Bed particle displacements and morphological development in a wandering gravel-bed river

Flow Strength and Bedload Sediment Travel Distance in Gravel Bed Rivers

“…The extended application of our tracer dispersion model approach (Equation ) to estimate the active layer depth is also significant because the active layer depth is difficult to measure in the field and consequently relies on a secondary method such as scour chains (Brenna et al., 2019; Haschenburger & Church, 1998) or geomorphic analyses (Mao et al., 2017; McQueen et al., 2021), or is altogether absent from analyses (e.g., Papangelakis, MacVicar, et al., 2019). Further validation of Equation for estimating the active layer depth would strengthen this model application and can be done using emerging technologies that can measure the burial depth of bedload tracer particles remotely (Cain & MacVicar, 2020; Papangelakis, Muirhead, Schneider, & MacVicar, 2019).…”

“…Despite the correlations, various controls prevent a data collapse. Channel width, for instance, influences the size and frequency of sedimentary bedforms in gravel bed rivers, which have been shown to control particle travel distances in laboratory experiments (Pyrce & Ashmore, 2003) and field studies (Beechie, 2001; McQueen et al., 2021). To account for this effect, Vázquez‐Tarrío et al.…”

Turbulent Coherent Flow Structures to Predict the Behavior of Particles With Low to Intermediate Stokes Number Between Submerged Obstacles in Streams

“…Transport of particles in rivers is a fundamental process in aquatic ecosystems relevant to various engineering and scientific problems, such as the removal of polluted particles, transport of organisms, optimal sampling of organic matter and sediment transport (McQueen et al., 2021; Prada et al., 2021; Shi et al., 2021). Since Elghobashi (1994) first defined the order of interaction between particle and turbulence based on volume fraction and time scales, flow physics became a significant aspect to understand the transport mechanism of particulate matter.…”

Linkages between bedload displacements and topographic change

“…In order to reconstruct the morphodynamics of a river channel after a flood, we need to understand the linkages between the characteristics of individual particle displacements and topographic change (Church, 2006). Although laboratory studies have explored this relationship (Pyrce & Ashmore, 2003a, 2005Kasprak et al, 2015), field studies that track individual particles have been rarely accompanied by coincident topographic surveys (Pyrce & Ashmore, 2003b), although this practice is beginning to change (e.g., Calle et al, 2020;McQueen et al, 2021). As recent advances in topographic survey technology (e.g., terrestrial LiDAR, drone technology, structure-from-motion) make the collection of high spatial and temporal resolution topographic datasets more accessible, interpretation of channel change and bedload transport prediction from these datasets require an understanding of where individual grains move.…”

“…After one or two events, these tracers may become dispersed along the length of the channel, increasing spatial coverage, or they may be located in a few trapping areas, decreasing the spatial resolution. Future tracer studies that apply trapping models should consider either spreading out the deployment of tracers along the channel to increase spatial coverage or redeploying tracers in one segment to focus analysis at one channel segment (e.g.,McQueen et al, 2021).…”