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Fluvial Processes: Meandering and Braiding

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Fluvial Hydrodynamics

Part of the book series: GeoPlanet: Earth and Planetary Sciences ((GEPS))

Abstract

River configurations in plan view are highly variable. Under specific environmental and hydraulic conditions, the type of planform geometry of a river is controlled by the sediment transport and its capacity of the river. Alluvial river configurations are in general categorized as straight, meandering, and braided rivers. While long, straight rivers seldom occur in nature; meandering and braided rivers are common. This chapter focuses on the characteristics of meandering and braided rivers. Mathematical models of meandering rivers are presented.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The ratio of the curvilinear length to the linear distance (straight line) between the end points of the curve is known as sinuosity or sinuosity index. In case of a river, it is the ratio of the actual river length to the down-valley length. Its minimum value is unity for a perfectly straight river.

  2. 2.

    The locus of lowest bed elevation or maximum flow depth within a watercourse is known as thalweg.

  3. 3.

    The Coriolis effect is an apparent deflection of the path of an object in motion due to an induced transverse force normal to its path, when it is set in a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object, while with counter-clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the right.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India

    Subhasish Dey

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  1. Subhasish Dey
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Correspondence to Subhasish Dey .

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Dey, S. (2014). Fluvial Processes: Meandering and Braiding. In: Fluvial Hydrodynamics. GeoPlanet: Earth and Planetary Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19062-9_9

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