Deltaic channel networks are important conduits for water and material supplies to the fluvial and coastal communities. However, increasing human interventions in river deltas have altered the topology and geometry of channel networks as well as their long-term evolution. While the morphological evolution of a single channel has received extensive studies, the system-wide morphological responses of channel networks to local disturbances remain largely unclear. Here we investigate the morphological responses of a bifurcating channel network subject to local disturbance of channel deepening due to dredging and sand mining through idealized simulations, and further compare the results with the reference scenarios of a single channel and theoretical analysis of the phase plane. The results show that the infilling of the local deepening is associated with the erosion of the entire branch, which also causes system-wide effects on the siltation of the other branch. The morphological responses of the bifurcating channel network consist of a relatively short stage for the infilling of the local deepening followed by a relatively long stage for recovering the equilibrium configuration of the river bifurcation. The system-wide effects of the local disturbance arise from the altered water surface slope and water partitioning downstream of the bifurcation due to the local deepening. Also, the prolonged recovery of the equilibrium configuration is consistent with theoretical analysis, which reveals a slow evolution of the bifurcation when approaching the equilibrium. Our results can help understand the long-term morphological responses of large-scale complex channel networks and inform water managements under increasing human interventions.

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Water and mass transport in distributary channel networks play an important role in nourishing fluvial and coastal wetlands, and are largely determined by the morphological configurations of channel bifurcations. While the morphological equilibrium of a single channel bifurcation has been extensively studied, the equilibrium configurations of channel networks with connecting channels linking the bifurcating branches, that is, the “bifurcation-connecting channel” units that are commonly found in rivers, deltas and estuaries, remain elusive. In this simple yet representative channel network of the “bifurcation-connecting channel” unit, we observed through numerical simulations an oscillatory water partitioning under moderate Shields stress and channel aspect ratio, in addition to the steady-state solutions reported in previous studies. The oscillatory water partitioning indicates a newly discovered periodic solution, which is an emergent behavior under constant boundary conditions. We found that the periodic solution is primarily due to the dynamic interactions between bifurcation instability and water surface slope advantage in the two branches modulated by the reversable discharges through the connecting channel, under moderate Shields stress and channel aspect ratio. In such cases, the developed slope advantage in the subordinate branch can suppress the deepening of the dominant branch and eventually lead to the shifting of the dominant branch. In contrast, the channel network attains a steady-state solution when the slope advantage or the bifurcation instability is dominant with relatively low and high Shields stress (or channel aspect ratio). Our results improve the understanding on the evolution and restoration of channel networks under increasing human interventions in global deltas.

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A river bifurcation is critical for distributing water, sediment and nutrients to the downstream branches of deltaic river networks. However, the downstream branches of a bifurcation can be linked by a connecting channel cutting through deltaic floodplains. The floodplain connecting channel as a downstream control can affect water partitioning at the river bifurcation and hence the hydrological connectivity of the river network. However, its effects are still largely elusive. In this study, we explored how a connecting channel linking downstream branches affects water partitioning at the upstream bifurcation and water distribution along the two branches. The investigation was conducted through idealized numerical simulations using Delft3D, followed by analysis of the cascading effects on the hydrological connectivity of river networks using graph theory. The results show that connecting channels can mitigate asymmetric water partitioning at the upstream bifurcation. However, this happens at the expense of inducing more uneven flow at the downstream outlets. The flow adjustment is due to the altered spatial water surface slope in the two branches associated with the flow exchange from one channel to the other via the connecting channel. Further analysis of hydrological connectivity shows that connecting channels can generally reduce the vulnerability of the channel network to hydrological alterations, especially changing inflow, by enhancing flow exchange between the two branches. Our results suggest that connecting channels are critical paths for hydrological connectivity, which have important implications for the management of deltaic river networks and their floodplains.

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River longitudinal profile, a key morphological characteristic of the river channel, is subject to river mouth progradation. Given the increasing influence of human activities and climate change on this critical downstream control, understanding its effects on the evolution of the longitudinal profile is imperative. A general theoretical framework is proposed to quantify the relevant effects, which is tested by numerical experiment and compared with field, numerical and laboratory data from the literature. The results suggest the existence of a critical ratio of accommodation space to sediment supply of approximately 0.5, above which the typical concave upward profile tends to form. Further analyses show that sea level rise tends to increase the concavity of the longitudinal profile of a river with a relatively low equilibrium bed slope and progradation rate.@en

It is widely recognized that waves inhibit river mouth progradation and reduce the avulsion
timescale of deltaic channels. Nevertheless, those effects may not apply to downdrift‐deflected channels. In this study, we developed a coupled model to explore the effects of wave climate asymmetry and alongshore sediment bypassing on shoreline‐channel morphodynamics. The shoreline position and channel trajectory are simulated using a “shoreline” module which drives the evolution of the river profile in a “channel” module by updating the position of river mouth boundary, whereas the channel module provides the sediment load to river mouth for the “shoreline” module. The numerical results show that regional alongshore sediment transport driven by an asymmetric wave climate can enhance the progradation of deltaic channels if sediment bypassing of the river mouth is limited, which is different from the common assumption that waves inhibit delta progradation. As such, waves can have a trade‐off effect on river mouth progradation that can further influence riverbed aggradation and channel avulsion. This trade‐off effect of waves is dictated by the net alongshore sediment transport, sediment bypassing at the river mouth, and wave diffusivity. Based on the numerical results, we further propose a dimensionless parameter that includes fluvial and alongshore sediment supply relative to wave diffusivity to predict the progradation and aggradation rates and avulsion timescale of deltaic channels. The improved understanding of progradation, aggradation, and avulsion timescale of deltaic channels has important implications for
engineering and predicting deltaic wetland creation, particularly under changing water and sediment input to deltaic systems.@en

Rivers, regardless of their scales and geographic locations, are characterized with natural and human-induced variability in their discharges. While previous studies have established the effects of both interannual and intra-annual variabilities of unsteady river discharge on delta morphological evolution, the long-term cumulative effects of intra-annual unsteadiness on the progradation of delta lobes has remained hitherto elusive. To address this issue, numerical experiments using simplified unsteady discharges were performed in Delft3D and compared with those assuming constant bank-full discharges. A modified box model was further used to explore the effects of varying intra-annual unsteadiness on the progradation of delta lobes at reduced computational cost. While the overall trends of the progradation and the ultimate area created were found to be similar between the unsteady discharge scenarios and their corresponding constant bank-full discharge scenarios, the nuances of intermittent zig-zag variation in natural delta lobe area were well reproduced by model simulations assuming unsteady river discharges. In addition, long-term predictions suggested the potential existence of a tipping point in the area growth trajectory beyond which the delta lobe area declines during periods of low discharge. When confounding factors such as waves and variable sediment capture ratio were further taken into consideration, simulation results for unsteady river discharge scenarios exhibit significant deviations from constant bank-full discharge scenarios. The implications of the modeling results for delta protection and restoration measures, such as the water-sediment regulation scheme in the Yellow River and artificial channel diversions in the Mississippi River Delta, are also discussed.@en

River mouth bar formation, a key process in fluvial-deltaic morphodynamics, is subject to both river discharge and waves. Given the increasing variability of both forcings under continuous climate change and human interventions, assessing their combined effects on mouth bar formatio n is an imperative issue. In this study, an extensive set of combined high and low river flows coupled with varying wave conditions and sediment grain sizes was assumed for numerical experiments conducted in Delft3D-SWAN. The results suggested that three regimes existed for mouth bar formation, namely, stable, ephemeral, and absent. These regimes corresponded to consistently weak, initially-weak-then-strong, and initially strong relative wave strengths, respectively, during the onset and reworking stages. Suppression of mouth bar formation further led to the inhibition of deltaic distributary networks. These findings have important implications for water and sediment management strategies, such as water diversion and dam regulation, in estuaries and deltas to prevent coastal erosion.@en