Flow and grainsize pattern in a sharply curved river bend

Abstract

Abstract The main characteristics of river flow and grainsize in a bend of the sand bedded meandering river Dommel, The Netherlands, are presented. Measurements were carried out at a relatively low discharge in a sharply curved bend following a long straight reach. In the studied bend, secondary circulation is restricted to the thalweg area; only in the downstream part of the bend it exists over the entire cross‐section. Therefore, on the entire pointbar platform, which comprises the larger part of the bend, the median sedimentation diameter of the bedload material is governed by the distribution of the longitudinal components of the bed shear stress only.