Bed particle displacements and morphological development in a wandering
gravel-bed river
Abstract
Bed particles were tracked using passive integrated transponder (PIT)
tags in a wandering reach of the San Juan River, British Columbia,
Canada, to assess particle movement around three major bars in the
river. In-channel topographic changes were monitored through repeat
LiDAR surveys during this period and used in concert with the tracer
dataset to assess the relationship between particle displacements and
changes in channel morphology, specifically, the development and
re-working of bars. This has direct implications for virtual velocity
and morphologic based estimates of bedload flux, which rely on accurate
estimates of the variability and magnitude of particle path lengths over
time. Tracers were deployed in the river at three separate locations in
the Fall of 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, with recovery surveys conducted
during the summer low-flow season the year after tracer deployment and
multiple mobilising events. Tracers exhibited path length distributions
reflective of both morphologic controls and year to year differences
related to the annual flow regime. Annual tracer transport was
restricted primarily to less than one riffle-pool-bar unit, even during
years with a greater number of peak floods and duration of competent
flow . Tracer deposition and burial was focused along bar margins,
particularly at or downstream of the bar apex, reflecting the downstream
migration and lateral bar accretion observed on Digital Elevation Models
(DEMs) of difference. This highlights the fundamental importance of bar
development and re-working underpinning bedload transport processes in
bar-dominated channels.