Stephen E. Darby

Bank and near-bank processes in an incised channel

Abstract Gravitational forces acting on in situ bank material act in concert with hydraulic forces at the bank toe to determine rates of bank erosion. The interaction of these forces control streambank mechanics. Hydraulic forces exerted by flowing water on in situ bank-toe material and failed cohesive material at the bank toe are often sufficient to entrain materials at relatively frequent flows and to maintain steep lower-bank profiles. Seepage forces exerted on in situ bank material by groundwater, downward infiltration of rainwater and lateral seepage of streamflow into and out of the bank are critical in determining bank strength. Data from a study site on Goodwin Creek, MS, USA clearly show the temporal variability of seepage forces and the lag time inherent in reductions in shear strength due to losses of matric suction and generation of positive pore-water pressures. Negative pore-water pressures (matric suction) have also been shown to increase the resistance of failed cohesive blocks to entrainment by fluid shear. A stable bank can be transformed into an unstable bank during periods of prolonged rainfall through: 1. increase in soil bulk unit (specific) weight, 2. decrease or complete loss of matric suction, and, therefore, apparent cohesion, 3. generation of positive pore-water pressures, and, therefore, reduction or loss of frictional strength, 4. entrainment of in situ and failed material at the bank toe, and 5. loss of confining pressure during recession of stormflow hydrographs. Relatively small frequent flows during the winter have the ability to erode failed bank materials, maintain oversteepened, unstable bank surfaces and promote prolonged periods of bank retreat, channel migration and high yields of fine-grained sediment. Confining pressures provided by stormflow are not as significant in maintaining bank stability as the counteracting force of fluid shear on the bank toe, which steepens the bank. For example, more than 2 m of bank retreat occurred during the study period at the research site on Goodwin Creek, northern Mississippi. The loss of matric suction (negative pore pressures) due to infiltrating precipitation has been found to be as significant as the development of excess pore pressures in contributing to mass bank instability. Apparent cohesion, friction angle, soil bulk unit weight and moisture content were measured in situ. Matric suction was measured continuously, in situ with a series of five pressure-transducer tensiometers. A bank-failure algorithm, which combines the Mohr–Coulomb approach, for saturated conditions and the Fredlund modification for unsaturated conditions was developed for layered cohesive streambanks. The resulting equation has been used successfully to investigate the role of matric suction, positive pore-water pressures and confining pressure for layered streambanks composed of cohesive materials.

Numerical simulation of bank erosion and channel migration in meandering rivers

A numerical model of river morphology for meander bends with erodible cohesive banks is herein developed and tested. The new model has three key features. First, it couples a two-dimensional depth-averaged model of flow and bed topography with a mechanistic model of bank erosion. Second, it simulates the deposition of failed bank material debris at and its subsequent removal from the toe of the bank. Finally, the governing conservation equations are implemented in a moving boundary fitted coordinate system that can be both curvilinear and nonorthogonal. This simplifies grid generation in curved channels that experience bank deformation, allowing complex planform shapes associated with irregular natural channels to be simulated. Model performance is assessed using data from two flume experiments and a natural river channel. Results are encouraging, but the model underpredicts the scour depth in pools adjacent to the outer bank and, consequently, underpredicts bank migration rates.

The influence of vegetation and organic debris on flood-plain sediment dynamics: case study of a low-order stream in the New Forest, England

The presence of large woody debris (LWD) has important implications for the physical and ecological behaviour of rivers, and these aspects have been researched extensively in recent years. However, this research has so far focused primarily on interactions between LWD and in-channel processes, and the role of LWD in flood-plain genesis is still poorly understood. Established conceptual models of flood-plain evolution are, therefore, lacking because they neglect the complex interaction between water, sediment, and vegetation in systems with accumulations of LWD. This study examines the effect of LWD on patterns of sediment deposition within a small area of forest flood plain along the Highland Water, S. England. In-channel debris dams locally increase the frequency and extent of overbank flows, and the impact of such dam on flood-plain sedimentation was observed. Nine separate flood events were monitored through the exceptionally wet winter of 2000–2001. During each of these, water and sediment fluxes were quantified and correlated with general rates of overbank sedimentation. Flood-plain topography, vegetation, and LWD were surveyed and related to micro- and mesoscale patterns of sediment accretion. The amount of overbank sediment deposition was correlated most closely with flood hydrology and sediment input. The amounts (0–28 kg m?2) and patterns of sediment deposition were both greater and more variable than have been observed on nonforest flood plains. The highly variable pattern of accretion can be explained by the combined effects of topography and organic material present on the surface of the flood plain.

Coupled simulations of fluvial erosion and mass wasting for cohesive river banks

The erosion of sediment from riverbanks affects a range of physical and ecological issues. Bank retreat often involves combinations of fluvial erosion and mass-wasting, and in recent years bank retreat models have been developed that combine hydraulic erosion and limit equilibrium stability models. In related work, finite element seepage analyses have also been used to account for the influence of pore-water pressure in controlling the onset of masswasting. This paper builds on these previous studies by developing a simulation modeling approach in which the hydraulic erosion, finite element seepage and limit equilibrium stability models are, for the first time, fully coupled. Application of the model is demonstrated by undertaking simulations of a single flow event at a single study site for scenarios where (i) there is no fluvial erosion and the bank geometry profile remains constant throughout, (ii) there is no fluvial erosion but the bank profile is deformed by simulated mass-wasting, and (iii) the bank profile is allowed to freely deform in response to both simulated fluvial erosion and mass-wasting. The results are limited in scope to the specific conditions encountered at the study site, but they nevertheless demonstrate the significant role that fluvial erosion plays in steepening the bank profile, or creating overhangs, thereby triggering mass-wasting. However, feedbacks between the various processes also lead to unexpected outcomes. Specifically, fluvial erosion also affects bank stability indirectly, as deformation of the bank profile alters the hydraulic gradients driving infiltration into the bank, thereby modulating the evolution of the pore-water pressure field. Consequently, the frequency, magnitude and mode of bank erosion events in the fully coupled scenario differ from the two scenarios in which not all the relevant bank process interactions are included.

Numerical simulation of hydrodynamics and bank erosion in a river bend

We present an integrated analysis of bank erosion in a high-curvature bend of the gravel bed Cecina River (central Italy). Our analysis combines a model of fluvial bank erosion with groundwater flow and bank stability analyses to account for the influence of hydraulic erosion on mass failure processes, the key novel aspect being that the fluvial erosion model is parameterized using outputs from detailed hydrodynamic simulations. The results identify two mechanisms that explain how most bank retreat usually occurs after, rather than during, flood peaks. First, in the high curvature bend investigated here the maximum flow velocity core migrates away from the outer bank as flow discharge increases, reducing sidewall boundary shear stress and fluvial erosion at peak flow stages. Second, bank failure episodes are triggered by combinations of pore water and hydrostatic confining pressures induced in the period between the drawdown and rising phases of multipeaked flow events.

9 Modelling river-bank-erosion processes and mass failure mechanisms: progress towards fully coupled simulations

Abstract This paper reviews recent developments in modelling the two main sets of bank-erosion processes and mechanisms, namely fluvial erosion and mass failure, before suggesting an avenue for research to make further progress in the future. Our review of mass failure mechanisms reveals that the traditional use of limit equilibrium methods to analyse bank stability has in recent years been supplemented by research that has made progress in understanding and modelling the role of positive and negative pore water pressures, confining river pressures, and hydrograph characteristics. While understanding of both fluvial erosion and mass failure processes has improved in recent years, we identify a key limitation in that few studies have examined the nature of the interaction between these processes. We argue that such interactions are likely to be important in gravel-bed rivers and present new simulations in which fluvial erosion, pore water pressure, and limit equilibrium stability models are combined into a fully coupled analysis. The results suggest that existing conceptual models, which describe how bank materials are delivered to the fluvial sediment transfer system, may need to be revised to account for the unforeseen effects introduced by feedback between the interacting processes.

Effectiveness of grade-control structures in reducing erosion along incised river channels: the case of Hotophia Creek, Mississippi

Abstract Herein, we undertake a geomorphological analysis in which spatial and temporal trends of bed and bank erosion along an 18-km length of Hotophia Creek, Mississippi, are estimated for the period between 1961 and 2050. The evaluation was undertaken for two scenarios of channel response to channelization during 1961–1963. One scenario represents the ‘actual’ response of the channel and includes the effects of installing a series of grade-control structures (GCS) between 1980 and 1996, while the other represents a hypothetical scenario in which the channel is left to adjust naturally. This allows the effectiveness of GCS in reducing in-channel erosion to be assessed. The analysis relies on the availability of channel survey data to develop empirical bed and bank response models for each adjustment scenario, supplemented by bank stability modelling to predict future rates of bank erosion. Results indicate that channel erosion rates decline nonlinearly with respect to time since 1961, for both adjustment scenarios. However, by the year 2050, the “with” GCS adjustment scenario results in the cumulative removal of some 663,000 (9%) extra tonnes of sediment relative to the “without” GCS scenario. Most (63%) of this excess is derived from enhanced bed erosion during 1976–1985 and 1985–1992, with the remainder derived from increased bank erosion during 1985–1992. Detailed analysis of the patterns of erosion and deposition, and their association with the GCS, provides evidence to support the view that GCS installed along Hotophia Creek have, for the most part, been ineffective in reducing channel erosion rates. This is because the GCS were installed too late to prevent bed degradation, caused by the 1961–1963 channelization, migrating upstream. In addition, some structures have disrupted the downstream transmission of bed material from eroded reaches upstream, exacerbating bed degradation and bank erosion in incised reaches downstream.

Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity

The world’s rivers deliver 19 billion tonnes of sediment to the coastal zone annually, with a considerable fraction being sequestered in large deltas, home to over 500 million people. Most (more than 70 per cent) large deltas are under threat from a combination of rising sea levels, ground surface subsidence and anthropogenic sediment trapping, and a sustainable supply of fluvial sediment is therefore critical to prevent deltas being ‘drowned’ by rising relative sea levels. Here we combine suspended sediment load data from the Mekong River with hydrological model simulations to isolate the role of tropical cyclones in transmitting suspended sediment to one of the world’s great deltas. We demonstrate that spatial variations in the Mekong’s suspended sediment load are correlated (r = 0.765, P < 0.1) with observed variations in tropical-cyclone climatology, and that a substantial portion (32 per cent) of the suspended sediment load reaching the delta is delivered by runoff generated by rainfall associated with tropical cyclones. Furthermore, we estimate that the suspended load to the delta has declined by 52.6 ± 10.2 megatonnes over recent years (1981–2005), of which 33.0 ± 7.1 megatonnes is due to a shift in tropical-cyclone climatology. Consequently, tropical cyclones have a key role in controlling the magnitude of, and variability in, transmission of suspended sediment to the coast. It is likely that anthropogenic sediment trapping in upstream reservoirs is a dominant factor in explaining past, and anticipating future, declines in suspended sediment loads reaching the world’s major deltas. However, our study shows that changes in tropical-cyclone climatology affect trends in fluvial suspended sediment loads and thus are also key to fully assessing the risk posed to vulnerable coastal systems.

Computer program for stability analysis of steep, cohesive riverbanks

The ability to predict the stability of eroding riverbanks is a prerequisite for modelling alluvial channel width adjustment and a requirement for predicting bank erosion rates and sediment yield associated with bank erosion. Mass-wasting of bank materials under gravity occurs through a variety of specific mechanisms, with a separate analysis required for each type of failure. This paper presents a computer program for the analysis of the stability of steep, cohesive riverbanks with respect to planar-type failures. Planar-type failures are common along stream channels destabilized by severe bed degradation. Existing stability analyses for planar-type failures have a number of limitations that affect their physical basis and predictive ability. The computer program presented here is based on an analysis developed by Darby and Thorne. The software takes account of the geotechnical characteristics of the bank materials, the shape of the bank profile, and the relative elevations of the groundwater and surface water to estimate stability with respect to mass failure along a planar-type failure surface. Results can be displayed either in terms of a factor of safety (ratio of resisting to driving forces), or probability of failure. The computer analysis is able to determine the relative amounts of bed degradation and bank-toe erosion required to destabilize an initially stable bank. Data for the analysis are supplied in the form of either HEC-2 hydrographic survey data files or user-supplied bank profile data, in conjunction with user-supplied geotechnical parameter values. Some examples, using data from the Upper Missouri River in Montana, are used to demonstrate potential applications of the software. Copyright

A physically based model to predict hydraulic erosion of fine‐grained riverbanks: The role of form roughness in limiting erosion

Hydraulic erosion of bank toe materials is the dominant factor controlling the long-term rate of riverbank retreat. In principle, hydraulic bank erosion can be quantified using an excess shear stress model, but difficulties in estimating input parameters seriously inhibit the predictive accuracy of this approach. Herein a combination of analytical modeling and novel field measurement techniques is employed to improve the parameterization of an excess shear stress model as applied to the Lower Mekong River. Boundary shear stress is estimated using a model (Kean and Smith, 2006a, 2006b) for flow over the irregular bank topography that is characteristic of fine-grained riverbanks. Bank erodibility parameters were obtained using a cohesive strength meter (Tolhurst et al., 1999). The new model was used to estimate annual bank erosion rates via integration across the Mekongs annual flow regime. Importantly, the simulations represent the first predictions of hydraulic bank erosion that do not require recourse to calibration, thereby providing a stronger physical basis for the simulation of bank erosion. Model predictions, as evaluated by comparing simulated annual rates of bank toe retreat with estimates of bank retreat derived from analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery, indicate a tendency to overpredict erosion (root-mean-square error equals ±0.53 m/yr). Form roughness induced by bank topographic features is shown to be a major component (61%–85%) of the spatially averaged total shear stress, and as such it can be viewed as an important factor that self-limits bank erosion.