DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIDED CHANNELS BY BED LOAD AND SUSPENDED LOAD IN THE GRAVEL BED OF THE ABE RIVER DUE TO FLOOD FLOWS

Abstract

 The braided stream of the Abe River is considered to be formed by the non-equilibrium motion of the bed load and suspended load, which change significantly in time and space due to the complex riverbed topography of the braided channels. This paper presents the bed variation mechanism of braided bars in the Abe River by calculating the three-dimensional flows and non-equilibrium motion of the bed load and suspended load based on the time series data of the observed water surface profiles of the large flood in 2014. The calculation results could well explain the changes in mainstream positions due to the movement of the braided bars.