长江中游曲流河段河道的近代演化过程研究

曲流河是冲积平原河流中的重要河型之一,曲流河的河道演变对冲积平原的建设与演化起着非常重要的作用。地处江汉平原的长江中游藕池口至城陵矶段河道是最典型的曲流河段,其曲流河道的几何形态和变化过程较为复杂,对该段河道演化过程的研究在河流的开发利用及水利工程建设中具有很好的理论指导意义。本研究通过对历史资料和多期卫星遥感影像的解译与分析,表明长江中游藕池口至城陵矶河段的曲流河道演化在受自然和人类活动双重影响的情况下,该河段河道的演化仍然维持曲流河特征。受大洪水的切滩作用及松滋口、太平口和藕池口3个分流口对洞庭湖的分水分沙的影响,该段河道的演化过程较为复杂。自然裁弯取直和人工裁弯取直在一定程度上改变着河道演化的进程,但由裁弯取直及上游水利工程引起的纵坡降增加产生的冲淤变化将会维持河道的稳定,同时在该河段实施的护岸工程也会抑制河流的横向侵蚀,曲流河段河道演化进入自调整和自组织过程。     

Oyster reefs in 1878 seascape pattern—Winslow revisited

An analysis of Winslow’s 1878 oyster survey data of Tangier Sound relates the Euclidean dimensions of oyster beds to plan-channel morphology, water depths, bottom slopes, and relief. Results show that at a regional scale the Tangier oyster beds followed a benthic seascape density pattern related to the main axial Tangier Sound Channel: its morphology, meanders, and east-west location. The north-south axis of the channel was intersected by estuarine flows into its central-eastern section, where meanders began with a tight meander around a western shoal, followed by wider second and third meanders. The location of the deepest axial depths of the channel’s bottom indicates a lateral, side-to-side switching between opposite beds, and a vertical undulation in a deepening trend to 31 m at the apex of the first meander. The depth then generally shallowed as the channel plan-form meandered southward to the sound’s entrance. Oyster beds flanked the upper sides of the channel, their generally long and narrow linear axes oriented with that of the main channel in width-to-length ratios of <0.4. Bed lengths increased from the north to the second meander, then decreased. The widest (2.3 km), longest (8.3 km), and largest (7 km²) beds laid opposite each other in the channel’s second meander. Eastern beds were generally wider and larger than western beds, and water depths along their channel sides indicate a deepening trend from 3.6 m in the north to 16.5 m in the south, unlike western beds, which reached a maximum depth of 10.4 m north of the meanders. Minimum water depths on the shoal sides of beds varied little, described by mean values of 4.6 m (SD = 1.1) for eastern beds and 3.3 m (SD = 0.56) for western beds. Analysis of profiles indicates that the deeper southeastern beds had variable relief with longer and more gradual slopes into the channel than the shallower northwestern beds with flatter bed-tops and abrupt, steeper transitions into the channel. The profiles indicate variability of a single bed in distributions of oysters and bed morphologies to make analysis at the small scale difficult. However, at the regional scale, a seascape pattern emerges that relates the distributions of oysters to the channel and shoals. This re-examination of the historic database in the context of regional tidal channel patterns provides parameters for considering the interactive role of oysters with hydrodynamics and the structural importance of oyster reefs for land and seascape processes.     

Theories of stream meander causation: a review and analysis

Meandering is one of the most complex problems associated with the behavior of rivers. Several explanations (derived from both field and laboratory flume) have been advanced to account for stream meandering, among them being the earth's rotation, excess current energy, transverse oscillations, initial current deflection, local disturbances, changes in stages of discharge and bed load and helicoidal flow. Foremost among these is the effects of helicoidal flow within the stream flow. The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze selected meander theories that contribute either directly or inherently to current meander concepts which revolve around the effect of helicoidal flow.Prevalent ideas concern meandering as being dependent not only on stream flow but also on the rate of stream discharge, sediment load, size and type of sediment, channel roughness, depth, width, velocity of flow, and quality of water itself. The characteristics of helicoidal flow seem to be the best explanation for the development of meanders. Theories for meandering do not clearly explain the cause of helicoidal flow. Most of its intricacies have been learned through laboratory flume experiments. Interestingly, earlier work on river meandering was the product of long days in the field; in more recent years such research has been undertaken in the laboratory. One feels that a return to the stream would be a healthy complement to flume measurements. Further study should include hypothesis testing in a variety of material both homogeneous and heterogeneous.     

天然河湾几何形态统计分析

天然河湾是弯曲河流重要的地貌组成单元,研究河湾的几何形态和演变规律具有较高的理论价值。运用Google Earth卫星图像和AutoCAD软件相结合的方法,选取不同区域的8条河流的136个山区河湾和325个冲积河湾作为统计样本,定义和测量河湾几何形态参数。统计分析表明,山区河湾弯曲度变化区间为[1.7,14.8],冲积河湾弯曲度变化区间为[1.6,38.5]。冲积河湾的弯曲度均值和标准方差都大于山区河湾。山区河湾的弯顶偏向角无明显的趋向性,弯顶向上游发育和向下游发育的机率基本是相同的。冲积河湾的弯顶偏向角大于85°的河湾占65.5%,表明大多数冲积河湾的弯顶是偏向上游发育的。冲积河湾平均河宽与弯顶河宽成较好的线性关系,平均河宽与颈口宽度具有一定程度的正相关关系。天然河湾的横向相对偏移度与弯曲度成较好的线性关系,两者表征河湾平面弯曲形态具有一致性。     

Site preservation along an active meandering and avulsing river: The Red River,Arkansas

The low-gradient Red River is a rapidly migrating, sinuous stream with easily erodible banks. Avulsion is common at many scales, from individual meander bends that are cut off to major sections of the river that form multiple, complex meander belts. The present meander belt can be subdivided into mappable landforms—termed phases—that are associated with river courses of different ages and thus associated with archeological sites of different ages. Within the study area two phases are present. The younger Modern meander belt phase has formed within the past 0.2–0.3 ky, precluding preservation of prehistoric archaeological sites. Any protohistoric artifacts that may have been preserved in this meander belt phase would be deeply buried because as much as 2 m of the vertical accretion sediment has accumulated between artificial levees in <0.1 ky and 1–2 m of sediment has accumulated beyond the artificial levees in <0.2 ky. Archeological site preservation in this highly mobile fluvial end member can be used as a predictor for other, similar streams. A large prehistoric site is preserved on an older (0.5–1 kya) Late Prehistoric meander belt phase associated with an abandoned river course. In the study area a Fourche Maline 7 period (A.D. 800–900) through Caddo IV period (ca. A.D. 1500–1700) archeological site (3MI3/30) is preserved on this slightly higher altitude portion of the flood plain. At locations proximal to the river, the site may be buried by overbank sediment 0.4 m thick, but at more distant locations the site is at the surface or only buried by thin overbank sediment because of low sedimentation rates (0.04 cm yr⁻¹) over the span of a millennium. Sites, such as 3MI3/30, that are occupied contemporaneous with overbank sedimentation may be stratified; however, localized erosion and removal of some archeological material may occur where channelized flow crosses the natural levee. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tidal currents,bed sediments,and bedforms at the South Branch and the South Channel of the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary,China: Implications for the ripple-dune transition

Measurements were made of tidal currents, bed sediment particle sizes, and bedform dimensions at the South Branch and the South Channel of the Changjiang estuary, China, during the dry season in 1997 and the flood season in 1998. The near bottom current speed and direction were measured by a mechanical current meter for 10 h in 1997. The near surface current speed and direction were measured by a Current Meter of Endeco/YSI Inc. 174 SSM for 14 h in 1997 and 1998. Nine bed sediment samples were taken and their particle sizes were analyzed with sieves and siphons. The bedforms were nautically detected by an echo sounder and a side scan sonar. Results show that the ebb tides had larger near-bottom and near-surface current speeds and longer durations than the flood tides, in which the former occurred during the flood season in 1998 and not in the dry season in 1997. The bed sediments were composed of coarse silts and very fine sands during the dry season but of fine sands during the flood season. Bedforms were dominated by ebb tidal currents, the height∶length ratios of dunes and lee face angles were low, and heights and lengths were larger during the flood season in 1998. The ebb and flood tidal currents, bed sediment sizes, and dune morphology were largely controlled by the seasonal runoff variations. A new tentative boundary might be proposed for natural dunes in very fine sand with the availability of additional field data in the future.     

济阳坳陷东部埕北地区Ng上段曲流河沉积相及砂体展布研究

埕北地区Ng~上段主要为曲流河沉积,储油砂体微相为由流河冲积平原亚相的曲流砂坝。由于它的单层薄,横向上变化大,分布复杂,直接影响到对它的勘探开发和储量计算。通过研究取芯井段的岩相、岩相组合、垂相沉积层序及各种电测井资料等,将Ng~上段曲流河沉积砂体划分为三种亚相,并建立了由流河沉积砂体的剖面结构和平面分布模式,进一步又以沉积小层和砂层组为单元研究了曲流河砂体的平面分布特征及纵向演化规律等,为下一步的精细油藏描述研究打下了可靠的基础。     

Sedimentary model for intertidal mudflat channels, with examples from the Solway Firth, Scotland

Intertidal mudflat channels (gullies) in the Solway Firth, Scotland possess width/depth ratios similar to meandering rivers. Most channels deeper than 1 m show cut-bank slides, but narrow, deep channels also have rotational slides on the point-bar slopes. The channels display two types of point-bar. The first, associated with gently curved meanders, is sigmoidal in profile. The second, associated with tight meander bends, possesses a pronounced lower platform. The onset of flow separation in meander bends, a phenomenon which enhances cut-bank erosion and point-bar deposition, is a direct function of meander-bend tightness and Froude number. The effects of flow separation are greatest on tight meander bends at times of high velocity during late spring ebb and also during rainfall run-off at low tide. These events appear to be responsible for the growth of the point-bar platforms. A model, predicting the type of point-bar development to be expected in different channel meanders, is used to reconstruct the sedimentary history of active and fossil point-bars.     

Controls on the alluviation of oxbow lakes by bed‐material load along the Sacramento River,California

Differences in the nature and quantity of sediment filling oxbow lakes have significant implications for the evolution of meandering rivers and the development of floodplains, influencing rates of meander migration and the valley width over which migration takes place. In an effort to identify the controls on the alluviation of oxbow lakes by coarse bed material, this study examined the sedimentary records stored within oxbow lakes of the Sacramento River of California, USA, and found that the volume of gravel in storage correlated negatively with the diversion angle separating flow between the river channel and the entrance into each lake. A method was devised for estimating the original channel bathymetry of the studied lakes and for modelling the hydraulic and sediment‐transport effects of the diversion angle within channels recently abandoned by meander cut‐off. The diversion angle determines the width of a flow separation within the abandoned‐channel entrance, reducing the discharge diverted from the river channel and thus limiting the ability of the abandoned channel to transport bed material. Aggradation rates are faster within entrances to abandoned channels with high diversion angles, resulting in the rapid isolation of lakes that store only a small volume of coarse‐grained sediment. Aggradation rates are slower within channel entrances where diversion angles are low, resulting in the slow transitioning of such channels into oxbow lakes with a larger and more extensive accumulation of coarse‐grained sediment. These findings compare well with observations in other natural settings and the mechanism which is described for the control of the diversion may explain why some oxbow lakes remain as open‐water environments for centuries, whereas others are filled completely within decades of cut‐off.     

Preservation of meandering river channels in uniformly aggrading channel belts

Channel belt deposits from meandering river systems commonly display an internal architecture of stacked depositional features with scoured basal contacts due to channel and bedform migration across a range of scales. Recognition and correct interpretation of these bounding surfaces is essential to reconstruction of palaeochannel dimensions and to flow modelling for hydrocarbon exploration. It is therefore crucial to understand the suite of processes that form and transfer these surfaces into the fluvial sedimentary record. Here, the numerical model ‘NAYS2D’ is used to simulate a highly sinuous meandering river with synthetic stratigraphic architectures that can be compared directly to the sedimentary record. Model results highlight the importance of spatial and temporal variations in channel depth and migration rate to the generation of channel and bar deposits. Addition of net uniform bed aggradation (due to excess sediment input) allows quantification of the preservation of meander morphology for a wide range of depositional conditions. The authors find that the effect of vertical variation in scouring due to channel migration is generally orders of magnitude larger than the effect of bed aggradation, which explains the limited impact bed aggradation has on preservation of meander morphology. Moreover, lateral differences in stratigraphy within the meander belt are much larger than the stratigraphic imprint of bed aggradation. Repeatedly produced alternations of point bar growth followed by cut‐off result in a vertical trend in channel and scour feature stacking. Importantly, this vertical stacking trend differs laterally within the meander belt. In the centre of the meander belt, the high reworking intensity results in many bounding surfaces and disturbed deposits. Closer to the margins, reworking is infrequent and thick deposits with a limited number of bounding surfaces are preserved. These marginal areas therefore have the highest preservation potential for complete channel deposits and are thus best suited for palaeochannel reconstruction.     

A comparison of mud- and sand-dominated meanders in a downstream coarsening reach of the mixed bedrock-alluvial Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa

Along a 28 km reach of the Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa, mud- and sand-dominated meanders have developed in close proximity within a floodplain wetland up to 1.5 km wide, providing an unusual opportunity to compare their characteristics under similar hydrological conditions. Throughout the reach, the channel bed is grounded on sandstone/shale bedrock although the banks are alluvial, and most river activity occurs during summer high flows. The reach can be divided into three geomorphological zones: Zone 1 (0–11 km), a muddy proximal part with a single meandering channel (w/d < 10) and near-permanent standing water in oxbows and backswamps; Zone 2 (11–17.5 km), a transitional mud-to-sand part with one main channel (w/d  20–30), a number of sinuous palaeochannels and oxbows, and only limited standing water; and Zone 3 (17.5–28 km), a sandy distal part with a single meandering channel (w/d  15–30), scroll bars and oxbows, and little standing water. Each zone also has a distinctive sedimentology: Zone 1 is characterised by an  3–4 m thick succession of basal sand and minor granules overlain by dominantly muddy sediment deposited primarily by oblique accretion in meander bends; Zone 2 is characterised by < 4 m of interbedded sand and mud deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion, although a history of avulsions also attests to the importance of abandoned-channel accretion; and Zone 3 is characterised by < 3 m of dominantly sand deposited primarily by lateral point-bar accretion. This unusual downstream sediment coarsening trend, and the associated changes in channel and floodplain character, are independent of sediment inputs from tributaries, and result from a downstream increase in bankfull unit stream power from < 3.5 W m^− 2 (Zone 1) to  4–10 W m^− 2 (Zone 3). Mud is deposited primarily in low-energy Zone 1 but is conveyed in suspension more effectively through higher energy Zones 2 and 3, only forming drapes over sandy lateral accretion deposits during waning flood stages. The downstream increase in unit stream power is controlled in part by a slight downstream increase in floodplain gradient that may be related to a subtle variation in the erosional resistance of the bedrock underlying the channel bed. These findings add to previous work on meandering rivers by demonstrating that mud-dominated meanders can occur in long-term erosional settings where the channel bed is grounded on bedrock, and that downstream fining trends may be reversed locally.     

Effects of short flexible seagrass Zostera noltei on flow,erosion and deposition processes determined using flume experiments

Innovative flume experiments were conducted in a recirculating straight flume. Zostera noltei meadows were sampled in their natural bed sediments in the field at contrasting stages of their seasonal growth. The aims of this study were: (i) to quantify the combined effects of leaf flexibility and development characteristics of Zostera noltei canopies on their interaction with hydrodynamics; and (ii) to quantify the role of Zostera noltei meadows in suspended sediment trapping and bed sediment resuspension related with changes in hydrodynamic forcing caused by the seasonal development of seagrasses. Velocity within the canopy was significantly damped. The attenuation in velocity ranged from 34 to 87% compared with bare sediments and was associated with a density threshold resulting from the flow‐induced canopy reconfiguration. The reduction in flow was higher in dense canopies at higher velocities than in less dense canopies, in which the reduction in flow was greater at low velocities. These contrasted results can be explained by competition between a rough‐wall boundary layer caused by the bed and a shear layer caused by the canopy. The velocity attenuation was associated with a two to three‐fold increase in bottom shear stress compared with unvegetated sediment. Despite the increase in near‐bed turbulence, protection of the sediment against erosion increased under a fully developed meadow, while sediment properties were found to be the main factor controlling erosion in a less developed meadow. Deposition fluxes were higher on the vegetated bed than on bare sediments, and these fluxes increased with leaf density. Fewer freshly deposited sediments were resuspended in vegetated beds, resulting in an increase in net sediment deposition with meadow growth. However, in the case of a very high leaf area index, sediment was mostly deposited on leaves, which facilitated subsequent resuspension and resulted in less efficient sediment trapping than in the less developed meadow.     

Investigating spatial variability of vertical water fluxes through the streambed in distinctive stream morphologies using temperature and head data

Investigating the interaction of groundwater and surface water is key to understanding the hyporheic processes. The vertical water fluxes through a streambed were determined using Darcian flux calculations and vertical sediment temperature profiles to assess the pattern and magnitude of groundwater/surface-water interaction in Beiluo River, China. Field measurements were taken in January 2015 at three different stream morphologies including a meander bend, an anabranching channel and a straight stream channel. Despite the differences of flux direction and magnitude, flux directions based on vertical temperature profiles are in good agreement with results from Darcian flux calculations at the anabranching channel, and the Kruskal-Wallis tests show no significant differences between the estimated upward fluxes based on the two methods at each site. Also, the upward fluxes based on the two methods show similar spatial distributions on the streambed, indicating (1) that higher water fluxes at the meander bend occur from the center of the channel towards the erosional bank, (2) that water fluxes at the anabranching channel are higher near the erosional bank and in the center of the channel, and (3) that in the straight channel, higher water fluxes appear from the center of the channel towards the depositional bank. It is noted that higher fluxes generally occur at certain locations with higher streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity (K _v) or where a higher vertical hydraulic gradient is observed. Moreover, differences of grain size, induced by stream morphology and contrasting erosional and depositional conditions, have significant effects on streambed K _v and water fluxes.     

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.     

Holocene drainage systems of the English Fenland: roddons and their environmental significance

The roddons of the English Fenlands are fossilised silt and sand-filled tidal creek systems of mid- to late-Holocene age, incised into contemporaneous clay deposits. However, anthropogenic change (drainage and agriculture) has caused the former channels to become positive topographical features. Three stratigraphically discrete generations of roddon have been discriminated. They all show well-developed dendritic meander patterns, but there is little or no evidence of sand/silt infill during meandering; thus, unlike modern tidal creeks and rivers they typically lack laterally stacked point bar deposits, suggesting rapid infill. Major “trunk” roddons are rich in fine sands and there is little change in grain size from roddon mouth to the upper reaches, suggesting highly effective sand transport mechanisms and uniform conditions of deposition. Tributaries are silt-rich, while minor tributaries also have a significant clay component. During infill, active drainage networks appear to have been choked by sediment, converting mudflat/salt-marsh environments into widespread peat-forming freshwater reed swamps.     

Geological Responses to Urbanization of the Naples Bay Estuarine System,Southwestern Florida,USA

The Naples–Dollar Bay Estuarine System (NDBES), situated in southwestern Florida, has undergone extensive modifications caused directly and indirectly by anthropogenic influences. These alterations include: (1) the substitution of mangrove-forested shorelines with concrete bulkheads and installation of residential canals; (2) installation of a regionally extensive navigational channel; and (3) canalization of the watershed, resulting in annexation of a heavily altered drainage basin ten times the size of the pre-alteration basin and with a significantly different soil and bedrock. The NDBES consists of northern Naples Bay, southern Naples Bay, and Dollar Bay, whose shorelines range from highly developed to undeveloped, respectively. This project explored the geological response of the system to these alterations using data from side-scan sonar, sediment grab samples, and vibracores. In highly urbanized northern Naples Bay, benthic substrates consist primarily of muddy sand with few oyster reefs. Southern Naples Bay and Dollar Bay, however, consist of coarser sediment, and are characterized by extensive mangrove shorelines and numerous fringing oyster reefs. The impact of anthropogenic alterations has significantly shifted sediment distributions in northern Naples Bay from a relatively coarser to a relatively fine grained substrate; to a lesser degree in southern Naples Bay, and Dollar Bay, this transition has not taken place due to the general lack of anthropogenic modifications made to this part of the system.     

细颗粒对粗颗粒床沙质输沙率影响的初步研究

考虑高含沙紊流涡团中细颗粒絮凝形成网络结构对粗颗粒运动影响后,建立了粗颗粒悬移质泥沙的输沙率计算方法.该方法中包含的细颗粒影响项反映了流域因素对粗颗粒泥沙输沙的影响,证明细颗粒的影响是引起多沙河流中“多来多排”现象的一个重要因素.与黄河实测资料的对比表明,该计算方法能够反映高含沙紊流输沙时随流域细颗粒增多粗颗粒悬移质输沙率相对增大的现象,并具有较好的计算精度     

Biotic forcing militates against river meandering in the modern Bonneville Basin of Utah

Biotic forcing on river meandering is a highly debated topic in sedimentology. Vegetation is assumed to hold a vital role on channel stability and sinuosity, for example through bank stabilization and pedogenic production of cohesive clays. However, statistically solid and causal relationships between vegetation density and river sinuosity remain largely untested in natural systems. This study investigates physical and biotic forcings on channel sinuosity in the Bonneville Basin of Utah (USA), an endorheic depression flanked by active fluvial networks (‘washes’) that display diverse vegetation density and channel‐planform style. By means of remote sensing and ground‐data collection, 58 washes are considered, 0·1 to 90 km² in surface area and drained by trunk channels <45 m wide and <1·2 m deep. Each wash is composed of a catchment basin connected downstream to an aggradational and distributive channel network. Statistically solid regressions highlight the primary roles played by base level and catchment size on fluvial morphogenesis. In contrast, no correlation is found between vegetation density and other parameters such as trunk‐channel width or surface area of the largest meander in a wash. Similarly, no statistical correlation exists between vegetation density and meander size or sinuosity index. Rather, larger and more sinuous meanders are invariably associated with lower vegetation density. These results are corroborated by field evidence showing that sparse vegetation promotes flow disturbance, channel branching and bar braiding instead of stabilizing sediment surfaces. Thus, river meandering is attributed to cohesion offered by mud retention within the endorheic basin, as well as discharge and stream‐power modulation along bifurcating and low‐gradient channel reaches. Hence, this work demonstrates how meandering‐channel patterns may arise from entirely physical forcings in the absence of vegetation.     

Computer simulation of sedimentation in meandering streams

A dynamic mathematical model for simulation of sedimentation in meandering streams is briefly described. This is composed of component mathematical models which are formulated to predict the following aspects of the system for a given physical situation and a single time increment. (1) The characteristics of the plan form of the meander; (2) the movement of the meander in plan, and definition of cross-sections across the meander in which erosion and deposition are considered in detail; (3) the hydraulic properties of the channel in the bend and the erosional and depositional activity within the channel as defined in specific cross-sections; (4) the nature and occurrence of cut-off; (5) a relative measure of the discharge during a seasonal high water period, which is used in (3) and (4); (6) aggradation. The model, in the form of a FORTRAN IV computer program, has been used to simulate various aspects of sedimentation in meandering streams by performing a set of experiments with the program under different input conditions. The geometry of simulated point bar sediments, as controlled by channel migration over floodplains with variable sediment type, agrees broadly with the natural situation, however extensive sheets of point bar sediment cannot be simulated because large scale meander-belt movements are not accounted for. In the simulated sediments, successive surfaces of the point bar before falling stage deposition (lateral and vertical) may be picked out, and these delineate the epsilon cross-stratification of Allen (1963b). The epsilon unit thickness is that measured from bankfull stage down to the lowest channel position existing prior to deposition. The model records the characteristic fining upwards of grain sizes in the point bar, and the systematic distribution of sedimentary structures. Channel migration combined with seasonal scouring and filling across the channel section produces a characteristic relief in the basal scoured surfaces and facies boundaries (as defined by variation in grain size and sedimentary structure). A related lensing and inter-fingering of the facies may also be present. The model also records large-scale lateral changes in grain size and sedimentary structure associated with changes in the shape of developing meanders. When channel migration is combined with a constant aggradation rate the model predicts a general slope (relative to the land surface) of facies boundaries and scoured basal surfaces upward in the direction of channel movement. If aggradation sufficiently increases the thickness of fine-grained overbank material, there is a channel stabilization effect. It is shown that a complete sequence of point bar sediments capped by overbank sediments would rarely be preserved in the moving-phase situation. Such preservation only becomes likely when an aggrading section lies out of range of an eroding channel for a considerably longer time span than it takes a meander to move one half-wavelength downvalley. Deep channel scours have a higher preservation potential than contemporary shallower ones. Where appropriate field data exist the model can be used in the more accurate recognition of ancient fluviatile sediments. Inferences may be made about the erosion-deposition processes operating in the ancient channel system, and the geometry and hydraulics of the system can be alluded to. A representative application of the model to the quantitative interpretation of an ancient point bar deposit is illustrated. There is reasonable agreement between the natural and the simulated deposits, and a broad quantitative picture of the palaeoenvironment of sedimentation is obtained.     

Overbank sedimentation rates in former channel lakes: characterization and control factors

Overbank sedimentation rates were studied in former channels of three rivers in south-eastern France. Depth and spatial distribution of sediment, as well as geometry, hydrological connectivity and age of 39 lakes, were both measured and calculated. The mean sedimentation rate of lakes varied between 0 and 2·57 cm year⁻¹. Sedimentation rates are linked to water depth and often undergo a decreasing gradient from the downstream outlet to the inner part of the lake. Multiple regression modelling demonstrates that sediment depth is essentially a function of overbank flow frequency. The greater the difference between upstream and downstream overbank flow frequency, the faster the sedimentation rate. These differences in sedimentation rates also correspond to different former channel geometry: the rates are slower in narrow and straight channels (former braided, and point-bar backwater channels), and faster in large and sinuous channels (exhibiting meanders, anastomosing channels and coves). The suspended sediment flux is variable from one reach to another, the middle reach of the Rhône conveying more sediment than the upper reaches, the Doubs or the Ain reaches. The suspended sediment flux does not explain a statistical difference in lake sedimentation rates between the reaches, which also provide clear evidence of the importance of local connectivity controls. Sedimentation patterns were also complicated by temporal changes in lake connectivity associated with geomorphological or anthropogenic changes operating within the main channel.