Flow resistance in the channel-bar landscape of large alluvial rivers

Abstract

Accurate approaches for estimating flow resistance in large alluvial rivers are fundamental for simulating discharge, sediment transport, and flood routing. However, methods for estimating riverbed resistance and additional resistance in the channel-bar landscapes remain poorly investigated. In this study, we used in situ river bathymetry, sediment, and hydraulic data from the Shashi Reach in the Yangtze River to develop a semi-empirical approach for calculating flow resistance. Our method quantitatively separates flow resistance into riverbed resistance and additional resistance and shows high accuracy in terms of deviation ratio (~20%), root-mean-square error (~0.008), and geometric standard deviation (~3). Additional resistance plays a dominant role under low-flow conditions but a secondary role under high flows, primarily due to the reduction in momentum exchange in channel-bar regions as discharge increases. Riverbed resistance first decreases and then increases, which might be attributed to bedform changes in the lower and transitional flow regimes as flow velocity increases. Overall, our findings further the understanding of dynamic changes in flow resistance in the channel-bar landscapes of large river systems and have important implications for riverine ecology and flood management.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

flow resistance / channel-bar landscape / interaction region / large river / bedform

References

[1] Arnaud F, Schmitt L, Johnstone K, Rollet A J, Piégay H (2019). Engineering impacts on the Upper Rhine channel and floodplain over two centuries.Geomorphology, 330: 13–27

[2] Bousmar D, Zech Y (1999). Momentum transfer for practical flow computation in compound channels.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 125(7): 696–706

[3] Cassells J B C, Lambert M F, Myers R W C (2001). Discharge prediction in straight mobile bed compound channels.Proc Inst Civ Eng Water Marit Eng, 148(3): 177–188

[4] Chandra C S (2019). Analysis of Apparent Shear Stress and Turbulence in Meandering Compound Flows. Dissertation for Master’s Degree. Rourkela: National Institute of Technology Rourkela

[5] Chen G, Zhao S, Huai W, Gu S (2019b). General model for stage–discharge prediction in multi-stage compound channels.J Hydraul Res, 57(4): 517–533

[6] Chen X, Hassan M A, An C, Fu X (2020). Rough correlations: meta-analysis of roughness measures in gravel bed rivers.Water Resour Res, 56(8): e2020WR027079

[7] Chen Y, DiBiase R A, McCarroll N, Liu X (2019a). Quantifying flow resistance in mountain streams using computational fluid dynamics modeling over structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry‐derived microtopography.Earth Surf Process Landf, 44(10): 1973–1987

[8] Chen Z, Chen Q, Jiang L (2016). Determination of apparent shear stress and its application in compound channels.Procedia Eng, 154: 459–466

[9] Christodoulou G C (1992). Apparent shear stress in smooth compound channels.Water Resour Manage, 6(3): 235–247

[10] Church M, Ferguson R I (2015). Morphodynamics: rivers beyond steady state.Water Resour Res, 51(4): 1883–1897

[11] Dai Z (2021). Changjiang Riverine and Estuarine Hydro-morphodynamic Processes. New York: Springer

[12] Dai Z, Mei X, Darby S E, Lou Y, Li W (2018). Fluvial sediment transfer in the Changjiang (Yangtze) river-estuary depositional system.J Hydrol (Amst), 566: 719–734

[13] Ferguson R (2010). Time to abandon the Manning equation?.Earth Surf Process Landf, 35(15): 1873–1876

[14] Ferguson R (2013). 9.5 Reach-scale flow resistance. In: Shroder J F, ed. Treatise on Geomorphology. San Diego: Academic Press, 50–68

[15] Ferguson R I (2021). Roughness calibration to improve flow predictions in coarse-bed streams.Water Resour Res, 57(6): e2021WR029979

[16] Ferguson R I, Hardy R J, Hodge R A (2019). Flow resistance and hydraulic geometry in bedrock rivers with multiple roughness length scales.Earth Surf Process Landf, 44(12): 2437–2449

[17] Ferguson R I, Lewin J, Hardy R J (2022). Fluvial Processes and Landforms.Geological Society London Memoirs, 58

[18] Ferguson R I, Sharma B P, Hardy R J, Hodge R A, Warburton J (2017). Flow resistance and hydraulic geometry in contrasting reaches of a bedrock channel.Water Resour Res, 53(3): 2278–2293

[19] Fernandez R, Best J, López F (2006). Mean flow, turbulence structure, and bed form superimposition across the ripple‐dune transition.Water Resour Res, 42(5): 2005WR004330

[20] He Z, Sun Z, Li Y, Zhao Q, Hu Y, Chen Z (2022). Response of the gravel–sand transition in the Yangtze River to hydrological and sediment regime changes after upstream damming.Earth Surf Process Landf, 47(2): 383–398

[21] Hooke J M, Yorke L (2011). Channel bar dynamics on multi-decadal timescales in an active meandering river.Earth Surf Process Landf, 36(14): 1910–1928

[22] Huang C, Zhao X, Gong M (2004). Comparisons of flow resistance equations in movable bed.J Sediment Res, 5: 1–7

[23] Huthoff F, Roos P C, Augustijn D C, Hulscher S J (2008). Interacting divided channel method for compound channel flow.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 134(8): 1158–1165

[24] Knight D W, Hazlewood C, Lamb R, Samuels P G, Shiono K (2018). Practical Channel Hydraulics: Roughness, Conveyance and Afflux. CRC Press

[25] Knight D W, Shiono K (1990). Turbulence measurements in a shear layer region of a compound channel.J Hydraul Res, 28(2): 175–196

[26] Li D, Lu X X, Chen L, Wasson R J (2019). Downstream geomorphic impact of the Three Gorges Dam: with special reference to the channel bars in the Middle Yangtze River.Earth Surf Process Landf, 44(13): 2660–2670

[27] Li D, Lu X, Overeem I, Walling D E, Syvitski J, Kettner A J, Bookhagen B, Zhou Y, Zhang T (2021). Exceptional increases in fluvial sediment fluxes in a warmer and wetter High Mountain Asia.Science, 374(6567): 599–603

[28] Liu M Y, Huai W X, Chen B (2021a). Predicting the effective diffusivity across the sediment–water interface in rivers.J Clean Prod, 292: 126085

[29] Liu M Y, Huai W X, Yang Z H, Zeng Y H (2020). A genetic programming-based model for drag coefficient of emergent vegetation in open channel flows.Adv Water Resour, 140: 103582

[30] Liu M, Huai W, Ji B (2021b). Characteristics of the flow structures through and around a submerged canopy patch.Phys Fluids, 33(3): 035144

[31] Lou Y, Dai Z, Long C, Dong H, Wei W, Ge Z (2022). Image-based machine learning for monitoring the dynamics of the largest salt marsh in the Yangtze River Delta.J Hydrol (Amst), 608: 127681

[32] Mei X, Dai Z, Darby S E, Gao S, Wang J, Jiang W (2018). Modulation of extreme flood levels by impoundment significantly offset by floodplain loss downstream of the Three Gorges Dam.Geophys Res Lett, 45(7): 3147–3155

[33] Mohanta A, Pradhan A, Mallick M, Patra K C (2021). Assessment of shear stress distribution in meandering compound channels with differential roughness through various artificial intelligence approach.Water Resour Manage, 35(13): 4535–4559

[34] Moreta P J, Martin-Vide J P (2010). Apparent friction coefficient in straight compound channels.J Hydraul Res, 48(2): 169–177

[35] Paarlberg A J, Dohmen‐Janssen C M, Hulscher S J, Termes P (2009). Modeling river dune evolution using a parameterization of flow separation.J Geophys Res Earth Surf, 114(F01014): 1–17

[36] Parker G (1991). Selective sorting and abrasion of river gravel. II: applications.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 117(2): 150–171

[37] Patra K C, Kar S K (2000). Flow interaction of meandering river with floodplains.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 126(8): 593–604

[38] Peterson A W, Peterson A E (1988). Mobile boundary flow: an assessment of velocity and sediment discharge relationships.Can J Civ Eng, 15(4): 539–546

[39] Powell D M (2014). Flow resistance in gravel-bed rivers: progress in research.Earth Sci Rev, 136: 301–338

[40] Proust S, Bousmar D, Riviere N, Paquier A, Zech Y (2009). Nonuniform flow in compound channel: a 1-D method for assessing water level and discharge distribution.Water Resour Res, 45(12): 2009WR008202

[41] Shen H W, Harrison A S, Mellema W J (1978). Temperature and Missouri river stages near Omaha.J Hydraul Div, 104(1): 1–20

[42] Shiono K, Knight D W (1991). Turbulent open-channel flows with variable depth across the channel.J Fluid Mech, 222: 617–646

[43] Skalak K J, Benthem A J, Schenk E R, Hupp C R, Galloway J M, Nustad R A, Wiche G J (2013). Large dams and alluvial rivers in the Anthropocene: the impacts of the Garrison and Oahe Dams on the Upper Missouri River.Anthropocene, 2: 51–64

[44] Tellman B, Sullivan J A, Kuhn C, Kettner A J, Doyle C S, Brakenridge G R, Erickson T A, Slayback D A (2021). Satellite imaging reveals increased proportion of population exposed to floods.Nature, 596(7870): 80–86

[45] van Prooijen B C, Battjes J A, Uijttewaal W S (2005). Momentum exchange in straight uniform compound channel flow.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 131(3): 175–183

[46] van Rijn L C (1984). Sediment transport, part III: bed forms and alluvial roughness.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 110(12): 1733–1754

[47] Wang J, Dai Z, Mei X, Lou Y, Wei W, Ge Z (2018). Immediately downstream effects of Three Gorges Dam on channel sandbars morphodynamics between Yichang–Chenglingji Reach of the Changjiang River, China.J Geogr Sci, 28(5): 629–646

[48] Xia J, Deng S, Lu J, Xu Q, Zong Q, Tan G (2016). Dynamic channel adjustments in the Jingjiang Reach of the Middle Yangtze River.Sci Rep, 6(1): 22802

[49] Yamaguchi S, Giri S, Shimizu Y, Nelson J M (2019). Morphological computation of dune evolution with equilibrium and non-equilibrium sediment-transport models.Water Resour Res, 55(11): 8463–8477

[50] Yang C, Cai X, Wang X, Yan R, Zhang T, Zhang Q, Lu X (2015). Remotely sensed trajectory analysis of channel migration in Lower Jingjiang Reach during the period of 1983–2013.Remote Sens (Basel), 7(12): 16241–16256

[51] Yang X, Sun Z, Deng J, Li D, Li Y (2022). Relationship between the equilibrium morphology of river islands and flow-sediment dynamics based on the theory of minimum energy dissipation.Int J Sediment Res, 37(4): 514–521

[52] Yen B C (2002). Open channel flow resistance.J Hydraul Eng (NYNY), 128(1): 20–39

[53] Zhou M, Xia J, Deng S, Li Z (2022). Two-dimensional modeling of channel evolution under the influence of large-scale river regulation works.Int J Sediment Res, 37(4): 424–434

[54] Zhou Y, Li D, Lu J, Yao S, Yan X, Jin Z, Liu L, Lu X X (2020). Distinguishing the multiple controls on the decreased sediment flux in the Jialing River basin of the Yangtze River, Southwestern China.Catena, 193: 104593

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2024 Higher Education Press

审图号：GS京（2024）1341号