Statistical Roughness Properties of the Bed Surface in Braided Rivers

Abstract

Braided rivers are widespread in nature, and their bed morphology is complex and variable. This paper aims to investigate and quantitatively analyze the bed surface roughness of braided rivers utilizing statistical theory. In this paper, a physical model of braided rivers is developed, and four constant discharge experiments are carried out. Based on Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry and direct measurement of bedload transport using a load cell, data on bedload transport rate, bed morphology, and bed elevation are obtained, facilitating the in-depth investigation of the correlations between these parameters. The results show that the morphological active width increases with increasing discharge. There was a significant positive correlation between the morphological active width and the bedload transport rate, although there is considerable scatter due to the inherent variability in braided river morphodynamics. The elevation probability distribution of bed surfaces shows negative skewness and leptokurtic distribution. There is a relatively significant correlation between skewness and the dimensionless bedload transport rate. The two-dimensional variogram values of bed elevation are variable, and the bed is anisotropic. Additionally, both the longitudinal sill and correlation length values exhibit an increase with the rise in stream power. Remarkably, the correlation between the dimensionless sill and correlation length, as well as the dimensionless bedload transport rate, proves to be highly significant. Consequently, this correlation can serve as a reliable general factor for predicting bedload transport rate in the reach.