| Abstract: | This paper is a discussion of Rhoads and Kenworthy (1998) ‘Time-averaged flow structure in the central region of a stream confluence’ Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 23 , 171–191, that focuses upon the methods used to identify secondary circulation in river channel confluences. It argues that the Rozovskii method that Rhoads and Kenworthy use to rotate their field data to allow identification of secondary circulation cells is flawed, and can result in misleading conclusions about the nature of flow processes in confluences. It recommends that there is a re-emphasis upon helical as opposed to secondary circulation, and that recent developments in both field monitoring and numerical modelling may help significantly in this respect. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
