Free instability of channel bifurcations and morphodynamic influence

Channel bifurcations are a fundamental element of a broad variety of flowing freshwater environments worldwide, such as braiding and anabranching rivers, river deltas and alluvial fans. River bifurcations often develop asymmetrical configurations with uneven discharge partition and a bed elevation gap between the downstream anabranches. This has been reproduced by one-dimensional (1-D) analytical theories which, however, rely on the empirical calibration of one or more parameters and cannot provide a clear and detailed physical explanation of the observed dynamics. We propose a novel two-dimensional (2-D) solution for the flow and bed topography in channel bifurcations based on an innovative application to a multi-thread channel configuration of the 2-D steady linear solution developed decades ago to study river bars and meandering in single thread river settings. The resonant value of the upstream channel aspect ratio, corresponding to the theoretical resonance condition of regular river meanders (Blondeaux & Seminara, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 157, 1985, pp. 449–470) is the key parameter discriminating between symmetrical and asymmetrical bifurcations, in quantitative agreement with experimental observations and numerical simulations, and qualitatively matching field observations. Only when the aspect ratio of the upstream channel of the bifurcation exceeds resonance, is the bifurcation node able to trigger the upstream development of a steady alternate bar pattern, thus creating an unbalanced configuration. Ultimately, the work provides an analytical explanation of the intrinsic legacy between bifurcation asymmetry and the phenomenon of 2-D upstream morphodynamic influence discovered by Zolezzi & Seminara (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 438, 2001, pp. 183–211).