Author(s): Horacio Toniolo; Mario L. Amsler; Carlos Ramonell

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: Paranariver thalweg; Characterization of the thalweg area; Enlargements and nodes; Dominant discharges; Morphologic investigations

Abstract: The Paranariver is one of the largest alluvial rivers of the world (mean discharge: 21, 000 m3/s; total length: 3, 943 km) and, as such, it is a fundamental communication way of great economical importance for several countries in South America. These facts have prompted recent studies about its behavior, specially those concerning the improvement of navigation that strongly depends on a proper knowledge of the stream thalweg dynamics. Through measurements performed along this century, it was observed that the Paranariver thalweg has a sinuous and highly unstable pattern with nearly permanent shiftings, and with such a flow concentrated in it as to govern, essentially, the whole hydrosedimentologic dynamics of the channel. On this base, an empirical method is presented here in order to compute the geometric (mean widths and depths) and hydraulic parameters that define the thalweg area of the Paranariver channel. The method predicts that parameters for different morphological features of the main channel (enlargements and nodes). Moreover, it is valid for river stages near to those of the dominant discharges, a key requirement in a current investigation concerning the Paranariver thalweg shiftings.

DOI:

Year: 1999