12.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 III. Flow Around Bends: Meander Evolution 1. Introduction Hooke (1975) [paper available] – first detailed data and measurements about what happens around meander bends – how flow velocity and shear stress fields develop in the bend to address: why erosion on the outer bank? Why deposition on the inner bank? What controls bend morphology? What sets meander migration rates? Results limited by laboratory setting, however. Paper motivates Dietrich et al. to study a carefully selected natural setting: Muddy Creek, Wyoming. Chosen because: nice free-form meanders, undisturbed, sandy bed with active, readily observable transport, small enough to thoroughly document, and (key) constant near-bankfull snow-melt discharge (annual and predictable timing) which allows observation at near steady conditions. Dietrich et al (1979) [paper available] used a large array of micro-velocimeters and bridges to study the flow without disturbing the flow or bedforms. This lecture summarizes the major elements of the understanding of flow, transport, and erosion processes in the evolution of meander bends developed in these pioneering studies. I will go through a simplified case emphasizing the first-order effects to draw a physical, intuitive picture of the operative processes. To do this I will step through each factor that influences the patterns of velocity and shear stress in the bend. Note that a more detailed analysis has been completed in the years since 1980 – a fairly rich literature. 2.Preliminaries:Conservation of Mass (Sediment): “Erosion Equation”: Derivation of conservation of mass – the erosion equation SKETCH: Control reach, width Δy, length Δx, qs_in at x, qs_out at x + Δx If more sediment comes in than out, bed elevation goes up – deposition If more sediment goes out than in, bed elevation goes down – erosion 112.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 per unit time Δt, sediment volume in = qs_inΔtΔy per unit time Δt, sediment volume out = qs_outΔtΔy Change in sediment volume per unit time ytqytqVoutsinss!!"!!=!__Change in bed volume per unit time poutsinspsbedytqytqVzyxV!!"##"##="#=###=#11__For change in bed elevation, divide through by ΔxΔyΔt: ( ) ( )!"#$%&''((=!!"#$$%&'((=''xqxqqtzspoutsinsp))1111__( )xqtzsp!!""=!!#11Note from basics of sediment transport that Accordingly, we can expand the erosion equation using the chain rule: ( )bsfq!=( )xqtzbbsp!!!!""=!!##$11Thus we can see immediately that erosion will occur in regions of increasing shear stress (i.e., not necessarily in regions of high shear stress) and deposition will occur in regions of decreasing shear stress (not necessarily low shear stress). 3. Flow and Sediment Transport around a Simple Bend Posit the following “Model” channel as an initial condition: mobile bed, flat channel floor, straight sections leading into and out of a bend with a circular arc, steady flow, horizontal cross-stream water surface, and no downstream variation in Qw, w, h, u(other than direction). SKETCH: High shear stress on inner bank 212.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 Effects on flow due to bend: 1. High shear stress on the inner bank because shorter distance around bend means the water surface is slightly steeper. 2. The flow experiences a radial acceleration around the bend. The centrifugal force acts in proportion to the mean velocity: cru2!where rc is a minimum at the bend apex, so acceleration is greatest there. 3. Water is driven across the channel by this radial acceleration until enough water piles up on the outer bank to produce a “super-elevation” sufficient to create a pressure gradient to balance the (average) centrifugal force: cruwhg2!!="solving for the required super-elevation: gruwhc2=!312.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 SKETCH : Illustrate the effect of super-elevation on the pattern of shear stresses on the bed. Highest: upstream, inside; High: downstream, outside; Low: ;downstream, inside Lowest: upstream, outside. 4. Cross-channel force balance discussed above is balance for radial acceleration of mean velocity. But we know there is a velocity structure both in the vertical and cross-channel directions. SKETCH: Cross-channel flow structure – local vertically averaged velocity must be balanced by local water surface slope (complex water surface topography, with .- - )the steepest cross channel slope above the high velocity core412.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 SKETCH: Vertical velocity structure – near the bed ; near the surface , but the pressure field is at all points in vertical profile … balances the mean local radial acceleration. uu <uu >whg!"Near surface: whgruc!>""2; Near bed: whgruc!<""2This imbalance produces a cross-stream component of flow – outward above z = 0.4h and inward below z = 0.4h. Combined with downstream flow pattern, this induces the helical flow pattern characteristic of meander bends. The inward flow along the channel bed sweeps fine sediment up onto point bars, particularly at their downstream end. This discussion has actually neglected another force in the force balance between radial acceleration and pressure gradient due to super-elevation. What is it? The cross-channel component of shear stress owing to the velocity gradient described 512.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 above. However, this force is usually negligible, see Dietrich et al., 1979, equation 3 and discussion on page 309. 5. Shear stress pattern and erosion/sedimentation patterns on the initially flat-bed bend. SKETCH: Initial Erosion and deposition pattern. Recall the Erosion Equation (conservation of mass): ( )xqtzbbsp!!!!""=!!##$11Deposition will occur where shear stress is decreasing downstream; erosion where it is increasing. Note, however, that for cohesive banks, erosion rate will scale with local shear stress – focused where shear stresses are highest, as opposed to where they are increasing most rapidly for the mobile bed. 612.163/12.463 Surface Processes and Landscape Evolution K. Whipple September, 2004 Effects: A. Impingement of high velocity core on outer bank due to flow inertia will increase shear stresses on the bank (recall shear stress depends