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Braided rivers: perspectives and problems

C. S. B R I S T O W 1 & J. L. B E S T 2

1 Research School o f Geological and Geophysical Sciences,

Birkbeck College, Gower Street, L o n d o n W C I E 6BT, UK
2 Department o f Earth Sciences, The University, Leeds,
West Yorkshire LS2 9JT, UK
Abstract: Progress towards a fuller understanding of the dynamics and deposits of braided
rivers demands an interdisciplinary approach to a host of unresolved problems. Although
many advances have been made within recent years in interpreting the mechanics of flow,
transport of sediment and sedimentary architecture of braided rivers many key issues
remain to be addressed. In particular, several areas demand attention: the mechanisms of
braid bar initiation; confluence-diffluence dynamics, the nature of sedimentary facies over
a range of grain sizes and the influence of flow stage and aggradational regime upon the
depositional architecture over a range of channel scales. This paper focuses upon these
issues and highlights several areas of fruitful future interdisciplinary collaboration.

Braided rivers form important topics of study for

many scientists and one of the primary aims of
this volume is to bring together work from many
disciplines in an integrated approach to braided
rivers. For the geomorphologist braided fluvial
systems are abundant within upland and proglacial settings and are agents of considerable
erosion and sediment transport. For engineers
the high rates of sediment transport, deposition
and erosion combined with frequent channel
shifting and rapid bank erosion may pose considerable design problems both to withinchannel structures, such as bridge piers (e.g.
Mosley 1982a; Sutherland 1986) and braidplain
edge constructions such as roads and railways
Finally, for the geologist braided rivers form
important agents of deposition that have been
responsible for the accumulation of many sedimentary sequences that form valuable aquifers,
hydrocarbon reservoirs and sites for heavy
mineral accumulation. Because of these abundant and diverse applications, knowledge of the
mechanics and deposits of braided rivers is vital
within many areas and yet, when compared to
the wealth of literature upon meandering
systems, they have been comparatively understudied. This may, in part, be due to the difficulty of measuring flow, sediment transport and
morphology in the rapidly shifting braided river
environment. Future progress in understanding
the mechanics and morphology of braided rivers
demands interdisciplinary collaboration and
calls for a more integrated approach across the
sciences than may have been present until comparatively recently. This paper highlights some
specific areas upon which our knowledge of

braided rivers may be fruitfully extended by

adopting such an interdisciplinary scope.

Zones of flow convergence and divergence

Braided rivers are characterized by 'having a
number of alluvial channels with bars and islands
.between meeting and dividing again, and presenting from the air the intertwining effect of a
braid' (Lane 1957). The division and joining of
channels are essential features of braided rivers
and, whilst the bars within these rivers have
received attention from both geomorphologists
and sedimentologists, the areas of flow convergence and divergence have not been incorporated into braided river depositional models.
The flow dynamics and morphology of channel
confluences have been studied by several
researchers (e.g. Mosley 1976, 1982a; Best 1986,
1987, 1988; Best & Roy 1991; Roy & Roy 1988;
Roy & Bergeron 1990; Roy et al. 1988), and
recent attention has highlighted the abundant
confluences within braided rivers (Ashmore
1982; Ashmore & Parker 1983; Klaassen &
Vermeer 1988). However, the link between flow
convergence and the downstream division of
flow has been neglected, despite the fact that this
transition is the area which may be of fundamental importance to the development of braid
bars (e.g. Ashmore 1991; Ashworth et al. 1992).
Although some depositional models of braided
rivers are beginning to recognise and incorporate confluence scour and fill (Cowan 1991;
Bristow et al. 1993; Bridge this volume; Huggenberger this volume; Seigenthaler & Huggenberger this volume), areas of flow divergence

From Best, J. L. & Bristow, C. S. (eds), 1993, Braided Rivers, Geological Society
Special Publication No. 75, pp. 1-H.

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C. S. BRISTOW & J. L. BEST

are less well understood and ignored in these

models. In general, flow divergence is associated
with flow deceleration and sediment deposition
and, once deposition has been initiated, the
sediment accumulation is likely to promote
further flow division, deposition and bar formation. Divergent flow may also impinge on the
bank at an increased angle leading to bank
erosion, channel widening and a local increase in
available sediment, all of which are likely to lead
to the development of a new braid bar (Carson
1984; Thorne et al. this volume). The deposits
of diffluence areas may therefore form the
foundations of braid bars but there are no known
descriptions of these deposits and their internal
structure. It is possible that some sedimentation
may occur by vertical or even upstream accretion in the diffluence areas in braided rivers
(Ashmore this volume) and these must be manifested within the sedimentary record. Bed shear
stress has been shown to increase in shallow
flows over bar tops (Cheetham 1979) where a
coarse bed armour may form. In coarse-grained
braided rivers the bar heads may be characterized by coarse-grained sediments that are
imbricated or laminated (Bluck 1979). There is a
clear need for both an understanding of the fluid
dynamics of the diffiuence zone and how this
may influence braid bar initiation and internal
structure.

The influence of flow stage

The planform appearance of braided rivers can
change radically with flow stage (see fig. 2 in
Thorne et al. this volume). Indeed some authors
(Doeglas 1962; Miall 1977) have proposed that
fluctuations in discharge are a pre-requisite for
braiding although this may often be discounted
as has been demonstrated by the modelling of
gravel-bed braided planforms in constant discharge scaled flume experiments (e.g. Ashmore
1982, 1991). Bluck (1979) suggests that bars may
disappear at high flow stages, reforming as discharge falls, and similar observations have been
reported by Smith (1974), Carson (1984) and
Gupta & Dutt (1989). This may imply that some
braided rivers act as single channels at bankfull
stage and only adopt a characteristic braided
pattern on the falling stage. However, these
observations appear to be fairly unusual and
most braided rivers retain their bars at both high
and low flow stage (Krigstrom 1962; Coleman
1969; Smith 1970; Cant & Walker 1978; Collinson 1970; Church & Jones 1982; Bridge et al.
1986; Bristow 1987a). Where bars exist for
periods of time in excess of a single flood event
they will experience a complex history of

erosional and depositional modification related

to changes in stage. At higher flow stages when
the largest volumes of sediment are transported,
the channels are often scoured, bars may be
reduced in height or in some cases completely
eroded. However, during falling stage maximum
deposition occurs as discharge and flow competence are reduced. Channel beds aggrade, the
high stage bedforms may be modified and new
bars may be formed or enlarged as sediment is
deposited. As discharge continues to fall, bars
may become emergent and dissected by low
stage channels. Additionally, the nature of the
falling limb recession (rate and length of recession) will be important not only in the reworking
of higher stage sediments, but also in the
deposition and spatial distribution of the finer
grained sediments (silts and clays) which may
constitute discontinuous permeability barriers
within braided alluvium. Classification of emergent areas based on their low stage appearance
may be deceptive and care needs to be taken in
determining which areas are bars, scaling with
channel width, and those which are partially
dissected bars or stranded collections of bars
(Church & Jones 1982; Bridge 1985). Little data
exists for the comparison of bar and channel
morphology at different flow stages (but see
Mosley 1982b) and this is an area in which
controlled and correctly scaled flume models
combined with field studies may contribute
greatly to our understanding.

Channel hierarchies
The presence of a hierarchy of channels within
braided rivers was first suggested by Williams
& Rust (1969), who described three orders of
channel in addition to a series of levels within the
river which represented active and inactive parts
of the channel system. These orders and levels of
bar deposit may also be adjusted to the dominant discharge of the alluvial system (see Thorne
et al. this volume). In the scheme proposed by
Williams & Rust (1969) the entire river and
active channels were termed the 'composite
stream channel' and the 'stream channel' respectively adding two additional levels to the hierarchy. This system was modified by Bristow
(1987a) to a three fold hierarchy and Bridge (this
volume) suggests additional modifications to
this view. If one accepts that the river can
operate as a single entity with channels within
it and that there may be different scales of
channels which depend upon total discharge and
discharge fluctuations, then a threefold hierarchy of channels is required. The first order
comprises the whole river (see fig. 2 of Thorne

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PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMS

al. this volume, for an image of the
Brahmaputra River in full flood). Second order
channels are the dominant channels within the
river whilst third order channels are primarily
low stage features which modify the bars
deposited by the second order channels. Lower
order channels may also exist which modify the
third order bars. One implication of viewing
braided rivers as hierarchical systems is that
individual ancient braided river sandstones
should also show a hierarchy of channel dimensions, whereas stacking of a single channel river
is more likely to produce similar sized sandbodies. The presence of different magnitude
channels within a single sandbody may therefore
be an indication of braiding. However, caution is
required for, if the third order channels are
dependent on stage changes, then the presence
of several scales of channel could be due
primarily to changes in stage. Therefore, a
hierarchy of channel sandbody sizes is not an
a p r i o r i indicator of a braided river but is a
feature most likely to occur in braided rivers
with fluctuating discharges.
et

Grainsize influences upon braiding

Within the geological and geomorphological
literature there has been a long held distinction
between gravel-bed braided rivers and sand-bed
braided rivers. However, many natural gravel
bed rivers include those with bedloads of sand,
granule, pebble, cobble and even boulder grade
material while fine-grained sand-bed braided
rivers are held to contain less than 25% gravel
(Bluck 1979). It is rare for a river to have only
one type of bed material, and most rivers have a
range of bed and bank material types. Although
some small-scale alluvial bedforms show a clear
grain size controlled stability (e.g. ripples, lower
stage plane beds, particle clusters) many larger
scale bar forms and the braided channel pattern
appear similar in rivers of widely differing grain
size. There has been little quantitative work
comparing the planform characteristics of gravel
and sand-bed braided rivers even though their
apparent similarities may suggest important
common processes (Fig. 1). Comparison of confluence scour in the sand-bed Brahmaputra
River, for example, reveals similar relationships between confluence angle and scour depth
to those found in gravel-bed rivers (Klaassen &
Vermeer 1988). In a recent review of the differences between gravel and sand-bed rivers
Simons & Simons (1987) concluded that 'gravelbed reaches of a river system exhibit totally
different morphological characteristics and in
general, they will be less responsive to modest

changes in discharge and discharge duration

than a sand-bed river'. While a clear distinction
may be required when calculating sediment
transport, there appears to be more morphologic similarity between sand and gravel bed
rivers than differences between them. The
depositional styles of gravel and sand bed
braided rivers will directly affect the facies
models that must be used to interpret ancient
deposits. Investigation of the correlation
between the classic sand-bed braided river
depositional models (e.g. Cant & Walker 1978;
Collinson 1970) with those derived for gravelbed braided alluvium (e.g. Bluck 1979; Steel &
Thompson 1983; Ramos & Sopena 1983; Ramos
et al. 1986; Smith 1990) remains a high priority,
both in terms of evolving realistic facies interpretation and in the feedback these schemes may
provide into understanding the similarities and
differences in depositional process between
these rivers.

Braided channel morphology and scale

Studies of braided channel dynamics and
deposits have ranged across at least five orders
of channel size from small laboratory models
(scaled field dimensions c. 2-20m channel
width), to natural braidplains several kilometres
in width (e.g. Ashworth et al. 1992; Warburton
et al. this volume) to the largest alluvial rivers
such as the Brahmaputra (Coleman 1969;
Bristow 1987a; Thorne et al. this volume) which
have braidplain widths of up to 20 km, individual
channel widths of several kilometres and
maximum scour depths of up to 50 m. The issue
of scaling depositional form and formative
process across this range of braided channel sizes
is rarely addressed yet is central when applying
results and models from one channel size to a
system of a completely different magnitude.
Superficial examination (Fig. 1) often reveals
a gross similarity to the appearance of braided
systems of widely differing size, yet data is
required, both on the planform and crosssectional characteristics, to substantiate or
refute this apparent similarity. The selfsimilarity of form across a range of scales or
the scale dependent nature of the geometry of
braided rivers has several fundamental applications. First, self-similarity across scales
of braiding may shed light upon the processes
inherent in causing braiding, bar formation and
growth. Second, when applying models of
braided alluvial architecture deduced from one
system to another of a completely different size
(for instance, in braided alluvial reservoir
heterogeneity models) it is essential to know

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c.s.

B R I S T O W & J. L. BEST

(a)

(b)
Fig. 1. Two scales of braided river. (a) Sunwapta River, Alberta, Canada with a one kilometre wide braidplain,
20-50 m wide channels and predominantly gravel bedload. Flow is from left to right. (b) The Congo (Zaire)
River with a braidplain width of approximately 8 km and a sand bed. Flow is from right to left.

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PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMS

which geometrical attributes are scale invariant
or scale dependent. Data on the morphology of
the largest braided rivers is now becoming both
more available and of sufficient resolution
(e.g. the Flood Action Plan Studies upon the
Brahmaputra, see Thorne et al. this volume)
to enable this task to be tackled. The links
between scale dependence and flow process will
then pose the next research goal.

Facies models of braided alluvium

The vertical profile models of braided alluvium
presented by Miall (1977, 1978) were based on
the deposits of modern braided rivers and were
therefore suitable models for the interpretation
of ancient braided river deposits, given the
proviso that these models only encompassed a
certain range and type of depositional setting.
However, the vertical profile is not unique and
Jackson (1978) and Bridge (1985) have pointed
out the convergence of coarse-grained braided
river profiles and coarse-grained meandering
river models. This realization led to the development of architectural analysis (Allen 1983)
where lateral profiles are used to assess the
geometry of deposits and reconstruct the
original depositional channel form. This

approach became modified by Miall (1985) into

architectural element analysis which switched
the emphasis from the use of geometry as a
primary discriminant to consideration of a
hierarchy of bounding surfaces and the composition of depositional elements. The use of
architectural element analysis is ably demonstrated by Miall (this volume) although the
mechanics of the approach have been criticised
by Bridge (in press).
Braided rivers may be envisaged as a series of
channel segments which divide and rejoin
around bars in a regular or repeatable pattern.
The divisions, channel bends and confluences
have characteristic forms and fluid dynamics
which can be used to construct an improved
model of braided river sedimentation. The evidence comes from both theoretical models of
braid evolution where braided channels may
evolve from straight channels with alternate bars
(Bridge 1985), field studies of channel migration
in modern rivers (Bristow 1987a) and statistical
analysis of braiding parameters. Field studies of
the low sinuosity braided Calamus River show
that the channels on either side of a braid bar
have flow characteristics similar to two curved
channel segments (Bridge et al. 1986). From
these observations it is predicted that braid bars,

Fig. 2. Satellite image of bars in part of a braided section of the Amazon River. Note the paired accretion
topography on the braid bars illustrating that braid bars may accrete laterally on both sides. Braidplain is
approximately 10 km wide.

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C. S. BRISTOW & J. L. BEST

as well as migrating both downstream and across

channel, may also accrete laterally in a manner
similar to point bars in meandering rivers
(Bridge this volume). This is confirmed by
studies of accretion patterns in recent braided
river deposits (Bristow 1987a) and the presence
of paired accretion topography can be clearly
seen in the satellite images of braided rivers such
as parts of the Amazon River (Fig. 2).
In scale models of gravel bed rivers Ashmore
(1991) has shown that braiding can be accomplished in four ways: accumulation of a central
bar, chute cut-off of point bars, conversion of
transverse unit bars to mid-channel braid bars
and dissection of multiple bars. Preliminary
observations indicate that similar braiding processes may also operate in sand bed braided
rivers. It may now be possible to adopt a new
approach to the development of braided river
depositional model where form is just as important as fabric. Furthermore, the processes and
their morphological expression may be independent of scale (see above) and common to braided
rivers with a range of grainsizes. As a result these
morphological elements may be useful tools for
the recognition and interpretation of ancient
braided river deposits. Cartoons of morphological elements from common braiding processes are shown in Fig. 3. The relative pro-

portions of the morphological elements may be

derived from models of this type or from studies
of modern rivers. In the Brahmaputra River,
Bristow (1987a) found that exposed new midchannel bars comprised 13% of deposits by area
over a six year period, while lateral accretion to
the bank and mid-channel bars amounted to
49%, upstream and downstream accretion were
7.5% and 15.5% respectively and the remaining
15% was formed through channel abandonment ~. However, additional channel fill and confluence scour elements which are submerged at
low flows are missing from this analysis and
should be incorporated into more complete
models (see below). It can be deafly seen that
lateral accretion will be an important component
of braided river deposition although as Bridge
(this volume) points out there is a continuum
between upstream, through lateral to downstream accretion which may be difficult to
resolve at outcrop without measuring the orientation of the accretion surfaces relative to
palaeoflow.

Aggradation and preservation

A particular weakness of existing braided river
facies models arises because they are largely
based on sections measured from exposed bars

Fig. 3. Catoons of depositional morphology based on braiding processes derived from scale models of gravel bed
braided rivers (Ashmore 1991) and observations of the Brahmaputra River :Bristow 1987b).

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PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMS

or river banks (Miall 1977, 1978; Williams &
Rust 1969; Smith 1970; Cant & Walker 1978;
Bristow this volume). It is possible to conjecture
that bar top sequences should be preserved after
avulsion or migration but in many cases the
sandbody may be dominated by the deeper
channel deposits as the upper, bar-top deposits
are removed through subsequent erosion.
Huggenberger (this volume) argues that low
rates of aggradation will lead to the preferential
preservation of the lower topographic (deeper)
parts of a river. Studies in the Brahmaputra
River (Klaassen & Vermeer 1988) indicate that
the deepest natural scours occur at channel
bends and confluences. Confluence scour and
fill may therefore form an important element of
the braided alluvium (e.g. see Huggenberger
this volume, who describes junction deposits as
a dominant depositional element of the Pleistocene Rhine gravels). Recent models of confluence sedimentation have been presented by
Bristow et al. (1993) and are reviewed by Bridge
(this volume). The scour associated with channel
bends, nodal constrictions and obstacles should
also not be ignored (Salter 1993).
It is also important to consider the short-term

deposition rate as opposed to the long-term

basin subsidence/aggradation rate in shaping
what is preserved in the ancient deposit. Most
alluvial sedimentary sequences represent long
periods of non-deposition or erosion punctuated
by rapid and short-lived depositional events.
This is amply illustrated with reference to scour
and fill at the Ganges-Brahmaputra confluence
over a period of 12 years (Fig. 4) which shows
periods of rapid incision and deposition at this
site, with up to 9 m of deposition at the confluence occurring in one year. Hence, although
we may calculate long-term basin aggradation/
subsidence rates, it is the manifestation of the
'geologically instantaneous' processes (e.g.
scour fill, bedform migration, anabranch
avulsion) that will dominate the sedimentary fill
of the channels. Bentham et al. (this volume)
also highlight the importance of aggradation rate
in determining the architecture of braided
alluvial deposits and that it is a common misconception that braided alluvium does not
contain appreciable quantities of fine grained
sediment, this being dependent also upon the
sediment supply, climate and tectonic regime.
Preservation within braided rivers may be

Fig. 4. Scour and fill at the junction of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, Bangladesh. This plot, showing data
collected over a 12 year period, shows the high rates of scour and fill present at this junction. Scour is given as an
actual depth and as a relative depth, ds, through division of the actual scour depth by the mean upstream channel
depths. Double arrows indicate the approximate flood peaks in 1985 and 1986.

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C.S. BRISTOW & J. L. BEST

viewed as a function of the frequency of avulsion

of the channel belt, the rate of lateral migration
of the alluvial system and aggradation rate
(Bridge & Leeder 1979). A schematic diagram
of avulsion, migration and aggradation rate
controls upon braided alluvial architecture
(Fig. 5) illustrates that while the preservation
of overbank and bar-top sediments increases
with aggradation rate the nature of the channel
deposits may not change appreciably. However,
an increase in either the frequency of channelbelt avulsions (initiated either through major
floods or tectonic events) or the rate of migration may radically alter the sandbody geometry,
a feature revealed in alluvial simulation models
(e.g. Bridge & Leeder 1979). Avulsion frequency appears to increase with high rates of
sediment accumulation (Bridge & Leeder 1979),
since this is most likely to lead to rapid establishment of local gradients favouring avulsion. The
preservation of form may also be associated
indirectly with a high rate of accretion produced
under conditions of rapid aggradation which
favour more frequent avulsion. Instantaneous
avulsion of a river may result in complete form
preservation. In reality this is an unlikely event
and, through a combination of migration and

aggradation, channel deposits will become reworked, superimposed and stacked to form
multilateral and multistorey sandbodies. Multichannel braided rivers are almost certain to form
multilateral/multistorey sandbodies. Preservation style within the channel will be a function
of the local rate of aggradation and the size and
sequence of bedforms/scour surfaces that affect
any particular spatial location.

Conclusions: the economic importance

of braided rivers
Braided alluvial deposits form substantial
hydrocarbon reservoirs (see Martin this
volume), sites for the deposition and accumulation of heavy minerals (see Smith & Minter
1980; Slingerland & Smith 1986; Karpeta this
volume) and important sand and gravel
reserves. One central problem within all of these
applications is an understanding of the internal
heterogeneity of the braided alluvial architecture both in terms of sandbody connectivity,
shale intercalations and the depositional controls upon subsequent diagenesis. Within all of
these fields several topics demand urgent atten-

Fig. 5. A schematic diagram illustrating the preservation of braided river depositional morphology as a function
of aggradation rate, lateral channel migration and channel-belt avulsion. The preservation of isolated channel
sandbodies preserving morphology requires frequent avulsions as well as rapid aggradation.

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PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMS

tion in relating the depositional process to the
preserved sediment. This is especially important
for coarse-grained braided rivers where the
recognition of depositional elements, especially
in core, becomes far more problematical.
Several key issues, which relate to some of the
points raised previously, are evident.
(i) What depositional elements comprise
braided alluvium and how is their relative
abundance, three-dimensional geometry
and spatial distribution influenced by both
autocyclic (e.g. hydrograph type, local
sediment transport) and allocyclic (e.g.
aggradation
rate,
active
tectonics)
controls?
(ii) How does the depositional architecture of
coarse and fine grained braided rivers
differ? H o w widely is lateral accretion
preserved in relation to downstream,
upstream or vertical accretion?
(iii) Do the geometrical characteristics and
sedimentary structures of braided alluvium
show any scale dependence?
In addition to these more geologically related
applications, braided rivers will continue to form
zones of major threat to human life and settle-

ment as well as posing regions of significant

engineering complexity. The issues outlined
above overlap directly with some of the pressing
needs which can be highlighted for extension of
our process knowledge base.
(i) What processes control the dispersal of
sediment and bed/bank erosion at both
channel confluences and diffluences?
(ii) What is the feedback between flow
division, braiding, local sediment yield
and channel shifting/bank erosion?
(iii) W h a t controls the spatial and temporal
variability of sediment transport at both
the channel and braidplain scale?
(iv) W h a t variables influence the depth and
distribution of scour at key sites (bends,
junctions, flow diversions)?
It is clear that progress towards possible
solutions to these broad goals will only be
achieved through interdisciplinary collaboration
and the desire to cross traditional discipline
boundaries in tackling these complex issues.
We would like to thank P. J. Ashworth, J. S. Bridge
and T. Salter for the useful and stimulating conversations on some of the topics included in this paper
which have helped shape our views on these issues.

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