Articles | Volume 4, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-273-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-273-2016
Research article
 | 
22 Mar 2016
Research article |  | 22 Mar 2016

Geometry of meandering and braided gravel-bed threads from the Bayanbulak Grassland, Tianshan, P. R. China

François Métivier, Olivier Devauchelle, Hugo Chauvet, Eric Lajeunesse, Patrick Meunier, Koen Blanckaert, Peter Ashmore, Zhi Zhang, Yuting Fan, Youcun Liu, Zhibao Dong, and Baisheng Ye

Related authors

Coupling threshold theory and satellite-derived channel width to estimate the formative discharge of Himalayan foreland rivers
Kumar Gaurav, François Métivier, A V Sreejith, Rajiv Sinha, Amit Kumar, and Sampat Kumar Tandon
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 47–70, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-47-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-47-2021, 2021
Short summary
Uniform grain-size distribution in the active layer of a shallow, gravel-bedded, braided river (the Urumqi River, China) and implications for paleo-hydrology
Laure Guerit, Laurie Barrier, Youcun Liu, Clément Narteau, Eric Lajeunesse, Eric Gayer, and François Métivier
Earth Surf. Dynam., 6, 1011–1021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1011-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-6-1011-2018, 2018
Short summary
Self-similar growth of a bimodal laboratory fan
Pauline Delorme, Vaughan Voller, Chris Paola, Olivier Devauchelle, Éric Lajeunesse, Laurie Barrier, and François Métivier
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 239–252, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-239-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-239-2017, 2017
Short summary
Laboratory rivers: Lacey's law, threshold theory, and channel stability
François Métivier, Eric Lajeunesse, and Olivier Devauchelle
Earth Surf. Dynam., 5, 187–198, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-187-2017,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-5-187-2017, 2017
Short summary
Morphology of the Kosi megafan channels
K. Gaurav, F. Métivier, O. Devauchelle, R. Sinha, H. Chauvet, M. Houssais, and H. Bouquerel
Earth Surf. Dynam., 3, 321–331, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-321-2015,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-3-321-2015, 2015
Short summary

Related subject area

Physical: Geomorphology (including all aspects of fluvial, coastal, aeolian, hillslope and glacial geomorphology)
An evaluation of flow-routing algorithms for calculating contributing area on regular grids
Alexander B. Prescott, Jon D. Pelletier, Satya Chataut, and Sriram Ananthanarayan
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 239–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-239-2025, 2025
Short summary
Geometric constraints on tributary fluvial network junction angles
Jon D. Pelletier, Robert G. Hayes, Olivia Hoch, Brendan Fenerty, and Luke A. McGuire
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 219–238, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Automatic detection of floating instream large wood in videos using deep learning
Janbert Aarnink, Tom Beucler, Marceline Vuaridel, and Virginia Ruiz-Villanueva
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 167–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-167-2025, 2025
Short summary
Investigating uncertainty and parameter sensitivity in bedform analysis by using a Monte Carlo approach
Julius Reich and Axel Winterscheid
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 191–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-191-2025, 2025
Short summary
Geomorphic imprint of high-mountain floods: insights from the 2022 hydrological extreme across the upper Indus River catchment in the northwestern Himalayas
Abhishek Kashyap, Kristen L. Cook, and Mukunda Dev Behera
Earth Surf. Dynam., 13, 147–166, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-147-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Andrews, E. D.: Bed-material entrainment and hydraulic geometry of gravel-bed rivers in Colorado, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 95, 371–378, 1984.
Ashmore, P. E.: How do gravel-bed rivers braid?, Can. J. Earth Sci., 28, 326–341, 1991.
Ashmore, P. E.: Fluvial Geomorphology, in: vol. 9 of Treatise on Geomorphology, chapter Morphology and dynamics of braided rivers, Academic Press, San Diego, CA, 289–312, 2013.
Brauderick, C. A., Dietrich, W. E., Leverich, G. T., and Sklar, L. S.: Experimental evidence for the conditions necessary to sustain meandering in coarse-bedded rivers, P. Natl. Acad. Sci., 16936–16941, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0909417106, 2009.
Bunte, K. and Abt, S.: Sampling surface and subsurface particle-size distributions in wadable gravel- and cobble-bed streams for analyses in sediment transport, hydraulics, and streambed monitoring, Technical report, United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Fort Colins (CO), 451pp., 2001.
Download
Short summary
In meandering rivers, flow and sediments are carried in a single thread whereas in braided rivers they are carried through numerous threads. The geometry of single-thread follows scaling relationships with discharge. The most famous of these, "Lacey's law", states that a river's width scales with the square root of its discharge. We here show that threads from braided rivers also accord with Lacey's law, and that the geometry of meandering and braided threads cannot be differenciated.
Share