As dunes and larger‐scale bed forms such as bars coexist in rivers, the question arises whether dune dynamics are influenced by interaction with the underlying bed topography. The present study aims to establish the degree to which dune characteristics in two and three dimensions are influenced by an underlying topography dominated by non‐migrating bars. As a case study, a 20 km stretch in the Waal River in the Netherlands is selected, which represents a sand‐bed lowland river. At this location, longitudinal training dams (LTDs) have recently been constructed to ensure sufficient navigation depth during periods with low water levels, and to reduce flood risk. By using data covering 2‐year‐long periods before and after LTD construction, the robustness of the results is investigated. Before LTD construction, dune characteristics show large variability both spatially and temporally, with dunes being longer, lower, less steep and having a lower lee side angle when they are located on bar tops. The correlation between dune characteristics and the underlying bed topography is disrupted by unsteady conditions for which the dunes are in a state of transition. The bar pattern causes tilting of dune crest lines, which may result from a transverse gradient in bedload sediment transport. As a result of LTD construction, the hydraulic and morphological conditions have changed significantly. Despite this, the main conclusions still hold, which strengthens the validity of the results. ©2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
A human-made entrance to a side channel separated from the river by a longitudinal training dam can be considered a new, emergent type of river bifurcation. To understand the processes controlling the diversion of flow and sediment toward the side channel at such bifurcations, a comprehensive field monitoring program was performed in the Waal River, which is the main branch of the Rhine River in the Netherlands. Local processes govern the flow field in the bifurcation region. The angle between the main river flow and the flow into the side channel increases with decreasing lateral and longitudinal distance to the bifurcation point, which corresponds to the head of the training dam. The general flow pattern can be well reproduced with a uniform depth, potential flow model consisting of a superposition of main channel flow and lateral outflow. For submerged flow conditions over the sill, the side channel hydraulic conditions influence the exchange processes, yet free flow side weir theory describes the flow field at this bifurcation type qualitatively well. The vertical flow structure in the side channel, which governs the sediment exchange between the main channel and the side channel, is steered by the geometrical details of the sill. The presence of the sill structure is key to controlling the morphological stability of this type of bifurcation given its primary influence on bed load sediment import and exerts an indirect impact on suspended sediment exchange.
Longitudinal training dams (LTDs) have been built over a length of 10 km in the Dutch River Waal as an alternative to groyne fields, splitting the river in a fairway and a bank-connected side channel in the inner bend. Here, we study the physical mechanisms governing the three-dimensional flow and its effect on local morphology at the flow divide using a mobile bed physical model of an LTD, centred around a side channel intake. In line with previous experiments, polystyrene granules are used as a lightweight sediment that allows to achieve dynamic similarity between the model and the prototype. An Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV) profiler is used to monitor the flow characteristics, whereas a line laser scanner set-up is used to measure the morphological imprint of the flow near the bifurcation point. To study the dependence of the results on the sill height at the side channel intake, different forms and heights of the sill are used. First results show striking similarities with measurements from the field pilot in the Waal River, as well as larger sedimentation in the side channel for a uniform low sill compared to a downstream increasing sill height.
A new measurement method for continuous detection of bed forms in movable bed laboratory experiments is presented and tested. The device consists of a line laser coupled to a 3‐D camera, which makes use of triangulation. This allows to measure bed forms during morphodynamic experiments, without removing the water from the flume. A correction is applied for the effect of laser refraction at the air‐water interface. We conclude that the absolute measurement error increases with increasing flow velocity, its standard deviation increases with water depth and flow velocity, and the percentage of missing values increases with water depth. Although 71% of the data is lost in a pilot moving bed experiment with sand, still high agreement between flowing water and dry bed measurements is found when a robust LOcally weighted regrESSion (LOESS) procedure is applied. This is promising for bed form tracking applications in laboratory experiments, especially when lightweight sediments like polystyrene are used, which require smaller flow velocities to achieve dynamic similarity to the prototype. This is confirmed in a moving bed experiment with polystyrene.
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