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  • Perspective
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Threshold constraints on the size, shape and stability of alluvial rivers

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 3, pages 406–419 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

The geometry of alluvial river channels both controls and adjusts to the flow of water and sediment within them. This feedback between flow and form modulates flood risk, and the impacts of climate and land-use change. Considering widely varying hydro-climates, sediment supply, geology and vegetation, it is surprising that rivers follow remarkably consistent hydraulic geometry scaling relations. In this Perspective, we explore the factors governing river channel geometry, specifically how the threshold of sediment motion constrains the size and shape of channels. We highlight the utility of the near-threshold channel model as a suitable framework to explain the average size and stability of river channels, and show how deviations relate to complex higher-order behaviours. Further characterization of the sediment transport threshold and channel adjustment timescales, coupled with probabilistic descriptions of river geometry, promise the development of future models capable of capturing rivers’ natural complexity.

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Fig. 1: Proposed orders of river channel behaviour.
Fig. 2: The width of natural and laboratory alluvial rivers follow near-threshold predictions.
Fig. 3: Near-threshold and threshold-limiting models.
Fig. 4: Threshold constraints on channel geometry and fluid stress.
Fig. 5: River channel size responds to changes in hydro-climate.
Fig. 6: Historic land use can alter river geometry over long timescales.

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Data availability

The data associated with this manuscript are published75 and available through Hydroshare: https://doi.org/10.4211/hs.fa5503b04af343ffbaf33d5a15cb2579.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank G. Parker for inspiring this review, his brilliance and enthusiasm has touched nearly every aspect of this work. The idea for this manuscript developed out of conversations at the River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics (RCEM) 2019 symposium; the authors are grateful to the organizers H. Friedrich and K. Roisin Bryan for that stimulating forum. Work was supported by Army Research Office (Award Number W911NF2010113) and National Science Foundation (NSF), National Robotics Initiative Grant (Award Number 1734365) to D.J.J.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    Colin B. Phillips

  2. Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Claire C. Masteller

  3. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Louise J. Slater

  4. Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Kieran B. J. Dunne

  5. Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Simona Francalanci

  6. Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Stefano Lanzoni

  7. Earth and Environment, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, USA

    Dorothy J. Merritts

  8. Université de Paris, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, Paris, France

    Eric Lajeunesse

  9. Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Douglas J. Jerolmack

  10. Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Douglas J. Jerolmack

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C.B.P. and D.J.J. developed the idea and structure of this Perspective, with input from all authors. All authors contributed to writing, data analysis and interpretation.

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Phillips, C.B., Masteller, C.C., Slater, L.J. et al. Threshold constraints on the size, shape and stability of alluvial rivers. Nat Rev Earth Environ 3, 406–419 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00282-z

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