Morphology and evolution of bars in a wandering gravel-bed river; lower Fraser river, British Columbia, Canada

A hierarchical typology for the channels and bars within aggradational wandering gravel-bed rivers is developed from an examination of a 50 km reach of lower Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Unit bars, built by stacking of gravelly bedload sheets, are the key dynamic element of the sediment transfer system, linking sediment transport during individual freshets to the creation, development and remoulding of compound bar platforms that have either a lateral or medial style. Primary and secondary unit bars are identified, respectively, as those that deliver sediment to compound bars from the principal channel and those that redistribute sediment across the compound bar via seasonal anabranches and smaller channels. The record of bar accretion evident in ground-penetrating radar sequences is consistent with the long-term development of bar complexes derived from historical aerial photographs. For two compound bars, inter-annual changes associated with individual sediment transport episodes are measured using detailed topographic surveys and longer-term changes are quantified using sediment budgets derived for individual bars from periodic channel surveys. Annual sediment turnover on the bars is comparable with the bed material transfer rate along the channel, indicating that relatively little bed material bypasses the bars. Bar construction and change are accomplished mainly by lateral accretion as the river has limited capacity to raise bed load onto higher surfaces. Styles of accretion and erosion and, therefore, the major bar form morphologies on Fraser River are familiar and consistent with those in gravelly braided channels but the wandering style does exhibit some distinctive features. For example, 65-year histories reveal the potential for long sequences of uninterrupted accretion in relatively stable wandering rivers that are unlikely in braided rivers.     

Alternate bar dynamics in response to increases and decreases of sediment supply

Gravel‐bed rivers can accommodate changes in sediment supply by adjusting their bed topography and grain size in both the downstream and cross‐stream directions. Under high supply aggradational conditions, this can result in spatially non‐uniform stratigraphic patterns, and the morphodynamic influence of heterogeneous stratigraphy during subsequent degradational periods is poorly understood and has not been studied through physical modelling. A flume experiment was conducted to analyse channel response where alternate bars were developed in a gravel–sand mixture under constant discharge and sediment supply before two supply increases led to the development of heterogeneous stratigraphy beneath alternate bars. The supply was then reduced back to the initial supply rate, causing degradation through that self‐formed stratigraphy. Stratigraphic samples were collected, and the bed topography and flow depth were measured frequently, which were used with a two‐dimensional hydrodynamic model to characterize flow conditions. Migrating alternate bars stabilized during the first equilibrium phase, creating bed surface sorting patterns of coarse bar tops and fine pools. During the first supply increase, the bars remained stable as the pools aggraded. During the second supply increase, the pools aggraded further, causing the boundary shear stress over the bar tops to increase until the bars gained the capacity to migrate and eventually stabilize in new locations. As aggradation occurred, the original sediment sorting patterns were preserved in the subsurface. During the degradational phase, the pools experienced incision and the bars eroded laterally, but this lateral erosion ceased when coarse sediment previously deposited during the bar‐building phase became exposed. The results suggest that if a sediment supply increase is capable of filling the pools, it can cause stable bars to migrate and the bed to be reworked. These findings also show that heterogeneous stratigraphy can play an important role in determining whether bars persist or disappear after a sediment supply reduction.     

Of sand and mud: Sedimentological criteria for identifying the turbidity maximum zone in a tidally influenced river

The thickness and lateral distribution of sand and mud beds and bedsets on channel bars from the tidally influenced Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada, are quantitatively assessed. Fifty‐six vibracores totalling ca 114 m of vertical section are used to tabulate bed thicknesses. Statistical calculations are undertaken for nine channel bars ranging from the freshwater and tidal zone, to the sustained brackish water and tidal zone. The data reveal that thickness trends can be organized into three groups that broadly correspond to time‐averaged hydrodynamic and salinity conditions in the various distributary channels. Thick sand beds (up to 30 cm) and thin mud beds (up to 5 cm) characterize the freshwater tidal zone. The tidal and freshwater to brackish‐water transition zone comprises thin sands (up to 10 cm) and thicker muds (up to 19 cm), and the sustained brackish water tidal zone consists of thin muds (up to 6 cm) with relatively thicker sands (up to 25 cm). The results suggest that the locus of mud deposition occurs in the tidal freshwater to brackish‐water zone, probably reflecting mud flocculation and deposition at the turbidity maximum. Landward of the turbidity maximum, mud deposition is linked to tidal influence (tidal backwater effect and reverse eddy currents on channel margins) as mud beds thin in the landward direction. These results support the hypothesis that mud deposition is greatest at the turbidity maximum and decreases in both the seaward and landward direction. This study also showcases that mud‐bed thicknesses are greatest towards the turbidity maximum and thin in both the landward and seaward direction. In the rock record, the apex of mud deposition probably marks the position of the palaeo‐turbidity maximum.     

Evolution and sedimentology of a channel fill in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River and its comparison to the deposits of an adjacent compound bar

The depositional stratigraphy of within‐channel deposits in sandy braided rivers is dominated by a variety of barforms (both singular ‘unit’ bars and complex ‘compound’ bars), as well as the infill of individual channels (herein termed ‘channel fills’). The deposits of bars and channel fills define the key components of facies models for braided rivers and their within‐channel heterogeneity, knowledge of which is important for reservoir characterization. However, few studies have sought to address the question of whether the deposits of bars and channel fills can be readily differentiated from each other. This paper presents the first quantitative study to achieve this aim, using aerial images of an evolving modern sandy braided river and geophysical imaging of its subsurface deposits. Aerial photographs taken between 2000 and 2004 document the abandonment and fill of a 1·3 km long, 80 m wide anabranch channel in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Upstream river regulation traps the majority of very fine sediment and there is little clay (< 1%) in the bed sediments. Channel abandonment was initiated by a series of unit bars that stalled and progressively blocked the anabranch entrance, together with dune deposition and stacking at the anabranch entrance and exit. Complete channel abandonment and subsequent fill of up to 3 m of sediment took approximately two years. Thirteen kilometres of ground‐penetrating radar surveys, coupled with 18 cores, were obtained over the channel fill and an adjacent 750 m long, 400 m wide, compound bar, enabling a quantitative analysis of the channel and bar deposits. Results show that, in terms of grain‐size trends, facies proportions and scale of deposits, there are only subtle differences between the channel fill and bar deposits which, therefore, renders them indistinguishable. Thus, it may be inappropriate to assign different geometric and sedimentological attributes to channel fill and bar facies in object‐based models of sandy braided river alluvial architecture.     

河流沿岸土壤对上游矿山及矿山开发的环境地球化学响应——以广西刁江流域为例

刁江流域上游的矿山和矿山开发引发了显著的土壤环境地球化学变化,突出表现是沿岸形成了严重的土壤重金属污染带。污染带的分布与近20多年来的洪水淹没区和引水灌溉区呈现高度的一致性。上游地带的土壤污染区有明显的尾砂沉积,污染呈显性状态,而下游地带的尾砂沉积现象不明显,污染表现为隐性。无论是上游还是下游,土壤中的As、Pb、Zn、Cd含量均异常高。水田的犁底层对污染物质具有明显的隔断作用,而旱地淀积层中的污染物含量比较高,对污染物质的隔断作用不明显。污染耕地上生产的玉米中的Cd、Pb、Zn含量和大米中的Cd、Pb含量超过国家食品卫生标准。