River Confluences, Tributaries and the Fluvial Network

About this book

River Confluences and the Fluvial Network brings together state of the art thinking on confluence dynamics tributary impacts and the links between processes at these scales and river network functions. The book is unique in focus, content, scope and in bringing together engineering, ecological and geomorphological approaches to the three key areas of river system science. Taking a global approach this multi-authored text features a team of carefully selected, internationally renowned, experts who have all contributed significantly to recent ground breaking advancements in the field. Each chapter includes a comprehensive review of work to date highlighting recent discoveries and the main thrust of knowledge, previously unpublished research and case studies, challenges and questions, detailed references as well as a forward looking assessment of the state of the science.

Contents

Preface. List of contributors. 1. Introduction: river confluences, tributaries and the fluvial network (Stephen P. Rice, Bruce L. Rhoads and AndrA(c) G. Roy). Introduction. Key aims of the book. Sections of the book. References. PART I: RIVER CHANNEL CONFLUENCES. 2. Introduction to Part I: river channel confluences (AndrA(c) G. Roy). Introduction. Individual chapters. Reference. 3. Modelling hydraulics and sediment transport at river confluences (Pascale M. Biron and Stuart N. Lane). Introduction. Hydraulics. Bedload, suspended and solute transport. Conclusion. Acknowledgments. References. 4. Sediment transport, bed morphology and the sedimentology of river channel confluences (James L. Best and Bruce L. Rhoads). Context. Bed morphology. Sediment transport. Sedimentology. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References. 5. Large river channel confluences (Daniel R. Parsons, James L. Best, Stuart N. Lane, Ray A. Kostachuk, Richard J. Hardy, Oscar Orfeo, Mario L. Amsler and Ricardo N. Szupiany). Introduction. Bed morphology. Flow structure at large river channel confluences. Flow mixing at large river confluences. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References. 6. Management of confluences (Robert Ettema). Introduction. Unruly confluences. Management approaches. Managing confluences for sediment transport. Managing confluences for ice passage. Summary. References. 7. Unconfined confluences in braided rivers (Peter Ashmore and J. Tobi Gardner). Introduction. General characteristics and significance of confluences in braided channels. Confluence scour depth. Confluence kinetics and bar formation. Confluence spacing and the length-scale of braided morphology. Sediment transport and sediment budgets. Sediment sorting and alluvial deposits. Prospect. Acknowledgements. References. PART II: TRIBUTARY-MAIN-STEM INTERACTIONS. 8. Introduction to Part II: tributary-main-stem interactions (Stephen P. Rice). Introduction. Individual chapters. References. 9. Spatial identification of tributary impacts in river networks (Christian E. Torgersen, Robert E. Gresswell, Douglas S. Bateman and Kelly M. Burnett). Introduction. Data measurement. Analytical tools. Future developments and challenges. Acknowledgements. References. 10. Effects of tributaries on main-channel geomorphology (Rob Ferguson and Trevor Hoey). Introduction. Conceptual considerations. Empirical evidence. Theoretical models: (1) Regime analysis of confluences. Theoretical models: (2) Numerical experiments with adjustable grain-size distributions. Discussion. Acknowledgments. References. 11. The ecological importance of tributaries and confluences (Stephen P. Rice, Peter Kiffney, Correigh Greene and George R. Pess). Introduction. Tributaries, confluences and river ecology. Tributaries, ecosystem functions and river management. Constraints on understanding and progress. A case study. Conclusion. Acknowledgments. References. 12. Tributaries and the management of main-stem geomorphology (FrA(c)dA(c)ric LiA(c)bault, HervA(c) Piegay, Philippe Frey and Norbert Landon). Introduction. Conceptual framework for assessing the geomorphological impact of tributaries. Managing the geomorphological impact of tributaries. Conclusion. Acknowledgments. References. 13. Confluence environments at the scale of river networks (Lee Benda). Introduction. River network structure and confluence environments. Symmetry ratios and confluence environments. Basin shape, network patterns and confluence environments. Local network geometry. Drainage and confluence density. River network scaling properties of confluence environments. The Law of stream sizes and the spatial scale of morphological diversity related to confluences. Longitudinal extent and size of confluence environments. Stochastic watershed processes. The role of hierarchical branching networks. Discussion. River networks, resource management and river restoration. Acknowledgements. References. PART III: CHANNEL NETWORKS. 14. Introduction to Part III: channel networks (Bruce L. Rhoads). Introduction. Individual chapters. References. 15. Hydrologic dispersion in fluvial networks (Patricia M. Saco and Praveen Kumar). Hydrologic dispersion effects on runoff response. Runoff response as travel-time distributions: the GIUH. Geomorphological dispersion in stream networks. Non-linear effects and the use of hydraulic geometry relations. Kinematic dispersion in stream networks. The effect of scale and rainfall intensity on the dispersive mechanisms. Hillslope dispersive effects. Kinematic dispersion effects using the meta-channel approach. Summary and future research directions. Acknowledgments. References. 16. Sediment delivery: new approaches to modelling an old problem (Hua Lu and Keith Richards). Introduction. The concept of sediment delivery. Difficulties in measuring and estimating sediment yield and SDR. Links between hydrology and sediment production and yield. Physical inferences of sediment delivery based on a simple lumped model. Practical large-scale application using a distributed model. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References. 17. Numerical predictions of the sensitivity of grain size and channel slope to an increase in precipitation (Nicole M. Gasparini, Rafael L. Bras and Gregory E. Tucker). Introduction. Landscape-evolution models. Example simulation of network evolution. Discussion. Conclusions. Acknowledgements. References. 18. Solute transport along stream and river networks (Michael N. Gooseff, Kenneth E. Bencala and Steve M. Wondzell). Introduction. Review of current knowledge. Linking transport processes with the fluvial geomorphic template. Forward-looking perspective. Acknowledgements. References. 19. Fluvial valley networks on Mars (Rossman P. Irwin III, Alan D. Howard and Robert A. Craddock). Introduction. Early observations. Distribution, age, origin and morphology of valley networks. Morphometry. Alluvial deposits. Hydrology. Summary. Acknowledgements. References. Subject Index. Place Index.

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