Abstract
A potential control of downstream channel width variations on the structure and planform of pool-riffle sequence local bed topography is a key to the dynamics of gravel-bed rivers. How established pool-riffle sequences respond to time-varying shifts in the channel width, however, is largely unexplored and challenging to address with field-based study. Accordingly, here we report results of a flume experiment aimed at building understanding of the response of statistically steady pool-riffle sequences to prescribed channel width adjustments. We find that local bed slopes near steady-state conditions inversely correlate with local width change dynamics, and agree with expectations from scaling theory and a broad set of field-based, numerical and experimental studies (n=88). We also find that coarse sediment release from dam removal can temporally flip the expected inverse correlation, collectively highlighting that local conditions are important for understanding river morphology, and would be overlooked if analysis instead emphasized spatial averaging.
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