Geography & Environment Publications
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
2022
Abstract
Braided rivers can appear to be outliers in the range of river morphological types with unique dynamics and processes. Analysis shows that they have systematic structure, dynamics and response to external change that have properties relevant to the continuum of channel morphology. Rapid morphological change in real time creates a system in which bedload transport is strongly morphologically driven, which leads to thinking about bedload thresholds in terms of morphological change rather than grain scale dynamics. Occurrence and complexity of braiding respond to total stream power, and channel pattern is therefore partly an effect of river size. Braided rivers have definable regime characteristics and are sensitive to change in predictable ways. Human modification of braiding can be seen as the outcome of politics and the ontological framing of rivers in society. Openness to re-thinking braiding in these terms will allow us to imagine new river futures.
Citation of this paper:
Ashmore, P., 2022. What braiding reveals about river morphology, bedload and channel change. Proceedings of River Flow 2022 International Association for Hydraulic Research 11th International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics.
Notes
Submitted keynote chapter for conference proceedings for International Association for Hydraulic Research River Flow 2022