Experimental study on evolution of bed structures of natural mountain rivers

Bed structures in many mountain rivers provide additional resistance to the flow. A field experiment was conducted on debris flow deposits in the valley of the Jiangjiagou Ravine, a tributary of the Yangtze River in southwestern China, to study the evolution and distribution of bed structures and their relationship with environmental conditions. Water and sediment from the Jiangjiagou main stream were diverted into the experimental channel. Several hydrological schemes were adopted to scour the channel until equilibrium was reached. During this process the evolutions of bed structures and channel configuration were investigated. The results indicate that stronger bed structures mean greater stream power consumption, greater resistance, and greater slope in a certain section when rivers are in dynamic equilibrium. Thus, to some extent the longitudinal profiles of channels can be determined by the distribution of bed structures. In natural cases, the strength and evolution of bed structures are under the influence of environmental conditions such as discharge and bed-load transportation rate. That is, given the same conditions, the same bed structure distribution and longitudinal profile can be predicted.