离石北部北川河阶地特征及其新构造指示

详细研究了离石北部一带阶地的地层地貌特征,并尝试对吕梁山山体的隆升进行分析探讨。结果表明,晚更新世以来该区有过三次间歇性隆升,并且三级阶地形成以来即晚更新世早期山体隆升相对快速强烈,二级阶地形成以来即晚更新世晚期至全新世时期山体隆升处于相对缓慢的过程。     

Geomorphological problems of the middle reaches of the Tsangpo River,Tibet

The middle reaches of the Tsangpo River consist of alternating sections of wide valleys and gorges. The wide valley sections have braided and anastomosing channels, gentle hydraulic gradients, thick alluvial deposits and low terraces. In contrast, the gorge sections exhibit single, straight and deeply entrenched meandering channels with steep hydraulic gradients, bare rock river beds and higher terraces. Several hypotheses have been used to explain these unusual fluvial landforms, but geological, landform and sedimentary analyses along with dating information, suggest that the key could be the active faults across the river valley. All gorge sections are located on the upthrown side of active faults, which mainly occurred in or after the Pliocene, whilst the wide valley sections appear on the downthrown side. The faulting blocked the river and caused the formation of palaeolakes, with thick deposits laid down behind the faults. Therefore, depositional wide valleys were formed and old terraces were buried. On these downthrown sides of the faults, braided and anastomosing channels have developed. On the upthrown sides, strong incision of the river occurred because of the changes of the local base levels and river gradients. As a result, deep gorges and deeply entrenched meandering channels formed in various lithologies. The terraces on the gorge slope indicate different stages of river incision and the related knick points appeared close to the local active faults. Rock resistance is only a minor influence on the alternation of valley forms and river gradients in this area. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How geomorphic context governs the influence of wildfire on floodplain organic carbon in fire-prone environments of the western United States

We draw on published studies of floodplain organic carbon storage, wildfire-related effects on floodplains in temperate and high latitudes, and case studies to propose a conceptual model of the effects of wildfire on floodplain organic carbon storage in relation to climate and valley geometry. Soil organic carbon typically constitutes the largest carbon stock in floodplains in fire-prone regions, although downed wood can contain significant organic carbon. We focus on the influence of wildfire on soil organic carbon and downed wood as opposed to standing vegetation to emphasize the geomorphic influences resulting from wildfire on floodplain organic carbon stocks. The net effect of wildfire varies depending on site-specific characteristics including climate and valley geometry. Wildfire is likely to reduce carbon stock in steep, confined valley segments because increased water and sediment yields following fire create net floodplain erosion. The net effect of fire in partly confined valleys depends on site-specific interactions among floodplain aggradation and erosion, and, in high-latitude regions, permafrost degradation. In unconfined valleys in temperate latitudes, wildfire is likely to slightly increase floodplain organic carbon stock as a result of floodplain aggradation and wood deposition. In unconfined valleys in high latitudes underlain by permafrost, wildfire is likely in the short-term to significantly decrease floodplain organic carbon via permafrost degradation and reduce organic-layer thickness. Permafrost degradation reduces floodplain erosional resistance, leading to enhanced stream bank erosion and greater carbon fluxes into channels. The implications of warming climate and increased wildfires for floodplain organic carbon stock thus vary. Increasing wildfire extent, frequency, and severity may result in significant redistribution of organic carbon from floodplains to the atmosphere via combustion in all environments examined here, as well as redistribution from upper to lower portions of watersheds in the temperate zone and from floodplains to the oceans via riverine transport in the high-latitudes. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Topographically associated but chronologically disjunct late Quaternary floodplains and terraces in a partly confined valley,south‐eastern Australia

The Bellinger River catchment in the New England Fold Belt on the mid‐north coast of New South Wales is characterized by an assemblage of stepped late Quaternary alluvial units. Late Pleistocene terraces were formed by large, more competent rivers that eroded almost entire valley floors; however, a decline in discharge prior to the Holocene has resulted in the abandonment of these deposits as elevated terraces or residual alluvium, onlapped by contemporary floodplains. Intrinsic controls on floodplain formation appear to be superimposed over an early–mid‐Holocene climatic signature. A fluvially active period, known as the Nambucca Phase, from 10 to 4·5 ka, eroded Late Pleistocene terraces. Two floodplain surfaces, one higher than the other, both started to accrete vertically from 4 ka but with some valley locations remaining vulnerable to episodes of erosion, resulting in substantial units of even younger basal alluvium. The high floodplain is dominated by horizontally laminated, vertically accreted sequences, while the low floodplain, which overlaps in age, is characterized by pronounced cut‐and‐fill stratigraphy. Terraces and floodplains in partly confined settings can have similar elevations but be polycyclic, with very different basal ages. In such landscapes the classical assumption that individual terrace or floodplain profiles along a valley represent periods of coeval formation is shown to be frequently invalid. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on the occurrence and prevalence of floodplain channels in meandering rivers

The process of channelization on river floodplains plays an essential role in regulating river sinuosity and creating river avulsions. Most channelization occurs within the channel belt (e.g. chute channels), but growing evidence suggests some channels originate outside of the channel‐belt in the floodplain. To understand the occurrence and prevalence of these floodplain channels we mapped 3064 km² of floodplain in Indiana, USA using 1.5 m resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. We find the following range of channelization types on floodplains in Indiana: 6.8% of floodplain area has no evidence of channelization, 55.9% of floodplains show evidence (e.g. oxbow lakes) of chute‐channel activity in the channel belt, and 37.3% of floodplains contain floodplain channels that form long, coherent down‐valley pathways with bifurcations and confluences, and they are active only during overbank discharge. Whereas the first two types of floodplains are relatively well studied, only a few studies have recognized the existence of floodplain channels. To understand why floodplain channels occur, we compared the presence of channelization types with measured floodplain width, floodplain slope, river width, river meander rate, sinuosity, flooding frequency, soil composition, and land cover. Results show floodplain channels occur when the fluvial systems are characterized by large floodplain‐to‐river widths, relatively higher meandering rates, and are dominantly used for agriculture. More detailed reach‐scale mapping reveals that up to 75% of channel reaches within floodplain channels are likely paleo‐meander cutoffs. The meander cutoffs are connected by secondary channels to form floodplain channels. We suggest that secondary channels within floodplains form by differential erosion across the floodplain, linking together pre‐existing topographic lows, such as meander cutoffs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene valley aggradation driven by river mouth progradation: examples from Australia

Since the end of the post‐glacial sea level rise 6800 years ago, progradation of river mouths into estuaries has been a global phenomenon. The responses of upstream alluvial river reaches to this progradation have received little attention. Here, the links between river mouth progradation and Holocene valley aggradation are examined for the Macdonald and Tuross Rivers in south‐eastern Australia. Optical and radiocarbon dating of floodplain sediments indicates that since the mid‐Holocene sea level highstand 6800 years ago vertical floodplain aggradation along the two valleys has generally been consistent with the rate at which each river prograded into its estuary. This link between river mouth progradation and alluvial aggradation drove floodplain aggradation for many tens of kilometres upstream of the estuarine limits. Both rivers have abandoned their main Holocene floodplains over the last 2000 years and their channels have contracted. A regional shift to smaller floods is inferred to be responsible for this change, though a greater relative sea level fall experienced by the Macdonald River since the mid‐Holocene sea level highstand appears to have been an additional influence upon floodplain evolution in this valley. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geological controls on the formation of alluvial meanders and floodplain wetlands: the example of the Klip River,eastern Free State,South Africa

Floodplain wetlands are common features of rivers in southern Africa, but they have been little studied from a geological or geomorphological perspective. Study of the upper Klip River, eastern Free State, South Africa, indicates strong geological controls on the formation of alluvial meanders and associated floodplain wetlands. Along this river, pronounced and abrupt changes in valley width are strongly linked to lithological variations. Where weakly cemented sandstone crops out, the Klip has laterally eroded bedrock and carved valleys up to 1500 m wide. In these valleys, the river meanders (sinuosity up to ～1·75) on moderate gradients (<0·001) within extensive floodplains marked by numerous oxbow lakes, backswamps and abandoned channels, many of which host substantial wetlands. In contrast, where highly resistant dolerite crops out, lateral erosion of bedrock is restricted, with the Klip tending instead to erode vertically along joints or fractures. Here, valleys are narrower (<200 m), channel‐bed gradients are steeper (>0·003), the river follows a much straighter course (sinuosity ～1·10–1·34), and floodplains are restricted in width. Long‐term landscape development in the Klip and numerous similar catchments depends on the interaction between fluvial processes in the sandstone and dolerite valleys. In the sandstone valleys, vertical erosion rates are controlled by erosion rates of the more resistant dolerites downstream. Hence, in the short‐ to medium‐term (decades to tens of thousands of years), lateral erosion dominates over vertical erosion, with the river concomitantly planing sandstone in the channel floor and reworking floodplain sediments. The thickness of alluvial fill in the sandstone valleys is limited (<4 m), but the resultant meanders are naturally dynamic, with processes such as point bar deposition, cutoff formation and channel avulsion resulting in an assemblage of fluvial landforms. In the longer term (greater than tens of thousands of years), however, vertical erosion will occur in the sandstone valleys as the downstream dolerites are lowered by erosion, resulting in channel incision, floodplain abandonment, and desiccation of the wetlands. Identification of the geological controls on meander and wetland formation provides information vital for the design of effective management guidelines for these ecologically rich habitats, and also contributes to a better understanding of rivers that are intermediate between fully alluvial and fully bedrock. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

TerEx Toolbox for semi‐automated selection of fluvial terrace and floodplain features from lidar

Terraces and floodplains are important indicators of near‐channel sediment dynamics, serving as potential sediment sources and sinks. Increasing availability of high resolution topography data over large areas calls for development of semi‐automated techniques for identification and measurement of these features. In this study we introduce a novel tool that accommodates user‐defined parameters including, a local‐relief threshold selected by a variable‐size moving window, minimum area threshold, and maximum distance from the channel to identify and map discrete terrace and floodplain surfaces. Each of the parameters can easily be calibrated for a given watershed or reach. Subsequently, the tool automatically measures planform area, absolute elevation, and height relative to the local river channel for each terrace polygon. We validate the tool in two locations where terrace maps were previously developed via manual digitization from lidar and extensive field mapping campaigns. The tool is also tested on six different types of rivers to provide examples of starting selection parameters, and to test effectiveness of the tool across a wide range of landscapes. Generally, the tool provides a high quality draft map of terrace and floodplain surfaces across the wide range of environmental conditions for which it has been tested. We find that the tool functions best in catchments where the terraces are spatially extensive, with distinct differences between the terrace and floodplain. The most challenging environments for semi‐automated terrace and floodplain mapping include steep catchments with dense riparian vegetation, and very small terraces (~10 m² in areal extent). We then apply the tool to map terraces and floodplains in the Root River watershed, southeastern Minnesota and generate exceedance plots for terrace heights. These plots provide a first pass analysis to indicate the tributaries and reaches of the river where terraces constitute a significant source of sediment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Flood delineation in a large and complex alluvial valley, lower Pa´nuco basin, Mexico

Determining the extent of flooding is an important role of the hydrological research community and provides a vital service to planners and engineers. For large river systems located within distant settings it is practical to utilize a remote sensing approach. This study combines a remote sensing and geomorphic approach to delineate the extent of a large hurricane generated flood event in the lower Pánuco basin (98,227 km²), the seventh largest river system draining into the Gulf of Mexico. The lower Pánuco basin is located within the coastal plain of eastern Mexico and has a complex alluvial valley. Data sources included a Landsat 5TM and Landsat 7ETM⁺ scene, and topographic and particle size data from fieldwork and laboratory analysis. The Landsat 5TM image was acquired after the peak of a large flood event in 1993, whereas the Landsat 7ETM⁺ scene was acquired during the dry season in 2000. The increasing number of days between flood crest and the date of flood image acquisition along the river valley provided the opportunity to examine several methods of flood delineation and to consider differences in floodplain geomorphology. Backswamp environments were easily delineated in flooded reaches within the Panuco and Tamuin valleys, whereas in the Moctezuma valley more sophisticated methods were required because of the greater time between image acquisition and flood peak, and the complex floodplain topography. This included Principal Component (PC) analysis and image classification. Within the floodplain, residual Holocene terraces complicated flood mapping. Classification of both images allowed consideration of the influence of permanent standing water. Although the flooded areas were greater in the lower reaches of the study area, because this portion of the valley contained large floodplain lakes, the amount of inundation was actually lower. Remote sensing offers the ability to examine large alluvial valleys in distant settings but does not imply that geomorphic criteria should be excluded. Indeed, because of heterogeneous floodplain topography this study illustrates the importance of including field based geomorphic analysis so that the complexity of distinct floodplain environments are considered. The findings from this study are significant because most remote sensing data obtained for the purpose of flood mapping will not coincide with the flood crest. Thus, this study provides an appropriate method for mapping flood inundation in large and complex floodplain settings after flood crest recession.     

Geomorphic controls on the physical and hydrologic properties of soils in a valley floor

The distribution of soil hydraulic and physical properties strongly influences runoff processes in landscapes. Although much work has been done to quantify and predict the properties of hillslope soils, far less is known about the distribution of soil properties in valley floors. A technique that links the estimation and distribution of soil hydraulic properties in valleys, with easily identified geomorphic features, was developed along a 2 km length of a valley at Brooks Creek in New South Wales, Australia. Soil physical and hydraulic property data were collected across a set of floodplain and fan features within the valley and analysed statistically to determine if soil properties varied significantly between geomorphic features and stratigraphic layers. The results show that the depth‐averaged saturated hydraulic conductivity, K_s, of the soil varies significantly with landform: fan units have K_g values that are twice that of floodplains and colluvial toeslope deposits have K_s values four times higher than floodplains. Given the notorious variability of K_s values in space, the strong statistical separation of soil properties by landform, backed up by strong separation of soil particle size by landform, suggests a way forward in understanding the distribution of soil properties in valleys and their influence on catchment hydrology. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modélisation de propagation d’écoulement entre lits mineur et majeur sur les fleuves Sénégal et Niger

In the Senegal River valley and Niger Inner Delta, the annual floods inundate a wide floodplain consisting of a complex network of lakes and channels, where topographic information needed by standard hydraulic models is difficult to obtain. To represent the flood propagation between mainstream and floodplain, we use a model designed for flood propagation in river mainstreams with flat bed and large overflow and without topographic data. Depending on the water level in the riverbed, the model calibrated on the levels observed at two stations gives the level in the floodplains and propagation time between stations. Several cases are tested for various types of hydraulic connections between mainstream and floodplain. The model could correctly reproduce the flood rise and fall in the floodplain, even for a lake connected by a single channel to the riverbed or in the case of a strong attenuation of the flood between very distant stations.     

Dynamic process-response model of river channel development

Feedback mechanisms, which operate upstream through drawdown and backwater effects and downstream through sediment discharge are responsible for channel evolution. By combining these mechanisms with channel processes it euables a dynamic process-response model to be developed to simulate the initial evolution of straight gravel-bed channels. When erosion commences on a land surface, sediment entrained in the headwater reach by hydraulic action is selectively transported, deposited and reworked. This produces a damped oscillation between degradation and aggradation as the channel and valley respond to spatial and temporal variations in sediment calibre and hydraulic conditions. The initial cut and fill phases are responsible for valley incision and floodplain development while secondary and subsequent activity can produce river terraces. Eventually sediment entrainment in the headwaters declines as slopes are reduced. Subsequent channel evolution is relatively insignificant because it is dependent on local weathering activity producing material that can be transported on declining slopes. Therefore landforms produced during the initial phase of development, when local weathering was non-limiting, dominate the landscape.     

Asymmetrical river valleys in response to tectonic tilting and strike‐slip faulting,northeast margin of Tibetan Plateau

The northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, a particularly important area to understand the mechanism of plateau formation, is characterized by large transpressional arcuate faults. There is debate on the amount of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the major Haiyuan Fault. Previously unrecognized systemic asymmetrical valleys have developed between the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults. Southeast tilting and sinistral displacement on the northeast side of the Haiyuan Fault resulted in southeast migration of large rivers and asymmetrical widening of their valleys, leaving a systematic distribution of tilted strath terraces along their northwest sides. Where asymmetrical widening created by tilting kept pace with sinistral displacement, rivers have not been deflected, and the increase in valley width downstream from the fault should equate to total lateral displacement since river formation (e.g. Yuan River, a 7 km asymmetrical valley with a c. 2.2 Ma paleomagnetic age). Where river deflection and asymmetrical valley growth are coeval, valley width is less than total horizontal displacement (e.g. Hebao River, a c. 2.1 km asymmetrical valley with c. 2 km deflection). All rivers north of the Haiyuan Fault converge to cut across the Xiangshan Mountains as a gorge. Northeast thrusting of the upthrown side of the Xiangshan Fault has resulted in degradation and related strath terrace formation as the valleys asymmetrically widened. A probable earthquake‐induced landslide caused by movement on the Xiangshan Fault in latest Pleistocene blocked the gorge causing aggradation along all rivers and their tributaries. Deposition terraces were formed after the landslide dam was breached. Together with previous research on the Xiangshan Fault, it is concluded that there has been c. 7 km of Quaternary sinistral displacement on the Haiyuan and Xiangshan faults along the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau since the formation of rivers that intersect them. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wood process domains and wood loads on floodplains

Downed large wood on floodplains creates similar geomorphic and ecological effects as wood in the active channel, but has been the subject of fewer geomorphic studies. I propose floodplain large wood process domains that are distinguished based on recruitment source at the reach to river-length scale. Wood recruited to the floodplain can be autochthonous (individual or mass recruitment from floodplain forest), fluvially transported, or transported from adjacent hillslopes via mass movements that come down the valley side slopes or down the main channel. Fluvially transported wood can be further distinguished as being deposited: within the channel and subsequently accreted to the floodplain; marginal to the channel; on the floodplain during overbank flow; or on tributary fans. The mechanism of wood recruitment to a floodplain influences the spatial distribution of the wood across the floodplain and the proportion of wood pieces within jams, which in turn influences geomorphic and ecological effects of the floodplain wood. Using published studies of floodplain wood load for unmanaged river corridors, I hypothesize that the climate-controlled balance between forest primary productivity and decay rates of downed wood is the first-order control on floodplain large wood loads. Disturbance regime and wood recruitment mechanism are second-order controls on wood load and primary controls on the spatial distribution of large wood. Understanding of floodplain large wood can be applied to quantifying the effect of large wood on river corridors; river restoration; paleoenvironmental inferences; and estimation of organic carbon stock in river corridors. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From Grain to Floodplain: Evaluating heterogeneity of floodplain hydrostatigraphy using sedimentology,geophysics, and remote sensing

Stratigraphy is a fundamental component of floodplain heterogeneity and hydraulic conductivity and connectivity of alluvial aquifers, which affect hydrologic processes such as groundwater flow and hyporheic exchange. Watershed-scale hydrological models commonly simplify the sedimentology and stratigraphy of floodplains, neglecting natural floodplain heterogeneity and anisotropy. This study, conducted in the upper reach of the East River in the East River Basin, Colorado, USA, combines point-, meander-, and floodplain-scale data to determine key features of alluvial aquifers important for estimating hydrologic processes. We compare stratigraphy of two meanders with disparate geometries to explore floodplain heterogeneity and connectivity controls on flow and transport. Meander shape, orientation, and internal stratigraphy affected residence time estimates of laterally exchanged hyporheic water. Although the two meanders share a sediment source, vegetation, and climate, their divergent river migration histories resulted in contrasting meander hydrofacies. In turn, the extent and orientation of these elements controlled the effective hydraulic conductivity and, ultimately, estimates of groundwater transport and hyporheic residence times. Additionally, the meanders’ orientation relative to the valley gradient impacted the hydraulic gradient across the meanders—a key control of groundwater velocity. Lastly, we combine our field data with remotely sensed data and introduce a potential approach to estimate key hydrostratigraphic packages across floodplains. Prospective applications include contaminant transport studies, hyporheic models, and watershed models. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphodynamics of a 1000‐year flood in the Kamp River,Austria, and impacts on floodplain morphology

This paper investigates the impact of a 1000‐year flood in August 2002 on floodplains and valley morphology of an Austrian mixed alluvial bed rock river. Discharges with a recurrence interval between 500 and 2000 years caused distinctive overbank scouring and material deposition in the floodplains. After the 1000‐year flood, those morphologically affected areas were at random intervals documented over the whole longitudinal profile. In addition to overbank erosion in curved sections (cut‐offs), the river bed locally widened, floodplain stripping occurred and local overbank scours were documented along straight parts of the river. A hydrodynamic‐numerical model, combined with field measurements, was used to analyse the cause of these erosional landforms. Based on the modelled hydraulic conditions for a one‐year flood (30–78 m³ s^–1) and the catastrophic 2002 event (700–800 m³ s^–1), the numerical results allowed a cause‐effect study with 19 parameters. Deterministic and statistical analysis (ANOVA, discriminant analysis) showed that the morphodynamic effects of the 2002 flood were influenced by the variability of valley morphology of the Kamp River, which led partially to supercritical flow during flood constriction. These processes were in some cases also anthropogenically influenced. Lateral constriction and expansion of the valley geometry over short distances led to scouring and aggradation within the inundated areas during the event. These morphological features were therefore responsible for the elongated scour holes in the floodplains. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spillage sedimentation on large river floodplains

Active deposition across the floodplains of large rivers arises through a variety of processes; collectively these are here termed ‘spillage sedimentation’. Three groups of 11 spillage sedimentation styles are identified and their formative processes described. Form presences on large river floodplains show different combinations of active spillage styles. Only some large floodplains have prominent levees; some have coarse splays; many have accessory channel dispersion and reworking, while still‐water sedimentation in lacustrine environments dominates some lower reaches. Infills are also commonly funnelled into prior, and often linear, negative relief forms relating to former migration within the mainstream channel belt. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and Landsat 8 data are used to map spillage form types and coverage along a 1700 km reach of the Amazon that has an active floodplain width of up to 110 km with a systematic character transformation down‐valley. Spillage forms associated directly with mainstream processes rarely account for more than 5% of the floodplain deposits. There is a marked decrease in floodplain point bar complexes (PBC) over 1700 km downstream (from 34% to 5%), and an increase in the prevalence of large water bodies (2% to 37%) and accompanying internal crevasses and deltas (0% to 5%). Spillage sedimentation is likely within the negative relief associated with these forms, depending on mainstream sediment‐laden floodwater inputs. Spillage style dominance depends on the balance between sediment loadings, hydrological sequencing, and morphological opportunity. Down‐river form sequences are likely to follow gradient change, prior up‐river sediment sequestration and the altered nature of spilled loads, but also crucially, local floodplain relief and incident water levels and velocities at spillage times. Considering style distribution quantitatively, as a spatially distributed set of identifiable forms, emphasizes the global variety to spillage phenomena along and between large rivers. © 2016 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Lateglacial river sediment budgets in the Mass valley,The Netherlands

Three Weichselian Lateglacial (13-10 ka) terraces have been distinguished in the Maas valley which were formed when the Maas repeatedly incised in an increasingly narrow floodplain. The River Maas changed from a braided system (before c. 12·5 ka) via a transitional phase to a high-sinuosity meandering river (c. 12·5-11 ka), to a braided system (c. 11-10 ka) again and finally to a low-sinuosity meandering river (after 10 ka). These fluvial style changes involved phases of erosion and deposition. The amounts of eroded, deposited and reworked sediment during each Lateglacial period are calculated in this paper. The sediment budgets allow comparison of the transport capacity of the different river styles, which will help to explain the observed fluvial changes. Borehole information regarding the thickness of terrace sediments and lateral extensions of the Lateglacial terrace surfaces were combined in a three-dimensional approach, using a geographical information system. Multiple regression analyses were used in calculating altitudes of entire terrace surfaces from individual altitude measurements. It will be shown that the fluvial development of the Maas can be explained not only by climate-related external factors such as sediment-discharge ratios and discharge characteristics, but possibly also by intrinsic factors such as floodplain dimensions and the channel morphology of previous periods. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of overbank processes in topographically complex floodplain environments

This article presents results from an investigation of the hydraulic characteristics of overbank flows on topographically‐complex natural river floodplains. A two‐dimensional hydraulic model that solves the depth‐averaged shallow water form of the Navier–Stokes equations is used to simulate an overbank flow event within a multiple channel reach of the River Culm, Devon, UK. Parameterization of channel and floodplain roughness by the model is evaluated using monitored records of main channel water level and point measurements of floodplain flow depth and unit discharge. Modelled inundation extents and sequences are assessed using maps of actual inundation patterns obtained using a Global Positioning System, observational evidence and ground photographs. Simulation results suggest a two‐phase model of flooding at the site, which seems likely to be representative of natural floodplains in general. Comparison of these results with previous research demonstrates the complexity of overbank flows on natural river floodplains and highlights the limitations of laboratory flumes as an analogue for these environments. Despite this complexity, frequency distributions of simulated depth, velocity and unit discharge data closely follow a simple gamma distribution model, and are described by a shape parameter (α) that exhibits clear systematic trends with changing discharge and floodplain roughness. Such statistical approaches have the potential to provide the basis for computationally efficient flood routing and overbank sedimentation models. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geomorphic controls on floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage in a Scottish mountain river

River floodplains constitute an important element in the terrestrial sediment and organic carbon cycle and store variable amounts of carbon and sediment depending on a complex interplay of internal and external driving forces. Quantifying the storage in floodplains is crucial to understand their role in the sediment and carbon cascades. Unfortunately, quantitative data on floodplain storage are limited, especially at larger spatial scales. Rivers in the Scottish Highlands can provide a special case to study alluvial sediment and carbon dynamics because of the dominance of peatlands throughout the landscape, but the alluvial history of the region remains poorly understood. In this study, the floodplain sediment and soil organic carbon storage is quantified for the mountainous headwaters of the River Dee in eastern Scotland (663 km²), based on a coring dataset of 78 floodplain cross-sections. Whereas the mineral sediment storage is dominated by wandering gravel-bed river sections, most of the soil organic carbon storage can be found in anastomosing and meandering sections. The total storage for the Upper Dee catchment can be estimated at 5.2 Mt or 2306.5 Mg ha^-1 of mineral sediment and 0.7 Mt or 323.3 Mg C ha^-1 of soil organic carbon, which is in line with other studies on temperate river systems. Statistical analysis indicates that the storage is mostly related to the floodplain slope and the geomorphic floodplain type, which incorporates the characteristic stream power, channel morphology and the deposit type. Mapping of the geomorphic floodplain type using a simple classification scheme shows to be a powerful tool in studying the total storage and local variability of mineral sediment and soil organic carbon in floodplains. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.