A study of river channel pattern information recorded by grain size parameters of fluvial sediment

Abstract

AbstractRiver channel pattern may be regarded as the outcome of streamflow, sediment load, and channel boundary conditions, as can the grain size distribution of bed material. It may therefore be expected that connections should exist between river channel pattern characteristics and the corresponding river bed material grain size parameters. Using data from some Chinese rivers, an attempt has been made to express these connections quantitatively by using statistical methods. The work demonstrates that the river's bed load can be related to the percentage of the traction subpopulation of the bed material shown by the probabilistic plot of grain size cumulative‐frequency curve. The study has also revealed some correlations between the bed material grain size parameters of rivers and their channel geometry such as channel width‐depth ratio and channel sinuosity. For instance, the higher the ratio of the traction to suspension subpopulation in bed material, the more sinuous, more shallow, and wider the river channel would be. Furthermore, a discrimination function has been given to distinguish between meandering and wandering braided rivers. If the existence of these relationships can be supported by data from more rivers in other regions, then by using them we can postdict palaeoriver channel geometry and its channel pattern character from fluvial sediment grain size parameters of the palaeoriver. This would open a new way to reconstruct the physicogeographical environment in which palaeorivers developed.