Seismic framework and the Holocene morphological evolution of the Changjiang River mouth, China

Acoustic profiling in combination with coring has been used to examine the recent evolution of river mouth of the Changjiang. Two acoustic facies are present. Petrologic, radiometric and seismic analyses show that the upper facies I of 10–20 m thick fine sand and silt represents the sandy shoals of late Holocene age in the distributary, and the 5–20 m thick lower facies II of fine-grained silty clay with abundant marine microfossils represents the mid-Holocene prodelta facies deposited as fillings in the former large estuarine valley of late Pleistocene to early Holocene origin. Rapid accumulation during the Holocene has led to some instability of unconsolidated sedimentary strata in the distributary, such as strata collapse and mud diaper formation. The existence of large cross beddings, such as tabular and trough stratification in facies I identifies the sediment transport as predominantly bed load, driven by runoff and tidal currents. Two sets of discrete flood-ebb flow troughs, oriented NW and SE reflect controls by tidal waves generated from the sea and the superimposition of runoff and ebb flows. Symmetrical sand waves that appear at the northern trough of one of the distributaries also indicate the balancing sediment dynamics between runoff-ebb and flood currents, whereas the asymmetrical ones in the southern trough indicate superimposed sedimentation by runoff and ebb flows. A large quantity of sediment has been deposited in the slack water region between the discrete flood and ebb flows to form sandy shoals — the principal mechanism of the evolution of estuarine islands in the Holocene Changjiang mouth. The morphology of the extended river mouth to the southeast possibly indicates an external driving force, such as the Coriolis Effect, NW-prevailing wind and longshore currents.     

河口海岸中长时间尺度动力地貌系统模拟研究与进展

我国河口海岸动力沉积和动力地貌研究以沉积学和地貌学的方法侧重静态描述,动力地貌相互作用的定量研究不多,与缺少动力地貌模型技术有关。本文介绍了中长时间尺度的河口海岸动力地貌模型技术及其发展和应用,讨论了决定动力地貌演变的泥沙余输运及引起泥沙余输运的主要动力因子,介绍了动力地貌模型的应用进展,进而分析了河口海岸地貌过程的机制和地貌平衡系统。本文指出对淤泥质及复杂动力条件下的河口海岸动力地貌过程还有待进一步研究。     

In-channel geomorphic complexity: The key to the dynamics of organic matter in large dryland rivers?

Large rivers are often considered to retain less organic material than smaller streams primarily because of a decrease in retentive structures. From our observations on the Barwon–Darling River, a semi-arid river in southeastern Australia, we suggest that geomorphic complexity plays a fundamental role in the retention of organic matter. The Barwon–Darling River has a ‘complex’ river channel cross-section with large inset benches being a prominent morphological feature within the channel. The importance of geomorphic complexity for retaining organic material is likely to be significant in dryland rivers. These rivers spend extended periods at low flow with infrequent large floods that inundate the floodplain. They do, however, experience more frequent within channel floods that inundate in-channel ‘bench’ features. In-channel geomorphic complexity and its ability to retain organic material, therefore, means that although the dominant lateral movements of organic material will still occur during large overbank flows, smaller ‘pulse’ inputs will occur with each in-channel rise and fall in water level. In dryland rivers, where large overbank flows may only occur every seven or more years, these small ‘pulse’ inputs of organic material may well be vital for the integrity of the system.This paper describes the contemporary complexity of a channel in a regulated and an unregulated reach of the Barwon–Darling and compares this with cross-sections surveyed in 1886. We show that flow regulation has greatly reduced channel complexity. We estimate the potential organic matter input to each bench level within the channel (using data collected under near natural riparian conditions) and measure the contemporary organic loads within the channel of the regulated and unregulated reach. This modelling suggests that the development of water resources has reduced the complexity of the channel in the regulated reach, resulting in a potential decrease in the retention of organic matter in this region of the river. The importance of this organic matter to the aquatic food web of the Barwon–Darling River is also demonstrated.     

Factors influencing the recession rate of Niagara Falls since the 19th century

The rate of recession of Niagara Falls (Horseshoe and American Falls) in northeastern North America has been documented since the 19th century; it shows a decreasing trend from ca. 1 m y^− 1 a century ago to ca. 0.1 m y^− 1 at present. Reduction of the flow volume in the Niagara River due to diversion into bypassing hydroelectric schemes has often been taken to be the factor responsible, but other factors such as changes in the waterfall shape could play a role and call for a quantitative study. Here, we examine the effect of physical factors on the historically varying recession rates of Niagara Falls, using an empirical equation which has previously been proposed based on a non-dimensional multiparametric model which incorporates flow volume, waterfall shape and bedrock strength. The changes in recession rates of Niagara Falls in the last century are successfully modeled by this empirical equation; these changes are caused by variations in flow volume and lip length. This result supports the validity of the empirical equation for waterfalls in rivers carrying little transported sediment. Our analysis also suggests that the decrease in the recession rate of Horseshoe Falls is related to both artificial reduction in river discharge and natural increase in waterfall lip length, whereas that of American Falls is solely due to the reduction in flow volume.     

Slope stability and landslides in proglacial varved clays of western Estonia

During the last decade the frequency of landslides at river valley slopes eroding into the glaciolacustrine plain in western Estonia has grown considerably. We studied in detail nine recent landslides out of 25 known and recorded sliding events in the area. All landslides occurred at the river banks in otherwise almost entirely flat areas of proglacial deposits capped with marine sands. Glaciolacustrine varved clay is the weakest soil type in the area and holds the largest landslides. Slope stability modelling shows that critical slope gradient for the clay is ≥ 10° and for the marine sand ≥ 20°. Fluvial erosion is the main process in decreasing slope stability at the outer bends of the river meanders. An extra shear stress generated by groundwater flow following the high stand of the groundwater level or rapid water level drawdown in the river channels are responsible for triggering the landslides. Consecutive occurrence of small-scale slides has a direct effect in triggering the large, retrogressive complexes of slides in the glaciolacustrine clay. A landslide hazard zonation map was composed based on digital elevation model and the data on spatial distribution of glaciolacustrine clays and marine sands, and on existing and critical slope angles of these deposits.     

The human role in changing river channels

Direct consequences of the human role, where human activity affects river channels through engineering works including channelization, dam construction, diversion and culverting, have been long recognised Marsh, 1864 and Thomas, 1956. The less obvious indirect effects of point and reach changes occurring downstream and throughout the basin, however, are much more recently appreciated, dating from key contributions by Strahler [Strahler, A.N., 1956. The nature of induced erosion and aggradation. In W. L. Thomas (Ed.), Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 621–638.], Wolman [Wolman, M.G., 1967. A cycle of sedimentation and erosion in urban river channels. Geografiska Annaler 49A, 385–95.], Schumm [Schumm, S.A., 1969. River metamorphosis. Proceedings American Society of Civil Engineers, Journal Hydraulics Division 95, 255–73.], and Graf [Graf, W.L., 1977. The rate law in fluvial geomorphology. American Journal of Science, 277, 178–191.]. These are complemented by effects of alterations of land use, such as deforestation, intensive agriculture and incidence of fire, with the most extreme effects produced by building activity and urbanisation.Changing river channels are most evident in the channel cross-section where changes of size, shape and composition are now well-established, with up to tenfold increases or decreases illustrated by results from more than 200 world studies. In addition the overall channel planform, the network and the ecology have changed. Specific terms have become associated with changing river channels including enlargement, shrinkage and metamorphosis. Although the scope of adjustment has been established, it has not always been possible to predict what will happen in a particular location, because of complex response and contingency. The ways in which changes in cross-section relate to reach and network changes are less clear, despite investigations showing the distribution of changes along segmented channels.When considering the human role in relation to changing river channels, at least five challenges persist. First, because prediction of the nature and amount of likely change at a particular location is not certain, and because the contrasting responses of humid and arid systems needs to be considered, modelling is required to reduce uncertainty, as was first emphasised by Burkham [Burkham, D.E., 1981. Uncertainties resulting from changes in river form. American Society Civil Engineers Proceedings, Journal Hydraulics Division 107, 593–610.]. Second, feedback effects incorporated within the relationship between changes at channel, reach and network scales can have considerable implications, especially because changes now evident may have occurred, or have been initiated, under different environmental conditions. Third, consideration of global climate change is imperative when considering channel sensitivity and responses to threshold conditions. Fourth, channel design involving geomorphology should now be an integral part of restoration procedures. This requires, fifthly, greater awareness of different cultures as a basis for understanding constraints imposed by legislative frameworks. Better understanding of the ways in which the perception of the human role in changing river channels varies with culture as well as varying over time should enhance application of design for river channel landscapes.     

Do river deltas in east India retreat? A case of the Krishna Delta

The construction of multiple dams and barrages in many Indian River basins over the last few decades significantly reduced river flow to the sea and affected the sediment regime. More reservoir construction is planned through the proposed National River Linking Project (NRLP), which will transfer massive amounts of water from the North to the South of India. The impacts of these developments on fertile and ecologically sensitive deltaic environments are poorly understood and quantified at present. In this paper an attempt is made to identify, locate and quantify coastal erosion and deposition processes in one of the major river basins in India—the Krishna—using a time series of Landsat images for 1977, 1990 and 2001 with a spatial resolution ranging from 57.0 m to 28.5 m. The dynamics of these processes are analyzed together with the time series of river flow, sediment discharge and sediment storage in the basin. Comparisons are made with similar processes identified and quantified earlier in the delta of a neighboring similarly large river basin—the Godavari. The results suggest that coastal erosion in the Krishna Delta progressed over the last 25 years at the average rate of 77.6 ha yr^− 1, dominating the entire delta coastline and exceeding the deposition rate threefold. The retreat of the Krishna Delta may be explained primarily by the reduced river inflow to the delta (which is three times less at present than 50 years ago) and the associated reduction of sediment load. Both are invariably related to upstream reservoir storage development.     

珠江河网分形机理研究

以不同时期珠江网河历史地图及遥感影像为基础,进行了河网分形计算,并从河道发育、人为活动等多个角度分析了珠江网河分形机理。在发育过程中,1883-2001年间河网分维值逐渐减小;在空间上,正干水道中潮道分维值大于分汊河道。分析认为,人为活动是导致珠江网河分形变化的主要因素:联围筑闸消灭横向支汊、口门整治及河道固化减小了河道冲决的几率、河道挖沙引起的水沙分流比变化改变了河道冲淤特性。     

Channel morphology and its impact on flood passage, the Tianjiazhen reach of the middle Yangtze River

The Tianjiazhen reach of the middle Yangtze is about 8 km long, and characterized by a narrow river width of 650 m and local water depth of > 90 m in deep inner troughs, of which about 60 m is below the mean sea level. The troughs in the channel of such a large river are associated with regional tectonics and local lithology. The channel configuration plays a critical role in modifying the height and duration of river floods and erosion of the riverbed. The formation of the troughs in the bed of the Yangtze is considered to be controlled by sets of NW–SE-oriented neotectonic fault zones, in which some segments consist of highly folded thick Triassic limestone crossed by the Yangtze River. Several limestone hills, currently located next to the river channel, serve as nodes that create large vortices in the river, thereby accelerating downcutting on the riverbed composed of limestone highly susceptible to physical corrosion and chemical dissolution. Hydrological records indicate that the nodal hills and channel configuration at Tianjiazhen do not impact on normal flow discharges but discharges > 50,000 m³s^− 1 are slowed down for 2–3 days. Catastrophic floods are held up for even longer periods. These inevitably result in elevated flood stages upstream of prolonged duration, affecting large cities such as Wuhan and a very large number of people.     

Environmental Flow Requirements in Tungabhadra River,Karnataka, India

Environmental flow (EF) determination requires decisions on total volume of flow to be allocated for the environment and delivery (timing) of that flow. In general, it is beneficial to maintain the natural variation and timing in flows, as many ecological processes are dependent on flow variations and also on implicit links to other triggers such as temperature and rainfall. These linkages are not always understood and are best preserved by maintaining a natural flow pattern. Increased water drawn from the Tungabhadra (TB) dam for the agricultural, domestic and industrial uses have gradually altered the natural flow. This has an impact on the socio-economic condition of the downstream-dependent population of the river. In this research study, an attempt has been made to understand the existing river flow in the TB River and the significance of the ecosystem services for the local livelihood. Different methods like Tennant method, Indicators for Hydrological Alteration (IHA) and Global Environmental Flow Calculator (GEFC) were employed to understand the EF status in the TB River. Comparative analysis helped us to statistically describe how these patterns have changed for TB River, due to abrupt impacts such as dam construction, or more gradual trends associated with land- and water-use changes. The downstream of the river bed for about a 100 km has shrunken in its size. The study also identified that the livelihood support has gradually declined during the last decade resulting in shifting of the occupation and migration of the community.     

Crustal uplift in southern England: evidence from the river terrace records

Much of the past work on the Quaternary rivers of northwest Europe has been concerned with river terraces, which characterise almost every valley. While these terraces are undoubtedly striking features of the landscape, the incision achieved by Quaternary rivers is equally significant in terms of river behaviour, and for an understanding of the factors affecting landform development during the Quaternary. This paper examines the incision achieved during the Quaternary by the Thames, in both its upper and lower catchments, and by the Hampshire Avon in southern England. Valley incision rates of ca. 0.07–0.10 m ka⁻¹ have been identified, although in the lower catchment of the Thames, these have been enhanced by additional incision in response to glacio-isostasy and valley shortening. A model is proposed in which regional uplift is recognized as the primary cause of incision by these Quaternary rivers. Possible mechanisms for regional uplift are considered.     

生态环境需水研究现状和展望

生态环境需水是国内外生态水文学研究的热点问题。本文回顾了国内外生态环境需水研究的现状,并对今后生态环境需水研究进行了展望。研究认为:国外对生态需水的研究侧重于河流生态系统,主要是利用所关心的鱼类对河道物理形态、水流状况等变化的响应关系,来确定河流的最小或最佳流量,研究方法主要以水文学法、水力学法和生境模拟法为主。20世纪90年代后,提出了考虑河流生态系统可接受的流量变化,以维持河流生态系统整体功能为目标确定河流生态需水的研究思路。在国内,生态需水研究起步较晚,但发展较快。研究大致经历了二个阶段:1988年至1998年是对生态需水相关概念的认识阶段,1998年之后才真正进入起步性研究阶段。因此,许多理论和方法都有待加强研究。最后,本文提出了以同位素示踪、遥感等技术为支撑,加强生态需水机理和不同时空尺度生态需水转化等问题的研究。     

Complexity in a cellular model of river avulsion

We propose a new model of river avulsion that emphasizes simplicity, self-organization, and unprogrammed behavior rather than detailed simulation. The model runs on a fixed cellular grid and tracks two elevations in each cell, a high elevation representing the channel (levee) top and a low one representing the channel bottom. The channel aggrades in place until a superelevation threshold for avulsion is met. After an avulsion is triggered a new flow path is selected by steepest descent based on the low values of elevation. Flow path depends sensitively on floodplain topography, particularly the presence of former abandoned channels. Several behavioral characteristics emerge consistently from this simple model: (1) a tendency of the active flow to switch among a small number of channel paths, which we term the active channel set, over extended periods, leading to clustering and formation of multistory sand bodies in the resulting deposits; (2) a tendency for avulsed channels to return to their previous paths, so that new channel length tends to be generated in relatively short segments; and (3) avulsion-related sediment storage and release, leading to pulsed sediment output even for constant input. Each of these behaviors is consistent with observations from depositional river systems. A single-valued threshold produces a wide variety of avulsion sizes and styles. Larger “nodal” avulsions are rarer because pre-existing floodplain topography acts to steer flow back to the active channel. Channel stacking pattern is very sensitive to floodplain deposition. This work highlights the need to develop models of floodplain evolution at large time and space scales to complement the improving models of river channel evolution.     

Characteristics of freshly deposited sand and finer sediments along an island-braided, gravel-bed river: The roles of water, wind and trees

Over the past two decades there has been a growing interest in the geomorphological mosaic along large floodplain rivers where channel dynamics are seen to drive habitat-patch creation and turnover and to contribute to high biological diversity. This has required a new perspective on fluvial geomorphology that focuses on biological scales of space and time. This study examines the spatial pattern of surface fine sediment accumulations along a reach of a large gravel-bed river, the Tagliamento River in NE Italy; an area with a moist Mediterranean climate and seasonal flow regime. The study investigates changes in sediment characteristics during the summer low-flow period between April and September. Focussing on five areas representing a gradient from open, bar-braided to wooded island-braided morphologies, the paper demonstrates the importance of riparian vegetation and aeolian–fluvial interactions.Significant contrasts in particle size distributions and organic content of freshly deposited sand and finer sediments were found between sampling areas, geomorphological settings, and sampling dates. In particular, wooded floodplain and established islands supported consistently finer sediment deposits than both open bar surfaces and the lee of pioneer islands, and in September significantly finer sediments were also found in deposits located in the lee of pioneer islands than on open bar surfaces. Overall, the September samples had a greater variability in particle size characteristics than those obtained from the same sites in April, with a general coarsening of the D₅ (φ) (i.e., the coarse tail of the particle size distribution). Also in September, crusts of fine sediment (30 μm < D₅₀ < 64 μm) had formed on the surface of some of the open bar and pioneer island deposits within the more open sampling areas along the study reach. These crusts possessed similar particle size characteristics to aeolian crusts found in more arid environments. They were significantly finer than April samples and September subcrust samples obtained from the same sites and had similar particle size characteristics to some samples taken from wooded floodplain, established island surfaces and the lee of pioneer islands that were not crusted.Local climatological and river level data confirm significant wind and rainfall events during a period of consistently low river levels between the April and September sampling periods. These support deflation, deposition and rain wash of finer sediment during the summer, with windblown sediments being deposited on bar surfaces and in the lee of pioneer islands where wood and young trees provide foci for accelerated sedimentation and island growth as well as on marginal floodplains and established islands. We conclude that along braided rivers in moist settings but with a distinct dry season, aeolian reworking of sediment deposits may have a more important role in driving habitat dynamics than previously considered.     

Morphodynamic river processes and techniques for assessment of channel evolution in Alpine gravel bed rivers

Over the past 10 years many restoration projects have been undertaken in Austria, and river engineering measures such as spur dykes and longitudinal bank protection, which imposed fixed lateral boundaries on rivers, have been removed. The EU-Life Project “Auenverbund Obere Drau” has resulted in extensive restoration on the River Drau, aimed to improve the ecological integrity of the river ecosystem, to arrest riverbed degradation, and to ensure flood protection. An essential part of the restoration design involved the consideration of self-forming river processes, which led to new demands being imposed on river management.This paper illustrates how model complexity is adapted to the solution and evaluation of different aspects of river restoration problems in a specific case. Point-scale monitoring data were up-scaled to the whole investigation area by means of digital elevation models, and a scaling approach to the choice of model complexity was applied. Simple regime analysis methods and 1-D models are applicable to the evaluation of long-term and reach-scale restoration aims, and to the prediction of kilometre-scale processes (e.g. mean river bed aggradation or degradation, flood protection). 2-D models gave good results for the evaluation of hydraulic changes (e.g. transverse flow velocities, shear stresses, discharges at diffluences) for different morphological units at the local scale (100 m–10 m), and imposed an intermediate demand on calibration data and topographic survey. The study shows that complex 3-D numerical models combined with high resolution digital elevation models are necessary for detailed analysis of processes (1 m–0.01 m), but not for the evaluation of the restoration aims on the River Drau. In conclusion, model choice (complexity) will depend on both lower limits (determined by the complexity of processes to be analysed) and upper limits (field data quality and process understanding for numerical models).     

The human role in changing fluvial systems: Retrospect, inventory and prospect

Historical and modern scientific contexts are provided for the 2006 Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium on the Human Role in Changing Fluvial Systems. The 2006 symposium provides a synthesis of research concerned with human impacts on fluvial systems — including hydrologic and geomorphic changes to watersheds — while also commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1955 Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth Symposium [Thomas, Jr., W. L. (Ed.), 1956a. Man's Role in Changing the Face of the Earth. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago. 1193 pp]. This paper examines the 1955 symposium from the perspective of human impacts on rivers, reviews current inquiry on anthropogenic interactions in fluvial systems, and anticipates future directions in this field.Although the 1955 symposium did not have an explicit geomorphic focus, it set the stage for many subsequent anthropogeomorphic studies. The 1955 conference provided guidance to geomorphologists by recommending and practicing interdisciplinary scholarship, through the use of diverse methodologies applied at extensive temporal and geographical scales, and through its insistence on an integrated understanding of human interactions with nature. Since 1956, research on human impacts to fluvial systems has been influenced by fundamental changes in why the research is done, what is studied, how river studies are conducted, and who does the research. Rationales for river research are now driven to a greater degree by institutional needs, environmental regulations, and aquatic restoration. New techniques include a host of dating, spatial imaging, and ground measurement methods that can be coupled with analytical functions and digital models. These new methods have led to a greater understanding of channel change, variations across multiple temporal and spatial scales, and integrated watershed perspectives; all changes that are reflected by the papers in this volume. These new methods also bring a set of technical demands for the training of geomorphologists. The 2006 Binghamton Geomorphology Symposium complements the 1956 symposium by providing a more specific and updated view of river systems coupled with human interactions. The symposium focuses on linkages between human land use, structures, and channel modification with geomorphology, hydrology, and ecology. The emergence of sustainability as a central policy guideline in environmental management should generate greater interest in geomorphic perspectives, especially as they pertain to human activities. The lack of theories of anthropogeomorphic change, however, presents a challenge for the next generation of geomorphologists in this rapidly growing subfield.     

A model for the active origin and development of source-bordering dunefields on a semiarid fluvial plain: A case study from the Xiliaohe Plain, Northeast China

Source-bordering dunefields have been reported in some drylands of the planet, but scarcely in China where there are extensive drylands. This article reports them in China for the first time, and presents a model for their active origin and development on a semiarid fluvial plain by means of satellite image analyses and field investigations. Local- and regional-scale examples are chosen to analyze the spatial patterns of dunefields, as well as the relationships with the fluvial systems in the central part of Naiman Banner where the Jiaolai River runs, and the lower Laoha River, and the middle and lower Ulijimulun River (principal tributaries of the Xiliaohe River). The active origin and development of source-bordering dunefields can be divided into four stages in terms of the spatial patterns of dunefields and channel dynamics: Stage I — individual dunes on the downwind margins of river valleys where running water constantly erodes the steep slopes of valley and where the downwind slopes orient to local dominant winds; Stage II — individual local-scale dunefields formed by deflation of the steep valley slopes and extending antecedent dunes downwind, together with the downstream displacement of meanders; Stage III — individual large-scale dunefield belts along the downwind margins of river valleys formed through frequent lateral migrations of channel; Stage IV — regional-scale dunefields formed mainly by river diversions due to climatic changes or tectonic movements. On the one hand, it is the running water's lateral migration, especially meandering, that prepares suitable places for aeolian systems in terms of both wind flow fields and sand sources, and subsequently it can further cause separate local-scale source-bordering dunefields to link together as a regional-scale dunefield belt given sufficient time. On the other hand, diversions of the river are bound to occur following changing hydrologic regimes resulting from tectonic movements or significant climate change (at regional and millennium scales). As a result, when some dunefield belts as well as the adjacent channels are abandoned, new channels work elsewhere in the same way to actively form new source-bordering dunefields and even dunefield belts at a regional scale.     

Constructal view of scaling laws of river basins

River basins are examples of naturally organized flow architectures whose scaling properties have been noticed long ago. Based on data of geometric characteristics, Horton [Horton, R.E., 1932. Drainage basin characteristics. EOS Trans. AGU 13, 350–361.], Hack [Hack, J.T., 1957. Studies of longitudinal profiles in Virginia and Maryland. USGS Professional Papers 294-B, Washington DC, pp. 46–97.], and Melton [Melton, M.A, 1958. Correlation structure of morphometric properties of drainage systems and their controlling agents. J. of Geology 66, 35–56.] proposed scaling laws that are considered to describe rather accurately the actual river basins. What we show here is that these scaling laws can be anticipated based on Constructal Theory, which views the pathways by which drainage networks develop in a basin not as the result of chance but as flow architectures that originate naturally as the result of minimization of the overall resistance to flow (Constructal Law).     

Urban transformation of river landscapes in a global context

Over the past 50 years considerable progress has been made in understanding the impacts of urban development on river processes and forms. Such advances have occurred as urban population growth has accelerated around the world. Using a compilation of research results from more than 100 studies conducted in a range of areas (58 addressing morphological change), this paper describes how urbanization has transformed river landscapes across Earth’s surface, emphasizing the distribution of impacts in a global comparative context. Urban development induces an initial phase of sediment mobilization, characterized by increased sediment production (on the order of 2–10 times) and deposition within channels, followed by eventual decline that couples with erosion from increased runoff to enlarge channels. Data from humid and temperate environments around the world indicate that channels generally enlarge to 2–3 times and as much as 15 times the original size. Although research has emphasized temperate environments, recent studies of tropical areas indicate a tendency for channel reduction resulting from strong sediment erosion and deposition responses because of intense precipitation and highly weathered soils. Embryonic research in arid environments further suggests variable river responses to urbanization that are characterized by rapid morphological change over short distances. Regardless of location, the persistence of the sediment production phase varies from months to several years, whereas several decades are likely needed for enlarging channels to stabilize and potentially reach a new equilibrium. Urbanizing streams pose particular challenges for management given an inherent changing nature. Successful management requires a clear understanding of the temporal and spatial variations in adjustment processes.     

Anabranching in mixed bedrock-alluvial rivers: the example of the Orange River above Augrabies Falls, Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Anabranching is characteristic of a number of rivers in diverse environmental settings worldwide, but has only infrequently been described from bedrock-influenced rivers. A prime example of a mixed bedrock-alluvial anabranching river is provided by a 150-km long reach of the Orange River above Augrabies Falls, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Here, the perennial Orange flows through arid terrain consisting mainly of Precambrian granites and gneisses, and the river has preferentially eroded bedrock joints, fractures and foliations to form multiple channels which divide around numerous, large (up to 15 km long and 2 km wide), stable islands formed of alluvium and/or bedrock. Significant local variations in channel-bed gradient occur along the river, which strongly control anabranching style through an influence on local sediment budgets. In relatively long (>10 km), lower gradient reaches (<0.0013) within the anabranching reach, sediment supply exceeds local transport capacity, bedrock usually only crops out in channel beds, and channels divide around alluvial islands which are formed by accretion in the lee of bedrock outcrop or at the junction with ephemeral tributaries. Riparian vegetation probably plays a key role in the survival and growth of these islands by increasing flow roughness, inducing deposition, and stabilising the sediments. Less commonly, channels may form by eroding into once-continuous island or floodplain surfaces. In shorter (<10 km), higher gradient reaches (>0.0013) within the anabranching reach, local transport capacity exceeds sediment supply, bedrock crops out extensively, and channels flow over an irregular bedrock pavement or divide around rocky islands. Channel incision into bedrock probably occurs mainly by abrasion, with the general absence of boulder bedforms suggesting that hydraulic plucking is relatively unimportant in this setting. Mixed bedrock-alluvial anabranching also occurs in a number of other rivers worldwide, and appears to be a stable and often long-lived river pattern adjusted to a number of factors commonly acting in combination: (1) jointed/fractured granitoid rock outcrop; (2) erosion-resistant banks and islands; (3) locally variable channel-bed gradients; (4) variable flow regimes.