Abstract
Meander evolution of narrowing point bars ultimately forms a straight reach and an associated oxbow lake after meander bend cutoff. Observing the water surface and bed topography change during the meander cutoff process allows scientists and engineers to better understand flow mechanisms in meandering rivers, predict river behavior following cutoff, and minimize damage to life and property. Theoretical river evolution model indicates that head loss between the upstream and downstream meander neck increases during meander evolution, and this leads to an increasing hydraulic gradient and intensification of the cutoff. Yet no detailed observations are available to support the theory. In this research, we establish a physical model of a meander cutoff in a 1.8 mX3.7 m laboratory river table using 0.18 mm median diameter sand and river discharge of 100 mL/s. The initial meander is a highly curved meander with a sinuosity of 5.6. Erosion is initiated by stream flow and the meander goes through the cutoff process. Water surface elevation along the river, river bed topography, and groundwater head in the intra-meander zone are precisely measured with an accuracy of up to 0.4 mm using a close range photogrammetry technique and ultrasonic sensors. The measurements are taken every 5 hours before the cutoff, immediately after the cutoff, and 1 hour, 5 hours after the cutoff respectively. Our results show that hydraulic gradient gradually steepens crossing the meander neck before the cutoff. River bed elevation gradients crossing the meander neck are enlarged due to the continuous deposition at the upstream neck and erosion at the downstream neck. However, the river bed elevation differences is counter balanced by the water depth which is smaller at the upstream and larger at the downstream, and the head loss across the neck remains nearly the same during cutoff. Immediately after the meander cutoff, a cascade emerges, and then rapidly dissipates into the new channel during rapid headwater erosion. After 1 hour of the cutoff the oxbow lake has separated from the main river channel, and the water surface in the oxbow lake is flat but higher than that in the main river channel. After 5 hours of the cutoff, water surface at the oxbow lake is regulated to that in the main river channel. Some of the abandoned channel morphology in the oxbow lake forms islands due to the decreased water depth.