Morphodynamics and reshaping of the arms of bifurcated riverbeds and floodplain-channel branches
https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU0579-9414.5.80.6.1
Abstract
Among the four structural levels of branching, floodplain-channel branching and bifurcated channels are the most morphologically complex and at the same time quite common. The independent development of branches in such channels leads to a great diversity of their forms and parameters, as well as the specific hydrological and channel regimes of these sections of the channel. Unlike of the lower structural levels, the detailed hydrological and morphological analysis and assessment of the reorganization of branches of bifurcated channels are poorly covered in the scientific literature. The parameters of branched channels, the ratio of branch water content and the rate of bank erosion, the set and parameters of morphodynamic types of branches, and the characteristics of interbranching are discussed. The characteristics of an incised forked channel and its difference from a similar one formed under free development of channel deformations are shown on particular examples. The conditions of formation are shown and the characteristics of floodplain-channel branches formed in a wide floodplain and, less often, incised channel are presented, as well as the influence of hydrological and geological-geomorphologic (protrusions and capes of the native banks) factors on the deformation of branches and the long-term redistribution of flow.
Thus, the paper provides an analysis of morphodynamics and hydromorphology of the arms of floodplainchannel branches and forked channels taking into account their features on rivers of different size (orders), water content, sediment flow and other natural conditions and factors of their formation.
Keywords
Supporting agencies: The paper is prepared under the State Assignment of the Department of Land Hydrology and the Makkaveev research laboratory of soil erosion and fluvial processes (source materials and channel analysis) with financial support or the Russian Science Foundation – project No. 23-17-00065 (flow dispersion, channel deformations, riverbed typology and parameterization), No. 23-77-01006 (riverbank erosion in the middle reaches of the Ob River).
About the Authors
R. S. Chalov
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Land Hydrology
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
D.Sc. in Geography, Professor
G. B. Golubtsov
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography, Makkaveev Research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Fluvial Processes
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ph.D. in Geography, Junior Scientific Researcher
A. A. Kurakova
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography, Makkaveev Research Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Fluvial Processes
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ph.D. in Geography, Scientific Researcher
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For citations:
Chalov R.S., Golubtsov G.B., Kurakova A.A. Morphodynamics and reshaping of the arms of bifurcated riverbeds and floodplain-channel branches. Lomonosov Geography Journal. 2025;(6):3-17. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.55959/MSU0579-9414.5.80.6.1
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