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GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH >

2009 , Vol. 28 >Issue 2: 345 - 353

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11821/yj2009020008

Earth Surface Processes

The hydraulic geometry of Wuding River and its tributaries

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  • 1. Key Laboratory for Water Cycle and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China;
    2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China

Received date: 2008-06-03

  Revised date: 2008-11-02

  Online published: 2009-03-25

Supported by

国家自然科学基金项目(40671019,40788001)

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Abstract

The hydraulic geometry is an effective tool in quantifying the relationship between channel morphology and hydraulic variables. The research on hydraulic geometry plays an important role in understanding the channel change caused by natural environment change and it can provide some insightful advice in river restoration and channel design. The study area is located in the Wuding River Basin. Using the data measured during the period 1959-1969, the hydraulic geometry relationships are analyzed for 34 cross-sections. The results show that the hydraulic geometry exponents can generally be categorized into three types: b>f & m>f & b+ f>m; bf & b+ f>m; bm. There are similar spatial scale effects for both mean width and mean width to depth ratio exponents, and an inverse relationship exists in mean depth relationship. There is no obvious correlation between mean velocity and drainage area. The differences of the hydraulic geometry exponents can be ascribed to different stream orders and channel functions. The streams of lower order originate from eroded areas, where erosion is the dominant process and thus, the channels are relatively shallow. The streams of higher orders are adjusted to transport imposed sediment, so the channels are narrower and deeper. In addition, the hydraulic geometry of some stream channels does not agree with the power function. The natural logarithm relations or quadratic relations may be good alternatives. This probably implies that the channel scour and fill lead to the instability of channel morphology.

Key words： Wuding River; hydraulic geometry; spatial difference; stream order; drainage basin area; fitting relationship

Cite this article

MA Yuan-xu, XU Jiong-xin . The hydraulic geometry of Wuding River and its tributaries[J]. GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, 2009 , 28(2) : 345 -353 . DOI: 10.11821/yj2009020008

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