This thesis examines the flow around bluff bodies placed at the floodplain edge in a compound, open channel. The floodplain edge location is associated with a strong shear layer between lower velocity floodplain flow and high velocity flow in the main channel. The drag force exerted by a bluff body is dependant on the way in which the flow separates around the body and subsequently recovers but the drag coefficients typically used to represent the effects of bluff bodies are based on experiments on bodies in geometrically simple channels. The differences induced in the wake structures and therefore in the drag coefficients of bluff bodies when they are placed in the shear layer at the floodplain edge are little understood. In this study, experimental data is gathered that allows direct comparison of the wakes of identical bluff bodies, both emergent (surface-piercing) and submerged, in simple and compound open channels. For the compound channel scenarios, for both single and multiple block arrangements, turbulence data is also reported. These results are augmented using a computational model based on the solution of the 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations, using a non-linear turbulence model. The results show that the changes induced in the wake structures due to their location at the floodplain edge of the compound channel can have a significant effect on the drag coefficient. For the emergent bodies, the proximity of the deep main channel flow is shown to impact in a complex manner upon the processes of reattachment and re-separation, changing the formation of vorticity in the wake. For the submerged bodies, this is complicated by asymmetry in the same processes on the block top. For both body types, separation on the main channel side results in the creation of a strong axial circulation at the floodplain edge and the decay of the wake is asymmetrically affected by the differing behaviour of the turbulence on the two sides.

Estudos biogeomorfológicos integrando a geomorfologia fluvial, neotectônica e a vegetação foram aplicados na ilha da Marchantaria, com a finalidade de analisar a distribuição da vegetação de várzea nas feições geomorfológicas. A planície do rio Amazonas é um mosaico de feições morfológicas de dimensões espaciais ora menores, ora maiores tais como ilhas, bancos arenosos, furos, paranás e lagos, que pela dinâmica fluvial estão continuamente se modificando. No canal do rio Amazonas, a ilha da Marchantaria, situada no baixo curso do rio Solimões motiva relevante interesse, tendo em vista a sua evolução areal nos últimos quarenta anos, bem como, a sua proximidade ao Encontro das Águas de Manaus EAM. A partir do arranjo dos elementos neotectônicos que condicionam as formas quaternárias atuais da ilha foram identificadas duas unidades estruturais distintas: Depósito Aluvial Subrecente (DASr) e Depósito Aluvial Recente (DAR). Também, foram definidas as unidades morfossedimentares holocênicas: feições espiras de meandro e barras de soldamento. A distribuição espacial da vegetação sobre as diferentes elevações do terreno foram agrupadas em duas unidades: vegetação lenhosa e vegetação herbácea. Os resultados mostram que: a) a vegetação distribui-se espacialmente nos diferentes níveis tectono-topográficos; b) a erosão fluvial, à montante da ilha, remove gradativamente a vegetação árborea, no entanto, à jusante, está ocorrendo sedimentação, propiciando a colonização de espécies herbáceas; c) a vegetação da ilha apresenta-se alterada devido à ação antrópica. / Biogeomorphologics studies, integrating fluvial geomorphology, neotectonic and vegetation, were applied on the island of Marchantaria, in order to analyze the distribution of vegetation in the floodplain geomorphological features. The Amazon River floodplain is a mosaic of morphological features from sometimes smaller spatial dimensions, sometimes larger such as islands, sandbars, furos, multichannels and lakes, the river dynamics that are continually changing. In the channel of the Amazon River, the island of Marchantaria, located on the lower course of the river Solimões, motivates relevant interest given its areal developments in the last forty years, as well as its proximity to the Encontro das Águas de Manaus - EAM. From the arrangement of neotectonic elements that condition the current quaternary forms of the island, two distinct structural units were identified: Sub-recent Alluvial Deposit (SrAD) and Recent Alluvial Deposit (RAD). The Holocene morpho-sedimentary units were also defined: features of scroll bars and annexation bars. The spatial distribution of vegetation on different ground elevations were grouped into two units: woody vegetation and herbaceous vegetation. The results show that: a) vegetation is distributed spatially in different tectono-topographic levels; b) fluvial erosion, the upstream of the island, gradually removes the arboreal vegetation, however, the downstream sedimentation is occurring, leading to colonization of herbaceous species; c) the island\'s vegetation is altered due to human action.

Estudos biogeomorfológicos integrando a geomorfologia fluvial, neotectônica e a vegetação foram aplicados na ilha da Marchantaria, com a finalidade de analisar a distribuição da vegetação de várzea nas feições geomorfológicas. A planície do rio Amazonas é um mosaico de feições morfológicas de dimensões espaciais ora menores, ora maiores tais como ilhas, bancos arenosos, furos, paranás e lagos, que pela dinâmica fluvial estão continuamente se modificando. No canal do rio Amazonas, a ilha da Marchantaria, situada no baixo curso do rio Solimões motiva relevante interesse, tendo em vista a sua evolução areal nos últimos quarenta anos, bem como, a sua proximidade ao Encontro das Águas de Manaus EAM. A partir do arranjo dos elementos neotectônicos que condicionam as formas quaternárias atuais da ilha foram identificadas duas unidades estruturais distintas: Depósito Aluvial Subrecente (DASr) e Depósito Aluvial Recente (DAR). Também, foram definidas as unidades morfossedimentares holocênicas: feições espiras de meandro e barras de soldamento. A distribuição espacial da vegetação sobre as diferentes elevações do terreno foram agrupadas em duas unidades: vegetação lenhosa e vegetação herbácea. Os resultados mostram que: a) a vegetação distribui-se espacialmente nos diferentes níveis tectono-topográficos; b) a erosão fluvial, à montante da ilha, remove gradativamente a vegetação árborea, no entanto, à jusante, está ocorrendo sedimentação, propiciando a colonização de espécies herbáceas; c) a vegetação da ilha apresenta-se alterada devido à ação antrópica. / Biogeomorphologics studies, integrating fluvial geomorphology, neotectonic and vegetation, were applied on the island of Marchantaria, in order to analyze the distribution of vegetation in the floodplain geomorphological features. The Amazon River floodplain is a mosaic of morphological features from sometimes smaller spatial dimensions, sometimes larger such as islands, sandbars, furos, multichannels and lakes, the river dynamics that are continually changing. In the channel of the Amazon River, the island of Marchantaria, located on the lower course of the river Solimões, motivates relevant interest given its areal developments in the last forty years, as well as its proximity to the Encontro das Águas de Manaus - EAM. From the arrangement of neotectonic elements that condition the current quaternary forms of the island, two distinct structural units were identified: Sub-recent Alluvial Deposit (SrAD) and Recent Alluvial Deposit (RAD). The Holocene morpho-sedimentary units were also defined: features of scroll bars and annexation bars. The spatial distribution of vegetation on different ground elevations were grouped into two units: woody vegetation and herbaceous vegetation. The results show that: a) vegetation is distributed spatially in different tectono-topographic levels; b) fluvial erosion, the upstream of the island, gradually removes the arboreal vegetation, however, the downstream sedimentation is occurring, leading to colonization of herbaceous species; c) the island\'s vegetation is altered due to human action.

xviii, 105 p. : ill. (some col.) / Restoration of riparian ecosystems in semi-arid riparian ecosystems requires an understanding of geomorphic, hydrologic and biologic factors and how they relate to vegetation. Such an understanding allows prioritization of restoration projects and avoidance of activities that are either unnecessary or likely to fail. In this dissertation I examined a suite of factors controlling distribution of vegetation types in the Sprague Basin, OR, and used those factors to predict potential for natural recovery. Factors ranged from basin-wide (e.g. floodplain width and slope) to local (e.g. topography, hydrology and soil texture). Results of historical analysis and photographic mapping showed that basin-wide vegetation types have remained generally stable since the early 1940s and that wide floodplains have been without woody vegetation since the late 1800s. The most prevalent changes in floodplain vegetation due to land use included reduction of shrub cover in moderately wide floodplains and associated increases in herbaceous vegetation. Soil moisture conditions were studied using piezometers and nested clusters of soil moisture tension meters. The interrelations among soil texture, elevation and distance from the channel, and vegetation (herbaceous and woody) characteristics in the riparian zone were examined along 75 transects using a generalized additive model for non linear factors and Hurdle analysis for abundance data. On the Sprague mainstem, fine soils with high recession rates supported abundant shrubs, while on the Sycan (Sprague tributary) coarse soils with readily available moisture and greater subsurface water movements supported abundant shrubs. Habitats in the Sycan were well colonized with new shrub seedlings though long term persistence was unlikely. Results show that riparian shrubs are unlikely to influence stream shade or bank stability on the mainstem Sprague whether they germinate naturally or are planted through restoration efforts, as shrubs near the channel are unlikely to persist long term. In the Sycan, germination and persistence are more likely than on the Sprague, though risks of predation, trampling from grazers, and fluvial action will be constant threats to near-channel shrubs. Results emphasize the need to understand factors controlling vegetation prior to restoration in any basin or stream segment. / Committee in charge: Patricia F. McDowell， Chairperson； W. Andrew Marcus， Member； Patrick Bartlein， Member； Scott Bridgham， Outside Member