The three-dimensional geometry of fluvial channel bodies and valley fills has received much less attention than their internal structure, despite the fact that many subsurface analyses draw upon the geometry of suitable fluvial analogues. Although channel-body geometry has been widely linked to base-level change and accommodation, few studies have evaluated the influence of local geomorphic controls. To remedy these deficiencies, we review the terminology for describing channel-body geometry, and present a literature dataset that represents more than 1500 bedrock and Quaternary fluvial bodies for which width (W) and thickness (T) are recorded. Twelve types of channel bodies and valley fills are distinguished based on their geomorphic setting, geometry, and internal structure, and log-log plots of W against T are presented for each type. Narrow and broad ribbons (W/T 1000, respectively) are distinguished. The dataset allows an informed selection of analogues for subsurface applications, and spreadsheets and graphs can be downloaded from a data repository. Mobile-channel belts are mainly the deposits of braided and low-sinuosity rivers, which may exceed 1 km in composite thickness and 1300 km in width. Their overwhelming dominance throughout geological time reflects their link to tectonic activity, exhumation events, and high sediment supply. Some deposits that rest on flat-lying bedrock unconformities cover areas > 70,000 km2. In contrast, meandering river bodies in the dataset are < 38 m thick and < 15 km wide, and the organized flow conditions necessary for their development may have been unusual. They do not appear to have built basin-scale deposits. Fixed channels and poorly channelized systems are divided into distributary systems (channels on megafans, deltas, and distal alluvial fans, and in crevasse systems and avulsion deposits), through-going rivers, and channels in eolian settings. Because width/maximum depth of many modern alluvial channels is between 5 and 15, these bodies probably record an initial aspect ratio followed by modest widening prior to filling or avulsion. The narrow form (W/T typically < 15) commonly reflects bank resistance and rapid filling, although some are associated with base-level rise. Exceptionally narrow bodies (W/T locally < 1) may additionally reflect unusually deep incision, compactional thickening, filling by mass-flow deposits, balanced aggradation of natural levees and channels, thawing of frozen substrates, and channel reoccupation. Valley fills rest on older bedrock or represent a brief hiatus within marine and alluvial successions. Many bedrock valley fills have W/T < 20 due to deep incision along tectonic lineaments and stacking along faults. Within marine and alluvial strata, upper Paleozoic valley fills appear larger than Mesozoic examples, possibly reflecting the influence of large glacioeustatic fluctuations in the Paleozoic. Valley fills in sub-glacial and proglacial settings are relatively narrow (W/T as low as 2.5) due to incision from catastrophic meltwater flows. The overlap in dimensions between channel bodies and valley fills, as identified by the original authors, suggests that many braided and meandering channel bodies in the rock record occupy paleovalleys. Modeling has emphasized the importance of avulsion frequency, sedimentation rate, and the ratio of channel belt and floodplain width in determining channel-body connectedness. Although these controls strongly influence mobile channel belts, they are less effective in fixed-channel systems, for which many database examples testify to the influence of local geomorphic factors that include bank strength and channel aggradation. The dataset contains few examples of highly connected suites of fixed-channel bodies, despite their abundance in many formations. Whereas accommodation is paramount for preservation, its influence is mediated through geomorphic factors, thus complicating inferences about base-level controls.

http://www.zenzebra.net/fluvial/gibling.pdf

Width and Thickness of Fluvial Channel Bodies and Valley Fills in the Geological Record: A Literature Compilation and Classification

Reciprocal interactions and adjustments between fluvial landforms and vegetation dynamics in river corridors: A review of complementary approaches

The morphology of an alluvial river channel is the consequence of sediment transport and sedimentation in the river. Morphological style is determined chiefly by the caliber and quantity of sediment delivered to the channel, although modulated by channel scale. Yet the relations between sediment transport and river morphology have received only limited, qualitative attention. In this review, the problem is studied by defining sediment transport regimes on the basis of the Shields number, a nondimensional measure of the capacity of the channel to move sediment of a given caliber. The problem is also approached from an inverse perspective by which the quantity and character of sediment deposits are used to infer details about the variation of sediment transport and sedimentation along a channel. Coupling the two approaches establishes a basis to gain new insights into the origins of alluvial channel morphology.

http://geofaculty.uwyo.edu/neil/teaching/4880_files/ChurchAnnRev2006.pdf

Bed material transport and the morphology of alluvial river channels

Field data are used to study the size distribution of bedload in paved gravel-bed streams. Similarity analysis yields the results that all grain size ranges are of approximately equal transportability when the critical condition for breaking the pavement is exceeded. This result is only approximately correct due to deviations from similarity. However, it is adequate to justify development of a method for calculating total bedload, which requires only the subpavement median grain size rather than the size distribution. A method for calculating bedload size distribution that accounts for deviation from similarity is also developed.

Closure of "Bedload and Size Distribution in Paved Gravel-Bed Streams"

The pioneering predictor of fluvial bed-load transport rate proposed by Meyer-Peter and Muller in 1948 is still extensively used in basic research and engineering applications. A review of the basis for its formulation reveals, however, that an unnecessary bed roughness correction was applied to cases of plane-bed morphodynamic equilibrium. Its inclusion followed a flow resistance parameterization in terms of the Nikuradse roughness height, which has been shown (well after the publication of their work) to be inappropriate for the characterization of mobile bed rough conditions in rivers. Removing the unnecessary correction and incorporating an improved correction of the boundary shear stress due to sidewall effects allow elucidation of the most parsimonious form of the bed-load relation of Meyer-Peter and Muller that is dictated by their own data set. The new predictor is presented in terms of two alternative power law forms. These amended forms show that, in the case of lower-regime plane-bed equilibrium transport of uniform bed sediment, the new estimates of volume bed-load transport rates are less than or equal to half the values that would be obtained with the original relation of Meyer-Peter and Muller in the absence of the unnecessary bed roughness correction. The meticulous database and clear analysis of the original work of Meyer-Peter and Muller greatly aided the present writers in their reanalysis, which liberally uses the hindsight offered by 58 years of subsequent research.

/pdf/reanalysis-and-correction-of-bed-load-relation-of-meyer-4dh1qz865i.pdf

Reanalysis and Correction of Bed-Load Relation of Meyer-Peter and Müller Using Their Own Database

Numerous studies have suggested the importance of bank vegetation as a control of channel patterns; however, to date there is no conclusive evidence that vegetation does represent a significant control. An analytical model is developed in order to assess the influence of bank vegetation on channel patterns of alluvial gravel-bed rivers. Three channel types are considered: meandering, wandering, and braided. Bank vegetation effects are quantified in terms of a friction angle ϕ′. A new theoretical meandering-braiding transition criterion is formulated that includes ϕ′, median grain diameter D50, and bank-full discharge Q. The theoretical relation is tested against field data from 137 rivers and successfully discriminates between meandering and braided rivers. Wandering rivers show greater scatter. It is concluded that bank vegetation, as expressed in terms of ϕ′, does exert significant and quantifiable control on alluvial channel patterns. A simple planform stability diagram is developed to determine the sensitivity of gravel-bed rivers to changes in bank vegetation.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/1999WR900346

Influence of bank vegetation on alluvial channel patterns

A bank‐stability analysis is incorporated into an analytical procedure for modeling the hydraulic geometry of an alluvial gravel‐bed channel. The new analysis includes a procedure that calculates the mean bed and bank shear stress as well as assessing the bank stability. The bank‐stability criterion accounts for the increased stability of the channel banks due to consolidation of the bank sediment, cementing by fines, and binding of the sediment by root masses. The two key parameters in the bank‐stability analysis are the median grain diameter of the bank sediment D50bank, and the modified friction angle of the bank sediment φ′. A sensitivity analysis of the two parameters indicate that the bank stability can exert a large influence on the channel geometry. This is supported by testing the theory on published field data. The bank sediment size was assumed to equal the bed sediment size, and the variation of the friction angle φ′ was investigated. The estimated φ′ values are seen to increase systematically...

Closure of "Effect of Bank Stability on Geometry of Gravel Rivers"

The long-term control of vegetation and woody debris on channel and flood-plain evolution: insights from a paired catchment study in southeastern Australia

Robert G. Millar

Papers

Influence of bank vegetation on alluvial channel patterns

Closure of "Effect of Bank Stability on Geometry of Gravel Rivers"

The long-term control of vegetation and woody debris on channel and flood-plain evolution: insights from a paired catchment study in southeastern Australia

Channel patterns: Braided, anabranching, and single-thread

Theoretical regime equations for mobile gravel-bed rivers with stable banks