and is, therefore, of limited importance in regulating that flux. Similar comparisons between the annual deposition flux of specific contaminants to the floodplains of the study rivers and the annual contaminant flux at the catchment outlet, emphasise the potential importance of floodplain deposition as a conveyance loss. In the case of the River Aire the floodplain deposition flux is equivalent to between ca. 2% (PCBs) and 36% (Pb) of the outlet flux. With the exception of PCBs, for which the value is ≌0, the equivalent values for the River Swale range between 18% (P) and 95% (Pb). The study emphasises that knowledge of the fine-grained sediment delivery system operating in a river basin is an essential prerequisite for understanding the transport and storage of sediment-associated contaminants in river systems and that conveyance losses associated with floodplain deposition exert an important control on downstream contaminant fluxes and the fate of such contaminants.     

珠江口的沉积作用和沉积相

珠江口为华南沿海的重要河口,是珠江水(系(西江、北江、东江、流溪河)的受水盆地。珠江流域每年有8000余万吨悬沙。大约3000万吨溶解质和少量底沙进入珠江河口区域,它们在迳流、潮流和其他海洋动力因素共同影响下,沉积作用甚为活跃。但是珠江口水域宽阔,地形复杂,各河口、河口湾或湾外区域的动力背景及泥沙运动不尽相同,因而其沉积作用和沉积特征也具有区域差异。     

Impact of River-Tide Dynamics on the Temporal-Spatial Distribution of Residual Water Level in the Pearl River Channel Networks

The behavior of the residual water level in estuarine environment is complex due to the highly nonlinear interaction between river flow and tide and the contributions made by these two external forcing to the dynamics of the residual water level are not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigate the effect of river-tide dynamics on the temporal-spatial changes of flow in terms of residual water level in the Pearl River channel networks, which is one of the complex channel networks in the world. Making use of a nonstationary tidal harmonic analysis, the continuous time series observations of water level covering a spring-neap cycle in 1999 (representing flood season) and 2001 (representing dry season) collected from around 60 stations in the Pearl River channel networks have been used to extract the temporal-spatial changes in stage and tidal properties (including amplitudes and phases) as a function of variable freshwater discharge and ocean tide. It was shown that the averaged residual water level during the flood season (ranging 0–5 m) is one order magnitude than that during the dry season (ranging 0–0.35 m). The distribution of the residual water level clearly indicates that the Pearl River channel networks feature two sub-systems, i.e., the central part of the channel networks being river-dominated with high value of residual water level and the eastern and western sides being tide-dominated with low value of residual water level. To understand the relative importance of river flow and tide on the temporal-spatial distribution of the residual water level, an idealized model is subsequently applied to the Modaomen estuary, which debouches the largest portion of river discharge into the South China Sea. Analytical results showed that the residual water level is mainly determined by the variation of the freshwater discharge for the flood season, while it is primarily controlled by the tidal forcing for the dry season and features a typical spring-neap cycle.     

Channel processes as a factor controlling accumulation of heavy metals in river bottom sediments: consequences for pollution monitoring (Upper Silesia, Poland)

 An evaluation of the influence of channel processes (erosion, accumulation, processing of channel sediments) on the dispersal of heavy metals in bottom sediments was carried out in the channels of the Sztoła and Biała Przemsza rivers in Upper Silesia, Poland. These rivers receive waters from a Zn and Pb mine. Mine waters transport a large amount of fine-grained sediments contaminated with heavy metals. The polluted material is accumulated in these stream courses and mixed with nearly homogeneous sandy sediment derived from erosion of the river banks and bed. Because these alluvia are easily set in motion, the distribution of heavy metal concentration in the channel in fraction <1 mm reflects differences in physical processes of sedimentation in its cross-section. The minimal values in active channel and maximal in the near-bank zone are typical for those channel sections where heavy metals, present in a solid state, are transported as a suspended load (normally the largest part of a polluted river course). In short sections heavy metals associated with the grains of a large mass which has accumulated in the active channel are transported as a bed load and the typical distribution pattern is reversed (in fractions both <1 mm and <0.063 mm). Such regularities can be disturbed in localities where strong, turbulent flow or frequent eddying occur and Mn oxides and hydrooxides and associated elements precipitate. The smallest variation in heavy metal concentration in the homogenous, fine-grained bank sediments which are trapped by plants below water level is a feature which recommends these localities as being the most suitable for monitoring of river pollution. Received: 11 November 1997 · Accepted: 12 March 1998     

2D numerical modelling of meandering channel formation

A 2D depth-averaged model for hydrodynamic sediment transport and river morphological adjustment was established. The sediment transport submodel takes into account the influence of non-uniform sediment with bed surface armoring and considers the impact of secondary flow in the direction of bed-load transport and transverse slope of the river bed. The bank erosion submodel incorporates a simple simulation method for updating bank geometry during either degradational or aggradational bed evolution. Comparison of the results obtained by the extended model with experimental and field data, and numerical predictions validate that the proposed model can simulate grain sorting in river bends and duplicate the characteristics of meandering river and its development. The results illustrate that by using its control factors, the improved numerical model can be applied to simulate channel evolution under different scenarios and improve understanding of patterning processes.     

长江下游镇江段造床流量计算及特性分析

造床流量是河床形态塑造的关键因素,也是河道整治、水工计算设计的主要参数。根据实测水文数据,分别采用三种常用造床流量计算方法,对长江下游镇江河段的造床流量进行求解计算,结果分析对比,表明Makovieve法更适用于镇江段造床流量的计算。基于算例结果建立长江下游河段造床流量经验方法,精度分析表明经验方法具有较高的精度。给出了推荐值。建立了适用于镇江河段造床流量计算的经验公式。     

Interrelationships between bed morphology and bed-material transport for a small,gravel-bed channel*

Bed conditions (micro-relief, textural associations and packing structural arrangements) in the gravel-bed channel of Seale's Brook are shown to be closely interrelated; various categories are identified and related to mode of bed material transport and deposition. Entrainment of bed material, commonly treated as a simple function of particle weight and channel hydraulics, is also shown to be strongly affected by varying and variable bed conditions. In particular, the classic concept of competence appears to be of restricted utility in such channels; resistance of bed material to fluid drag and to particle impact is augmented, over large parts of the channel bed, by its interlocking structure, made possible by the wide range in particle calibre, and by the characteristic disc and blade shapes of the slate debris. Particle mobility, as indicated by distance of travel of labelled bed material, is only partly a function of particle weight; indeed, although particle mobility decreases from small pebbles to large cobbles, it also decreases for the finest bed material (very small pebbles). This appears to be explicable, partly in terms of the ease of entrainment (and duration of travel), and, partly in relation to the ease of transport of material over an uneven channel bed surface. Particle mobility is greatest for material in open and infilled structures and smallest for sediment in tight structural arrangements. Local bed slope also exerts an influence on the probability of particle entrainment and on particle mobility. The findings emphasize the need for combining sedimentological and engineering approaches to bed material transport in coarse-bedded channels, and, at the same time, illustrate some of the reasons for the existence of indeterminacy in the modelling of bed-material transporting processes.     

Geothermal spring causes arsenic contamination in river waters of the southern Tibetan Plateau,China

Large numbers of As-enriched geothermal springs are distributed at the southern Tibetan Plateau, and their influence on river water is still not clear. Lhasa River and its tributary, Duilong Qu located at downstream of the largest geothermal spring of the Tibetan Plateau, were selected for sampling during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons. Dissolved trace elements (B, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cs, Ba and U) were measured in river water samples by ICP-MS. The results show that due to contribution of geothermal spring, As levels of Duilong Qu (205.6 μg/L) and Lhasa River (12.7 μg/L) were higher during non-monsoon season than that of WHO guideline for drinking water (10 μg/L). Accordingly, As level of river water was lower during the monsoon season than that of the non-monsoon season due mainly to dilution process. Therefore, although Tibetan rivers are generally considered as free of contamination, geothermal springs cause As contamination of river water at some local regions and may harm the local residents. Further research is needed in other parts of the plateau to determine whether As level of groundwater of the related region is high.     

MEASUREMENT OF SAND TRANSPORT IN RIVERS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TRACER METHODS

The paper describes tests made on a small river to examine the practicability of measuring quantitatively, by tracer methods, sand transport occurring over a rippled bed in a natural channel. Three principal tracer methods, all previously verified under steady flow conditions in a laboratory channel, and identified as the spatial integration, time integration and steady dilution methods, were examined by introducing radioactive and fluorescent tracers to represent a narrow size fraction of the bed sand. The serious limitations of the time integration and steady dilution methods under conditions of unsteady solids discharge were exposed by a sudden flood discharge occurring during the course of the study. An approximate method, based on the time integration approach, but also requiring some spatial tracer data, is suggested, whereby an estimate of the transport is possible in the case of highly variable sand discharge. However, it is seen that in the sand case, the spatial integration method offers the most workable and informative tracer method for use in natural rivers. The results, by this method, were generally consistent with those given by the summation of the measured suspended-solids flux and the transport occurring either by surface creep or in close vicinity to the bed. The latter quantity is determined from the downstream advance of the ripple bed-forms, and methods are described for its derivation from ultrasonic echo sounder records of bed profiles. Finally sand transport values are calculated for a number of river discharges and for two laboratory channel tests using various well-known computational procedures—Einstein, Bagnold, modified Einstein, Meyer-Peter and Muller, and Laursen procedures. Significant differences in the computed values for individual flow conditions are observed.     

近年长江口北支涌潮变化及其成因分析

长江口北支的围垦使北支上、中段形成了河宽沿程变率较小的弯曲河槽,沿北支北岸的深槽水深条件得到改善,减弱了涌潮发生的条件,导致青龙港涌潮自2003年以来大为减弱。通过引进局部地形指数,建立了局部地形指数与青龙港平均涨率之间的良好相关关系。研究表明,青龙港平均涨率的年际变化与人类活动(围垦)在北支的进程以及青龙港附近的局部地形变化相应,并认为对于复式断面,采用全断面水力指标并不能很好地反映局部地形对涌潮的影响。由于长江口北支涌潮的近年变化将对长江南、北支分流点水域的河床演变产生重大影响,因此本研究对北支的航道整治和岸线开发利用具有现实意义。     

不同近岸河床组成情况下岸坡崩塌试验

在弯道水槽中开展6组试验,分别用非黏性土及黏性土填筑河床,研究相同水力作用下近岸河床组成对黏性岸坡崩塌的影响规律。研究发现,在试验给定的岸坡及河床组成情况下,非黏性河床凹冲凸淤且总体表现为淤积,近岸河床及凹岸岸坡冲刷强度大,凸岸附近床面上泥沙掺混较明显;黏性河床及凹岸岸坡均被冲刷,河床主流区冲刷强度比近岸河床及凹岸岸坡大。相较于黏性河床,非黏性河床近凹岸处较易冲刷,水流结构重新调整,凹岸坡脚处水流流速及紊动能可增至2倍左右,环流强度可增至11倍,加速了岸坡崩塌及崩塌体的分解输移;非黏性河床近凹岸坡脚处变形以及凹岸岸坡崩塌量均相对较大,岸坡崩塌强度为河床淤积强度的2~4倍,崩塌物质可充分补给河床的泥沙来源;经水力冲刷后非黏性河床组成情况下形成的河道滩槽高差相对较小,河道横断面相对宽浅。     

Formation of braided river floodplains, Waimakariri River, New Zealand

Floodplains along the braided gravel-bed Waimakariri River are discontinuous although generally extensive landforms composed predominantly of gravel bars capped with vertically accreted fines. In order of importance, three mechanisms lead to floodplain formation. River bed abandonment by lateral migration of the braid-train initiates the formation of the largest floodpiains, which usually occur downstream of tributary fans and valley bedrock spurs. In the headwater reaches, localized river bed aggradation during high magnitude events leads to floodplain formation by producing a surface resistant to erosion by lesser events due to either the coarse nature of the deposit, or by its elevation over the river bed, or both. The least important mechanism initiating floodplain development is localized river or channel incision. A six stage model is proposed for the sequential development of floodplains on the Waimakariri River from: (i) active river bed; (ii) stabilizing bar; (iii) incipient floodplain; (iv) established floodplain; (v) mature floodplain; and to (vi) terrace. Two mechanisms, lateral migration by the braid-train and reactivation of abandoned channels within floodplains, operating separately or in combination, are responsible for floodplain reworking and their relatively young age (<250 years). Clearly, braided rivers can construct substantial areas of well developed floodplain.     

凌汛期槽蓄水增量过程模拟

为研究凌汛期槽蓄水增量来源,在分析实测冰情资料基础上,把槽蓄水增量分为水位壅高主河道蓄水量增大、主河道内河水转化为固体冰盖和上滩水形成冰盖及在冰下聚集等3部分,建立河冰动力学模型,模拟河冰生消及槽蓄水增量过程,利用2008/2009年度三湖河口—头道拐河段实测冰情资料对模型进行了验证,表明滩地冰盖及冰盖下滞洪是内蒙古河段槽蓄水增量的主要来源,占最大槽蓄水增量的63.44%,主河道水位壅高引起的槽蓄水增量占26.56%,主槽冰盖蓄水占10.0%。     

崩塌体水力输移与塌岸淤床交互影响试验

以二元结构河岸崩塌模式为研究背景,在弯道水槽中展开系列试验,研究凹岸坡脚处成型崩塌体在水力作用下输移过程及其对岸坡稳定性与河床冲淤的交互影响。试验成果表明,崩塌体经水力分解破碎呈块状、片状或颗粒状起动,部分随水流带至凸岸或下游,堆积在坡脚附近的崩塌体残留量随水力作用大小及土体特性不同而变化。崩塌体临水面周围尤其上下游端水流紊动强烈易形成较大剪切力区,临坡面上下游端附近剪切力较无崩塌体时减小;崩塌体体积越大,对剪切力区特征的改变也越明显。崩塌体的存在虽不能制止附近岸坡的再次崩塌,但可能抑制崩岸发展及附近河床淤积的程度,崩塌体的粘性或体积越大,这种抑制作用越显著;相同崩塌体抑制附近河床淤积的程度较抑制岸坡崩塌的程度大。