Flood-related channel change in an arid-region river

A review of 112 years of change in the channel of the Salt River, central Arizona, U.S.A., shows that this arid-region river has a main-flow channel that has migrated laterally up to 1.6 km (1 mi) in response to floor events. Maps showing locational probabilities indicate that along the channel zones of relative locational stability alternate with zones of relative instability at a 3.2 km (2 mi) interval. Construction of upstream reservoirs has reduced sediment input into the main river but has not controlled floods. The channel width has not changed except for moderate fluctuations around mean values; the main-flow channel has incised approximately 6 m (20 ft) over most of the 48 km (30 mi) study reach during six recent floods. Gradient has remained unchanged. During floods bed material was mobilized to a depth below the original bed level that was greater than the height of the water surface above the original bed. Calculations based on tractive force indicate a threshold discharge of instability that is equal to the flow with a five-year return interval. The river exhibits remarkable stability with respect to gradient and sinuosity, irrespective of water and sediment discharges, but horizontal channel location exhibited selective instability. Over the record period of more than a century, the channel appears not to have been in equilibrium considering geometry, discharge, and sediment.     

River channel change: Problems of interpretation illustrated by the river derwent,north Yorkshire

Some inherent limitations of the spatial interpolation method of identifying and interpreting channel adjustment are illustrated by a study of the River Derwent in Yorkshire. Here, cross-sections downstream from a river diversion appear to have contracted in size when compared with predictions based on upstream relationships between channel form variables and basin area. However, these sections are slightly larger than expected for their diminished discharge, suggesting that they have not fully adjusted to altered environmental conditions and are still in a transient state.     

INFLUENCE OF THE DRAINAGE NETWORK IDENTIFICATION METHOD ON GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND HYDROLOGICAL RESPONSE

The influence of the method of identification of the drainage network on its geomorphological characteristics and on its hydrological response is analysed. Blue lines, photo-interpreted networks and networks generated from digital elevation models (DEMs) by an automatic algorithm are compared with field observations for two small alpine catchments. The comparisons are carried out in quantitative terms by using several geomorphological indices and functions and by calculating the hydrological response of the networks as represented by their geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph (GIUH). The results show that the effect of the identification method on the geomorphological indices and on the hydrological response is significant, and that the threshold area for channel initiation is not constant. Moreover, the available data show a poor correlation between local slope and threshold area. Finally, the influence of the threshold area on the shape of the GIUH is larger when the residence time on the hillslopes is of the same order as the residence time in the network. In the opposite case, the variability of the flow velocity along the network seems to play an important role. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Slope-induced changes in channel character along a gravel-bed stream: The Allt Dubhaig,Scotland

Changes in channel character along a small river in the Scottish Highlands are described using measurements in seven reaches over a 3 km length with no significant tributaries but a decline in slope from 0.02 to 0.00015 because of local baselevel control. This decline in slope is associated with rapid downstream fining of the gravel bed followed by an abrupt transition to a sand bed. The channel pattern alters progressively rather than abruptly, in the sequence (1) near-braided, (2) meandering with active point-bar chutes, (3) meandering with active outer-bank talweg, (4) stable equiwidth sinuous. The changes in channel pattern and hydraulic geometry are predicted better by rational approaches based on critical shear stress or other physical concepts than by purely empirical discriminant or trend equations. Measurements in five reaches confirm a downstream decrease in shear stress and the amount and calibre of bedload. It is argued that the downstream changes in channel character in this stream are induced by profile concavity inherited from deglacial conditions, are typical of many streams in mountainous areas and can be understood in terms of slope-induced changes in hydraulic properties.     

An appraisal of the velocity-reversal hypothesis for stable pool-riffle sequences in the river severn,England

The ‘velocity-reversal hypothesis’ is the linchpin for a number of recent conceptual models pertaining to sediment sorting and the maintenance of pool-riffle sequences in gravel-bedded streams. The literature in support of the hypothesis together with published adverse criticism is reviewed. It is concluded that convincing evidence for the ubiquitous occurrence of such a reversal in a range of channel geometries is currently unavailable. Continuity considerations indicate that riffles need to be considerably wider than pools for a reversal in the mean velocity to occur under conditions of subcritical flow, high stage, and stable morphology. These observations are substantiated by a detailed study of the hydraulic geometry of stable pool-riffle sequences in the River Severn, England. Neither the sectionally-averaged velocity nor the near-bed shear velocity is sensibly greater in the pools than over the riffles during bankfull or near bankfull flow. Instead a tendency towards equalization of the values of average hydraulic variables is noted as discharge increases. A detailed investigation of the three-dimensional character of the flow is required to demonstrate whether the entrainment forces within pools can locally exceed those over neighbouring riffles. Unusual behaviour of the energy gradient over riffles during moderate discharges is related to backwater effects as mediated by the spacing of the riffles. The hydraulic data are used to comment on the stability of the test reaches in the context of the development of the River Severn in the vicinity of Shrewsbury.