The morphodynamics of fluvial sand dunes in the River Rhine, near Mainz, Germany. I. Sedimentology and morphology

The dynamics of large isolated sand dunes moving across a gravel lag layer were studied in a supply‐limited reach of the River Rhine, Germany. Bed sediments, dune geometry, bedform migration rates and the internal structure of dunes are considered in this paper. Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data are considered in a companion paper. The pebbles and cobbles (D50 of 10 mm) of the flat lag layer are rarely entrained. Dunes consist of well‐sorted medium to coarse sand (D50 of 0·9 mm). Small pebbles move over the dunes by ‘overpassing’, but there is a degree of size and shape selectivity. Populations of ripples in sand (D50