Study of morphodynamic change caused by wing dams at large spatio-temporal scale

Gergely, T. Török and Parker, Gary (2023) Study of morphodynamic change caused by wing dams at large spatio-temporal scale. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH ABSTRACTS: EGU GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2023.

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Abstract

Low water depth can be a problem for navigation on large rivers. Since the last century, a frequently-used method of river regulation has been the installation of wing dams (wing dikes, spur dikes, groins). With their help, the riverbed narrowed during low water, which created a greater water depth and a higher water level. However, the narrowed flow also generated a higher bed shear stress, which, due to bed erosion, simultaneously increased the water depth and lowered the water level. From a flood protection point of view, questions arise as to how wing dam fields change flood levels as a result of the bed change caused by such intervention. The complexity of the answer increases if we examine the problem not only in a cross-section (or short reach scale), but at long scale, as in the case of the Mississippi River, USA, where a system of wing dams hundreds of kilometers long was installed. We analyzed the problem in two steps: we apply a 3D sediment transport model on a local scale, and the results are then upscaled and implemented in a 1D model to enable study of the problem at large spatio-temporal scale (hundreds of km, several centuries).

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