The graded alluvial river
Profile concavity and downstream fining
Astrid Blom (TU Delft - Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineering)
E. Viparelli (University of South Carolina)
V. Chavarrias Borras (TU Delft - Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineering)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
There has been quite some debate on the relative importance of particle abrasion and grain size selective transport regarding the river profile form and the associated grain size trends in a graded alluvial stream. Here we present new theoretical equations for the graded alluvial river profile that account for the effects of particle abrasion and grain size selective transport in the absence of subsidence, uplift, and sea level change. Under graded conditions we find that abrasion results in a mild profile concavity and downstream fining, whereas under aggradational conditions grain size selective transport can lead to large spatial changes in channel slope and bed surface mean grain size.