A dynamic riparian forest structure model for predicting large wood inputs to meandering rivers

Fluvial processes strongly influence riparian forests through rapid and predictable shifts in dominant species, tree density and size that occur in the decades following large floods. Modelling riparian forest characteristics based on the age and evolution of floodplains is useful in predicting ecosystem functions that depend on the size and density of trees, including large wood delivered to river channels, forest biomass and habitat quality. We developed a dynamic model of riparian forest structure that predicts changes in tree size and density using floodplain age derived from air photos and historical maps. Using field data and a riparian forest chronosequence for the 160-km middle reach of the Sacramento River (California, USA), we fit Weibull diameter distributions with time-varying parameters to the empirical data. Species were stratified into early and late successional groups, each with time-varying functions of tree density and diameter distributions. From these, we modelled how the number and size of trees in a stand changed throughout forest succession, and evaluated the goodness-of-fit of model predictions. Model outputs for the early successional group, composed primarily of cottonwoods and willows, accounted for most of the stand basal area and large trees >10 cm DBH for the first 50 years. Post-pioneer species with slower growth had initially low densities that increased slowly from the time of floodplain creation. Within the first 100 years, early successional trees contributed the most large wood that could influence fluvial processes, carbon storage, and instream habitat. We applied the model to evaluate the potential large wood inputs to the middle Sacramento River under a range of historical bank migration rates. Going forward, this modelling approach can be used to predict how riparian forest structure and other ecosystem benefits such as carbon sequestration and habitat quality respond to different river management and restoration actions.     

Predicting plume meandering and averaging time effects on mean and fluctuating concentrations in atmospheric dispersion simulated in a water channel

Plume meandering and averaging time effects were measured directly using a high spatial resolution, high frequency, linescan laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique for measuring scalar concentrations in a plume dispersing in a water channel. Post-processing of the collected data removed time dependent background dye levels and corrected for attenuation across the laser beam to produce accurate measurements over long sample times in both a rough surface boundary-layer shear flow and shear free grid-generated turbulent flow. The data were used to verify the applicability of a meandering plume model for predicting the properties of mean and fluctuating concentrations. The centroid position of the crosswind concentration profile was found to have a Gaussian probability density function and the instantaneous plume spread about the centroid fluctuated log-normally. A modified travel-time power law model for averaging time adjustment was developed and compared to the widely used, but much less accurate, 0.2 power-law model.     

大同盆地中侏罗世河流沉积体系及古河型演化

通过对大同云冈出露的部分中侏罗统的沉积物特征、沉积构造特征、岩相和结构单元的研究,识别出该剖面是由下伏的曲流河沉积体系和上覆的辫状河沉积体系组成的。由此认为研究区在中侏罗世早期为曲流河沉积环境,此后开始转化为辫状河流沉积环境。河型的转化受制于流域基底差异抬升的影响,而流域气候由湿润向半干旱-干旱的转化也起了促进作用。     

Three‐dimensional flow structure and channel change in an asymmetrical compound meander loop,Embarras River,Illinois

The planform dynamics of meandering rivers produce a complex array of meander forms, including elongated meander loops. Thus far, few studies have examined in detail the flow structure within meander loops and the relation of flow structure to patterns of planform change. This field‐based investigation examines relations between three‐dimensional fluid motion and channel change within an elongated, asymmetrical meander loop containing multiple pool–riffle structures. The downstream velocity field is characterized by a high‐velocity core that shifts slightly outward as flow moves through individual lobes of the loop. For some of the measured flows this core becomes submerged below the water surface downstream of the lobe apexes. Vectors of cross‐stream/vertical velocities indicate that skew‐induced helical motion develops within the pools near lobe apexes and decays over riffles where channel curvature is less pronounced. Maximum rates of bank retreat generally occur near lobe apexes where impingement of the flow on the outer channel bank is greatest. However, maximum rates and loci of bank retreat differ for upstream and downstream lobes of the loop, leading to increasing asymmetry of loop geometry over time—a finding consistent with experimental investigations of loop evolution. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

沉积体系分析与河道砂岩型铀矿成矿条件讨论--以鄂尔多斯中新生代盆地东胜地区为例

本运用沉积体系理论，对东胜地区直罗组的沉积相及沉积体系归属进行系统分析，指出直罗组为河流相沉积，其河流演化经历了早期辫状河、中期低弯度曲流河和晚期高弯度曲流河3个阶段。根据气候演变特点将直罗组分为上、下两个岩性段：下段为温湿条件下的辫状河沉积和低弯度曲流河沉积，形成灰色沉积建造；上段为干旱炎热条件下的曲流河沉积，形成以红色为主的杂色沉积建造。本区铀矿化属河道砂岩型，矿化受辫状河道控制，主要赋存于辫状河沉积砂体中。同时，对河道砂岩型铀矿化的成矿条件进行了初步探讨。     

ANABRANCHED RIVERS

I.ll1troductionWhenLane(I957)triedt0findastatisticalbasisf0rtl1eclassificatiollofvariousriverpatternsbymeansofdischarge-sl0perelation,hesurprisinglyfolll1dthattl1edatafr0lnthelowerYangizeRiver(Cl1al1aiiang)(aswellassevera1otllerrivers)tvitl1tyPical"stable"braidedpatterl1fallingil1t0exactlythedatagroupwl1eret11ed.3taaref1-olllllleallderillgrivers(Figurel)[41.ThesekindsofpatternsspreadinlnanyriversinCllina,andtheyarecalledanabranchedpatter11s0\vil1gtotheessentialdifferencestothebraidedpattern…     

Seasonal Variability of Thermohaline Front in the Central South China Sea

An upper layer thermohaline front across the South China Sea (SCS) basin from the South Vietnamese coast (around 15°N) to Luzon Island (around 19°N) has been identified using the Navy's open domain Generalized Digital Environmental Model (GDEM) monthly mean temperature and salinity data on a 0.5° × 0.5° grid. This front does not occur at the surface in summer. The strength of this front is around 1°C/100 km at the surface and 1.4°C/100 km at the subsurface (50 m deep). A cross-basin current, inverted using the P-vector method, is associating with the front. Meandering and eddies have been identified along this current. Seasonal and vertical variabilities of the thermohaline structure across this front are reported in this paper. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

探地雷达在古河道砂岩体沉积储层刻画中的应用

利用探地雷达勘探技术对鄂尔多斯盆地曲流河三角洲前缘及三角洲平原分支河道露头砂岩体的分布特征进行实测并描述。研究区岩性主要为泥岩、泥岩与粉-细砂岩互层,夹薄层凝灰岩,且多数地段表层覆盖1~5 m厚的黄土。对雷达剖面进行一系列数据处理并定量给出7个主要砂岩体的厚度依次为54 m、83 m、54 m、38 m、104 m、160 m、191 m;高度依次为6 m、7 m、5 m、8 m、6 m、10m、9 m,等参数;砂岩体长厚比值依次为9、11.8、10.8、4.8、17、16、21.2。河道砂岩主体宽与高的比值总体上15,整体呈现砂岩泥岩复合式沉积构造。砂岩体多呈现孤立状顶部平缓底部突起透镜体形态,河道纵向多期沉积明显且有砂岩体横向迁移现象,砂岩体在探地雷达剖面的反射特征与观测结果一致。     

Sedimentary architecture and 3D ground-penetrating radar analysis of gravelly meandering river deposits (Neckar Valley, SW Germany)

Sedimentological outcrop analysis and sub‐surface ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) surveys are combined to characterize the three‐dimensional sedimentary architecture of Quaternary coarse‐grained fluvial deposits in the Neckar Valley (SW Germany). Two units characterized by different architectural styles are distinguished within the upper part of the gravel body, separated by an erosional unconformity: (i) a lower unit dominated by trough‐shaped depositional elements with erosional, concave‐up bounding surfaces that are filled by cross‐bedded sets of mainly openwork and filled framework gravel; and (ii) an upper unit characterized by gently inclined sheets of massive and openwork gravels with thin, sandy interlayers that show lateral accretion on a lower erosional unconformity. The former is interpreted as confluence scour pool elements formed in a multi‐channel, possibly braided river system, the latter as extensive point bar deposits formed by the lateral migration of a meandering river channel. The lateral accretion elements are locally cut by chute channels mainly filled by gravels rich in fines, and by fine‐grained abandoned channel fills. The lateral accretion elements are associated with gravel dune deposits characterized by steeply inclined cross‐beds of alternating open and filled framework gravel. Floodplain fines with a cutbank and point bar morphology cover the gravel deposits. The GPR images, revealing the three‐dimensional geometries of the depositional elements and their stacking patterns, confirm a change in sedimentary style between the two stratigraphic units. The change occurred at the onset of the Holocene, as indicated by ¹⁴C‐dating of wood fragments, and is related to a re‐organization of the fluvial system that probably was driven by climatic changes. The integration of sedimentological and GPR results highlights the heterogeneity of the fluvial deposits, a factor that is important for modelling groundwater flow in valley‐fill aquifers.     

Channels,wetlands and islands in the Okavango Delta,Botswana, and their relation to hydrological and sedimentological processes

The Okavango wetland in northern Botswana is one of the world's largest inland deltas. The delta is a dynamic environment with shifting channel routes, causing growth and decay of ?anking wetlands, and giving birth to islands. Primary island nuclei are formed by ?uvial processes and bioengineering, and subsequently grow into secondary larger islands of irregular shape by clastic and chemical sedimentation, and later by coalescence. This article presents classi?cations and quantitative estimations of channels, wetlands and islands of the Okavango Delta. Islands were classi?ed dependent on composition, pattern of composition, shape and juxtaposition. 90 per cent of all islands in the entire wetland were identi?ed, with a classi?cation accuracy of 60 to 85 per cent. Smaller islands of the nucleus types dominate the upper parts of the delta, whereas larger secondary islands are more common in the distal part, a re?ection of the age of the islands. Islands in the entry valley of the delta, the Panhandle, are larger in the top end – the primary region of recent clastic sedimentation. The overall size distribution of islands in the delta, however, shows no clumps, indicating that island growth is a uniform process over time and space. The total area ?ooded at least every decade is approximately 14 000 km², of which 9000 km² is classi?ed as actual wetland. Channel meandering decreases from the Panhandle to the distal part of the delta, with the abandoned Thaoge channel as an exception. Occurrence of ?uvially formed islands in the distal delta indicates that the water ?ow and area of inundation must once have been much larger. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.