Channel Pattern Discrimination Based on the Relationship Between Channel Slope and Width
基于对Leopold-Wolman关系修正的河床河型判别

The classic channel slope-discharge relationship proposed by Leopold and Wolman (1957) for channel pattern discrimination has been tested by a large database including 4 types of rivers: gravel-bed meandering, gravel-bed braided, sand-bed meandering and sand-bed braided rivers. The result shows that the Leopold-Wolman relationship cannot discriminate channel patterns well when both gravel- and sand-bed rivers are considered. It is indicated that the Leopold-Wolman relationship reflects the difference between gravel- and sand-bed rivers more than the difference between meandering and braided channel patterns. The channel width-bankfull discharge relationship for discrimination channel patterns of sand-bed rivers in China is also tested in this stud. The result shows that the channel width-discharge relationship discriminates channel patterns better than the slope-discharge relationship. To improve the Leopold-Wolman relationship, a diagram based on the channel slope-bankfull width relationship is proposed. This diagram shows that the slope-width plane is divided by two straight-lines into 4 areas, with each type of river located in each area. Hence, the two straight lines can be regarded as the thresholds between the 4 types of rivers: gravel-bed meandering, gravel-bed braided, sand-bed meandering and the sand-bed braided patternes.