Physical explanations of variations in river meander migration rates from model comparison

In meandering rivers, the local channel migration rate increases with increasing bend sharpness until it reaches a maximum at a certain critical value of the bend sharpness. Beyond this critical value, the migration rate decreases if bend sharpness increases. Similarly, reach‐averaged migration rates attain a maximum at a certain river sinuosity. This work investigates the physics of these phenomena by comparing the results of two physics‐based models of different complexity, in which the migration rates are proportional to the near‐bank flow velocity excess. In the computational tests the river was allowed to meander progressively, starting from an almost straight planimetry. Both models reproduced the observed peak in the curve describing the local migration rate as a function of the ratio radius of curvature‐channel width (R/B), with a rising limb at lower R/B values and a falling limb at higher R/B values. The rising limb can be explained by the decrease in relative lag distance between near‐bank flow velocity and forcing curvature as R/B increases. The falling limb results from the decrease in local channel curvature and near‐bank flow velocity excess. Since the models do not include flow separation, the results indicate that this phenomenon is not needed to explain the decrease of channel migration rates in sharp bends. The models reproduced also the peak in the curve describing the reach‐averaged migration rates as a function of river sinuosity The increase and then decrease of reach‐averaged migration rates as sinuosity increases appears to be mainly caused by the variation of the reach‐averaged value of the ratio R/B. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of meander migration in an incised channel

An updated linear computer model for meandering rivers with incision has been developed. The model simulates the bed topography, flow field, and bank erosion rate in an incised meandering channel. In a scenario where the upstream sediment load decreases （e.g., after dam closure or soil conservation）, alluvial river experiences cross section deepening and slope flattening. The channel migration rate might be affected in two ways： decreased channel slope and steeped bank height. The proposed numerical model combines the traditional one-dimensional （1D） sediment transport model in simulating the channel erosion and the linear model for channel meandering. A non-equilibrium sediment transport model is used to update the channel bed elevation and gradations. A linear meandering model was used to calculate the channel alignment and bank erosion/accretion, which in turn was used by the 1D sediment transport model. In the 1D sediment transport model, the channel bed elevation and gradations are represented in each channel cross section. In the meandering model, the bed elevation and gradations are stored in two dimensional （2D） cells to represent the channel and terrain properties （elevation and gradation）. A new method is proposed to exchange information regarding bed elevations and bed material fractions between 1D river geometry and 2D channel and terrain. The ability of the model is demonstrated using the simulation of the laboratory channel migration of Friedkin in which channel incision occurs at the upstream end.     

The measurement of river bank erosion and lateral channel change: A review

A detailed review and chronological survey is presented of the various techniques which have been used for the measurement of river bank erosion and channel change. The techniques are classified according to the time scales involved (long, intermediate and short) and each is discussed with respect to accuracy and repeatability. The methods covered include sedimentological evidence, botanical evidence, historical sources, planimetric resurvey, repeated cross-profiling, erosion pins and terrestrial photogrammetry. Prospects for future developments are also discussed.     

Estimating the probability of river channel adjustment

River channels respond not only to natural external controls, and natural controls internal to individual drainage basins, but also to the influence of human activity. Although many site-specific instances of change have been documented, the complexity of the process interactions means that very little is known about the general nature of different styles of adjustment, or their relative sensitivity to drainage basin controls. Data obtained from the Thames Basin, southeast England, are used in a probabilistic approach to differentiate between four styles of river channel adjustment and a variety of drainage basin characteristics. Adopting a probabilistic approach quantifies the degree of confidence attributable to any prediction of river channel adjustment while acknowledging that certainties are difficult to obtain in studies of the natural environment. This approach could thus allow environmental planning decisions to be made with a quantified degree of uncertainty. Four multivariate logistic regression models are described which use a combination of continuous and categorical variables to associate drainage basin characteristics with four styles of river channel adjustment derived from a reconnaissance evaluation survey. In comparison, it is shown that laterally migrating river channels are the most common ‘natural’ channel type in the Thames Basin, and their probability of occurrence rises to 71 per cent in sand/gravel environments. In channels regulated by low weirs, deposition is the most likely channel activity where gradients are lower than 0·0040, whilst above this threshold the majority of channels are morphologically inactive. In urban channels, many of which are also lined by concrete, the likelihood of obtaining a stable channel is mostly in excess of 80 per cent. In channels straightened during this century, deposition is most likely in gradients below 0·0050, whereas erosional enlargement is most probable above this value. In channels which were initially channelized prior to this century, deposition gives way to stability at a threshold gradient of 0·0080.     

Development of ST:REAM: a reach‐based stream power balance approach for predicting alluvial river channel adjustment

River channel sediment dynamics are important in integrated catchment management because changes in channel morphology resulting from sediment transfer have important implications for many river functions. However, application of existing approaches that account for catchment‐scale sediment dynamics has been limited, largely due to the difficulty in obtaining data necessary to support them. It is within this context that this study develops a new, reach‐based, stream power balance approach for predicting river channel adjustment. The new approach, named ST:REAM (sediment transport: reach equilibrium assessment method), is based upon calculations of unit bed area stream power (ω) derived from remotely sensed slope, width and discharge datasets. ST:REAM applies a zonation algorithm to values of ω that are spaced every 50 m along the catchment network in order to divide the branches of the network up into relatively homogenous reaches. ST:REAM then compares each reach's ω value with the ω of its upstream neighbour in order to predict whether or not the reach is likely to be either erosion dominated or deposition dominated. The paper describes the application of ST:REAM to the River Taff in South Wales, UK. This test study demonstrated that ST:REAM can be rapidly applied using remotely sensed data that are available across many river catchments and that ST:REAM correctly predicted the status of 87.5% of sites within the Taff catchment that field observations had defined as being either erosion or deposition dominated. However, there are currently a number of factors that limit the usefulness of ST:REAM, including inconsistent performance and the need for additional, resource intensive, data to be collected to both calibrate the model and aid interpretation of its results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intra‐event scale bar–bank interactions and their role in channel widening

Channel bars and banks strongly affect the morphology of both braided and meandering rivers. Accordingly, bar formation and bank erosion processes have been greatly explored. There is, however, a lack of investigations addressing the interactions between bed and bank morphodynamics, especially over short timescales. One major implication of this gap is that the processes leading to the repeated accretion of mid‐channel bars and associated widenings remain unsolved. In a restored section of the Drau River, a gravel‐bed river in Austria, mid‐channel bars have developed in a widening channel. During mean flow conditions, the bars divert the flow towards the banks. One channel section exhibited both an actively retreating bank and an expanding mid‐channel bar, and was selected to investigate the morphodynamic processes involved in bar accretion and channel widening at the intra‐event timescale. We repeatedly surveyed riverbed and riverbank topography, monitored riverbank hydrology and mounted a time‐lapse camera for continuous observation of riverbank erosion processes during four flow events. The mid‐channel bar was shown to accrete when it was submerged during flood events, which at the subsequent flow diversion during lower discharges narrowed the branch along the bank and increased the water surface elevation upstream from the riffle, which constituted the inlet into the branch. These changes of bed topography accelerated the flow along the bank and triggered bank failures up to 20 days after the flood events. Four analysed flow events exhibited a total bar expansion from initially 126 m² to 295 m², while bank retreat was 6 m at the apex of the branch. The results revealed the forcing role of bar accretion in channel widening and highlighted the importance of intra‐event scale bed morphodynamics for bank erosion, which were summarized in a conceptual model of the observed bar–bank interactions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinct patterns of bank erosion in a navigable regulated river

Distinct bankline patterns appeared after the removal of protection works along a navigable reach of the Meuse River. A series of oblique embayments now dominate the riverine landscape after ten years of bank erosion, but their location and asymmetry cannot be explained yet. This work analyses and integrates field measurements of flow, ship waves, bank composition, bed topography and historical maps to explain the observed patterns along two reaches of the river. An extraordinary low-water-level event generated by a ship accident provided the unique opportunity to also analyse the subaqueous bank topography. The results indicate that the formation of oblique embayments arises from the combination of floodplain heterogeneity, structured by scroll-bar deposits, and the regulation of water levels, resulting in ship-wave attack at a narrow range of bank elevation for 70% of the time. Substrate erodibility acts on the effectiveness of trees to slow down local bank erosion rates, which is possibly enhanced by a positive feedback between woody roots and cohesive soil. The strong regulation of water levels and the waves generated by the intense ship traffic produce an increasingly long mildly-sloping terrace at the bank toe and progressively dominate the bank erosion process. This study demonstrates the important role of floodplain and scroll bar formation in shaping later bank erosion, which has implications for predictive numerical models, restoration strategies, and understanding the role of vegetation in bank erosion processes. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Effects of wet meadow riparian vegetation on streambank erosion. 1. Remote sensing measurements of streambank migration and erodibility

We quantified how rates of stream channel migration in a montane meadow vary as a function of the riparian vegetation community. The South Fork of the Kern River at Monache Meadow, located in California's southern Sierra Nevada range, supports two distinct types of vegetation: a dry meadow community dominated by sagebrush and non‐native grasses (xeric scrub and meadow), and a wet meadow community dominated by rushes and sedges (hydric graminoids). We measured rates of lateral stream migration for dry versus wet meadow reaches from aerial photographs spanning a 40‐year period (1955–1995). While stream migration rates averaged only 0·24 ± 0·02 m a^?1 in the wet meadow, the dry meadow channel migrated an average of 1·4 ± 0·3 m a^?1. We used a linear model of meander migration to calculate coefficients that characterize bank migration potential, or bank erodibility, independent of channel curvature. These calculations demonstrate that, at Monache Meadow, banks without wet meadow vegetation are roughly ten times more susceptible to erosion than banks with wet meadow vegetation. Where stream bank heights consistently exceed 1 m, low water availability creates riparian habitats dominated by dry meadow vegetation. Thus, channel incision may reduce bank stability not only by increasing bank height, but also by converting banks from wet meadow to dry meadow vegetation. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of mathematical models of river planform changes

Different mathematical models of river planform changes exist or are being developed. They are reviewed here by discussing a two-dimensional depth-averaged model, various meander models and a model for the braided Brahmaputra-Jamuna River in Bangladesh. Much emphasis is placed on topics where further research is needed. It is concluded that the models help in understanding the underlying processes, but cannot yet be considered generally valid and easy-to-use software packages. In the hands of experienced geomorphologists or river engineers, however, some of the models do already form valuable tools which allow better predictions of future river planforms.     

Variation in reach‐scale thalweg‐migration intensity in a braided reach of the lower Yellow River in 1986–2015

Thalweg migration of an alluvial river plays a key role in channel evolution, which may influence the effect of existing river training works and biodiversity on floodplains, and cause losses in riparian land and property. The braided reach of the Lower Yellow River underwent continuous channel aggradation during the period from 1986 to 1999, and then remarkable channel degradation in 1999–2015 owing to the state of operation of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in 1999. Here we quantify associated thalweg migration changes and identify the key influencing factor in the braided reach. Thalweg‐migration distances and intensities at section‐ and reach‐scales were calculated during the past 30 years from 1986 to 2015, in order to investigate the characteristics of thalweg migration in the reach. There was a 47% reduction in the reach‐scale thalweg‐migration distance and a 35% reduction in the corresponding migration intensity after the reservoir operation. It is also revealed that fluvial erosion intensity is a dominant factor in controlling the thalweg migration, based on the investigation into various influencing factors in the study reach. The thalweg‐migration intensity of the braided reach can be expressed as a power function of the previous four‐year average fluvial erosion intensity. The calculated thalweg‐migration intensities in 1986–2015 using the proposed relation generally agree with the observed data. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantification of braided river channel change using archival digital image analysis

Historical archives of grey‐scale river channel imagery are extensive. Here, we present and test a methodology to extract detailed quantitative topographic data from such imagery of sand‐bed rivers. Extracting elevation information from rivers is difficult as they are characterized by a low relative relief (<4 m); the area of interest may be spatially extensive (e.g. active channel widths >500 m in large braided rivers); the rate of change of surface elevation is generally low except in the vicinity of individual channel banks where the rate of change is very high; there is the complication that comes from inundation; and there may be an added complication caused by blockage of the field of view by vegetation. Here, we couple archival photogrammetric techniques with image processing methods and test these for quantification of sand‐bed braided river dynamics, illustrated for a 500 m wide, 3 km long reach of the South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Digital photogrammetry was used to quantify dry areas and water edge elevations. A methodology was then used to calibrate the spectral signature of inundated areas by combining established two media digital photogrammetric methods and image matching. This allowed determination of detailed depth maps for inundated areas and, when combined with dry area data, creation of complete digital elevation models. Error propagation methods were used to determine the erosion and deposition depths detectable from sequential digital elevation models. The result was a series of elevation models that demonstrate the potential for acquiring detailed and precise elevation data from any historical aerial imagery of rivers without needing associated calibration data, provided that imagery is of the necessary scale to capture the features of interest. We use these data to highlight several aspects of channel change on the South Saskatchewan River, including bar movement, bank erosion and channel infilling. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reach‐scale channel geometry of a mountain river

Mountain rivers can be subject to strong constraints imposed by changes in gradient and grain size supplied by processes such as glaciation and rockfall. Nonetheless, adjustments in the channel geometry and hydraulics of mountain rivers at the reach scale can produce discernible patterns analogous to those in fully alluvial rivers. Mountain rivers can differ in that imposed reach‐scale gradient is an especially important control on reach‐scale channel characteristics, as indicated by examination of North St Vrain Creek in Colorado. North St Vrain Creek drains 250 km² of the Rocky Mountains. We used 25 study reaches within the basin to examine controls on reach‐scale channel geometry. Variables measured included channel geometry, large woody debris, grain size, and mean velocity. Drainage area at the study reaches ranged from 2·2 to 245 km², and gradient from 0·013 to 0·147 m m^?1. We examined correlations among (1) potential reach‐scale response variables describing channel bankfull dimension and shape, hydraulics, bedform wavelength and amplitude, grain size, ?ow resistance, standard deviation of hydraulic radius, and volume of large woody debris, and (2) potential control variables that change progressively downstream (drainage area, discharge) or that are likely to re?ect a reach‐speci?c control (bed gradient). We tested the hypothesis that response variables correlate most strongly with local bed gradient because of the segmented nature of mountain channels. Results from simple linear regression analyses indicate that most response variables correlate best with gradient, although channel width and width/depth ratio correlate best with discharge. Multiple regression analyses using Mallow's C_p selection criterion and log‐transformation of all variables produced similar results in that most response variables correlate strongly with gradient. These results suggest that the hypothesis is partially supported: channel bed gradient is likely to be a good predictor for many reach‐scale response variables along mountain rivers, but discharge is also an important predictor for some response variables. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bed morphology in vegetated estuarine river with mild-curved meander bend

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effect of single and double row piles for reducing scouring in a mild-curved river meander was studied experimentally. The experimental study focused on the effect of vegetation on bed topography in a mild-curved meander bend. The experimental tests were conducted in a laboratory flume under clear water flow conditions. A series of experimental tests were carried out with a fixed bed and non-vegetated and vegetated moveable beds with different vegetation patterns. Analysis of the flow characteristics indicated that when the bed was mobile with vegetation on the inner bank, the core of maximum streamwise velocity shifted towards the centreline of the bend. Additionally, the cross-sectional kinetic energy increased from 0.05% for the fixed-bed test to 4.30% for the test with a double row of vegetation. Furthermore, the presence of vegetation was found to increase the uniformity of the distribution of turbulence intensity and to reduce the Reynolds shear stress along the test section. Also, the mass fluxes increased from the outer bank to the inner bank and from the upstream towards the downstream of the bend. Finally, comparison of bed topography in vegetated and non-vegetated channels showed that the maximum scour depth at the bend apex was reduced by 77% and 62% for the cases with one row and two rows of vegetation, respectively. The results of this study were compared with previously proposed models for predicting the vertical distribution of the streamwise velocity at the bend apex. It was found that Johannesson and Parker’s model (JPM) gave the lowest value of standard error. The above findings are useful in river training works and, in particular, for restoration of meandering rivers.

Editor D. M.C. Acreman; Associate editor C. Cudennec     

Restoring a glacier-fed river: Past and present morphodynamics of a degraded channel in the Italian Alps

The present study explores the evolutionary trajectory of the glacier-fed Mareit River (South Tyrol, Italian Alps), where a large restoration programme was implemented in 2008–2009. River corridor changes before and after the restoration works were assessed using historical maps, recent field observations, topographic surveys and topographic differencing. Trends of anthropic (forest cover, channel works, gravel mining) and natural (glacial cover, precipitation, flow regime) factors controlling channel morphology – at both catchment and reach scales – were reconstructed. From the mid-19th century, the evolutionary trajectory of the Mareit River followed a degradational trend, characterized by channel narrowing, bed incision and planform simplification. Direct, in-channel human alterations – mainly in the form of bank protections (in the late 19th century), gravel mining (mostly in the 1970s) and grade-control works (since the 1980s) – dominated the historical adjustments before the restoration. In 2008–2009, a segment of the Mareit was restored by widening the channel, partly removing the check-dams and shaping a braided pattern within a laterally constrained corridor. Post-work monitoring shows that the restoration improved both the morphological quality and the geomorphic diversity. At present, the channel is subject to narrowing and slight bed level incision, with islands and floodplains progressively expanding at the expenses of the active channel. This trend is likely to continue in the next decades based on the expected future flow regime, and indeed the Mareit River seems to be attaining a ‘miniaturized’ version of the anabranching pattern of the mid-19th century. Overall, this restoration approach and the associated evolutionary trajectory is considered positive, because it leads to a complex mosaic of geomorphic units, dynamically self-adjusting to the time-varying driving variables. The formation of a morphodynamically active corridor, while keeping artificially non-erodible boundaries, represents an optimal strategy to integrate ecological improvements with flood risk mitigation in the densely populated Alpine valleys. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Model study of the relationship between sediment yield and river basin area

The SHETRAN physically based, spatially distributed model is used to investigate the scaling relationship linking specific sediment yield to river basin area, for two contrasting topographies of upland and more homogeneous terrain and as a function of sediment source, land use and rainfall distribution. Modelling enables the effects of the controls to be examined on a systematic basis, while avoiding the difficulties associated with the use of field data (which include limited data, lack of measurements for nested basins and inability to isolate the effects of individual controls). Conventionally sediment yield is held to decrease as basin area increases, as the river network becomes more remote from the headwater sediment sources (an inverse relationship). However, recent studies have reported the opposite variation, depending on the river basin characteristics. The simulation results are consistent with these studies. If the sediment is supplied solely from hillslope erosion (no channel bank erosion) then, with uniform land use, sediment yield either decreases or is constant as area increases. The downstream decrease is accentuated if rainfall (and thence erosion) is higher in the headwaters than at lower elevations. Introducing a non‐uniform land use (e.g. forest at higher elevations, wheat at lower elevations) can reverse the trend, so that sediment yield increases downstream. If the sediment is supplied solely from bank erosion (no hillslope erosion), the sediment yield increases downstream for all conditions. The sediment yield/basin area relationship can thus be inverse or direct, depending on basin characteristics. There still remains, therefore, considerable scope for defining a universal scaling law for sediment yield. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bank erosion and channel width change in a tropical catchment

Catchment sediment budget models are used to predict the location and rates of bank erosion in tropical catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, yet the reliability of these predictions has not been tested due to a lack of measured bank erosion data. This paper presents the results of a 3 year field study examining bank erosion and channel change on the Daintree River, Australia. Three different methods were employed: (1) erosion pins were used to assess the influence of riparian vegetation on bank erosion, (2) bench‐marked cross‐sections were used to evaluate annual changes in channel width and (3) historical aerial photos were used to place the short term data into a longer temporal perspective of channel change (1972–2000). The erosion pin data suggest that the mean erosion rate of banks with riparian vegetation is 6·5 times (or 85%) lower than that of banks without riparian vegetation. The changes measured from cross‐section surveys suggest that channel width has increased by an average of 0·74 (±0·47) m a^?1 over the study period (or ～0·8% yr^?1). The aerial photo results suggest that over the last 30 years the Daintree River has undergone channel contraction of the order of 0·25 m a^?1. The cross‐section data were compared against modelled SedNet bank erosion rates, and it was found that the model underestimated bank erosion and was unable to represent the variable erosion and accretion processes that were observed in the field data. The reach averaged bank erosion rates were improved by the inclusion of locally derived bed slope and discharge estimates; however, the results suggest that it will be difficult for catchment scale sediment budget models to ever accurately predict the location and rate of bank erosion due to the variation in bank erosion rates in both space and time. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weathering,erosion and sediment composition in a high‐gradient river,Calabria, Italy

Source rock lithology and immediate modifying processes, such as chemical weathering and mechanical erosion, are primary controls on fluvial sediment supply. Sand composition and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of parent rocks, soil and fluvial sand of the Savuto River watershed, Calabria (Italy), were used to evaluate the modifications of source rocks through different sections of the basin, characterized by different geomorphic processes, in a sub‐humid Mediterranean climate. The headwaters, with gentle topography, produce a coarse‐grained sediment load derived from deeply weathered gneiss, having sand of quartzofeldspathic composition, compositionally very different from in situ degraded bedrock. Maximum estimated CIA values suggest that source rock has been affected significantly by weathering, and it testifies to a climatic threshold on the destruction of the bedrock. The mid‐course has steeper slopes and a deeply incised valley; bedrock consists of mica‐schist and phyllite with a very thin regolith, which provides large cobble to very coarse sand sediments to the main channel. Slope instability, with an areal incidence of over 40 per cent, largely supplies detritus to the main channel. Sand‐sized detritus of soil and fluvial sand is lithic. Estimated CIA value testifies to a significant weathering of the bedrock too, even if in this part of the drainage basin steeper slopes allow erosion to exceed chemical weathering. The lower course has a braided pattern and sediment load is coarse to medium–fine grained. The river cuts across Palaeozoic crystalline rocks and Miocene siliciclastic deposits. Sand‐sized detritus, contributed from these rocks and homogenized by transport processes, has been found in the quartzolithic distal samples. Field and laboratory evidence indicates that landscape development was the result of extensive weathering during the last postglacial temperature maximum in the headwaters, and of mass‐failure and fluvial erosional processes in the mid‐ and low course. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hierarchically nested river landform sequences. Part 2: Bankfull channel morphodynamics governed by valley nesting structure

River corridors exhibit landforms nested within landforms repeatedly down spatial scales. In Pasternack et al. ( 2018 ), a new, scale‐independent, hierarchical river classification was developed that uses five landform types to map the domains of a single fluvial process – flow convergence routing – at each of three–five spatial scales. Given those methods, this study investigated the details of how flow convergence routing organizes nested landform sequences. The method involved analyzing landform abundance, sequencing, and hierarchical nesting along the 35 km gravel/cobble lower Yuba River in California. Independent testing of flow convergence routing found that hydraulic patterns at every flow matched the essential predictions from classification, substantiating the process–morphology link. River width and bed elevation sequences exhibit large, nonrandom, and linked oscillations structured to preferentially yield wide bars and constricted pools at base flow and bankfull flow. At a flow of 8.44 times bankfull, there is still an abundance of wide bar and constricted pool landforms, but larger topographic drivers also yield an abundance of nozzle and oversized landforms. The nested structure of flow convergence routing landforms reveals that base flow and bankfull landforms are nested together within specific floodprone valley landform types, and these landform types control channel morphodynamics during moderate to large floods. As a result, this study calls into question the prevailing theory that the bankfull channel of a gravel/cobble river is controlled by in‐channel, bankfull, and/or small flood flows. Such flows may initiate sediment transport, but they are too small to control landform organization in a gravel/cobble river with topographic complexity. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sediment dynamics of an allogenic river channel in a very arid environment

Despite a growing interest in the sediment dynamics of dryland rivers, most research has been based on ephemeral streams in endogenic hydrological systems (runoff and sediment transport determined by local precipitation). Less attention, however, has been paid to allogenic and perennial dryland rivers. Here, we report a case study on the suspended sediment dynamics of the Tarim River, an allogenic and perennial river flowing in a very arid environment in China, based on mean daily discharge and mean daily suspended sediment concentration (SSC) over the last 5 decades (1960–2011). Results reveal that discharge and SSCs are predominantly low and have distributions with large positive skewness. The SSC–discharge relationships can be fairly well generalized by power functions, with quite large scatter at extreme (low and high) flow conditions. Marked temporal and spatial variations were observed in the effective discharge for sediment transport. The frequency of the effective discharge ranged from 0.5% to 2% (or an average flow duration of 2–7 days/year), implying that moderate to high flows play an important role in sediment transport. The sediment rating curves show strong hysteresis effects, with 3 types of hysteresis loops observed, clockwise (the most predominant), anticlockwise, and figure of eight. The high potential for bank collapse near the peak and falling limb of the flood hydrograph is the major cause of anticlockwise and figure‐of‐eight hysteresis loops.     

A study of river channel pattern information recorded by grain size parameters of fluvial sediment

River channel pattern may be regarded as the outcome of streamflow, sediment load, and channel boundary conditions, as can the grain size distribution of bed material. It may therefore be expected that connections should exist between river channel pattern characteristics and the corresponding river bed material grain size parameters. Using data from some Chinese rivers, an attempt has been made to express these connections quantitatively by using statistical methods. The work demonstrates that the river's bed load can be related to the percentage of the traction subpopulation of the bed material shown by the probabilistic plot of grain size cumulative-frequency curve. The study has also revealed some correlations between the bed material grain size parameters of rivers and their channel geometry such as channel width-depth ratio and channel sinuosity. For instance, the higher the ratio of the traction to suspension subpopulation in bed material, the more sinuous, more shallow, and wider the river channel would be. Furthermore, a discrimination function has been given to distinguish between meandering and wandering braided rivers. If the existence of these relationships can be supported by data from more rivers in other regions, then by using them we can postdict palaeoriver channel geometry and its channel pattern character from fluvial sediment grain size parameters of the palaeoriver. This would open a new way to reconstruct the physicogeographical environment in which palaeorivers developed.