The role of landslides in sediment supply: implication for alluvial fan hazard

2004 ◽  
pp. 1389-1395
Author(s):  
P Frattini ◽  
G Crosta ◽  
F Codalli
Keyword(s):  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Sediment Supply

The role of eolian-fluvial interactions and dune dams in landscape change, late Pleistocene–Holocene, Mojave Desert, USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 2318-2332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Sweeney ◽  
Eric V. McDonald ◽  
Lucas P. Chabela ◽  
Paul R. Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Change ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
State Theory ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Alluvial Fans ◽  
Fluvial Deposits

Abstract The formation of the Kelso Dunes in the eastern Mojave Desert, California, was a landscape-changing event triggered by an increase in sediment supply that followed the incision of Afton Canyon by the Mojave River ca. 25 ka. Eastward migration of sand dunes occurred along a well-defined eolian transport corridor. Dunes temporarily blocked washes resulting in substantial aggradation of eolian and fluvial sediments. Stratigraphic exposures reveal numerous fining-up sequences with interbedded eolian sands that provide evidence of dune dams and subsequent aggradation. Luminescence ages reveal that dune blocking and aggradation correspond to a regional pulse of alluvial fan sedimentation that occurred ca. 14–9 ka. Meanwhile, relative landscape stability occurred downstream of dune dams, resulting in the formation of a moderately developed soil on abandoned fluvial deposits. The next pulse of alluvial fan activity ca. 6–3 ka likely resulted in the breaching of the dune dams, followed by incision. Eolian system sediment state theory suggests that eolian activity in the Mojave Desert is closely tied to enhanced sediment supply, primarily related to the Mojave River–Lake Mojave system. Our data suggests that Intermittent Lake Mojave I, ca. 26–22 ka, triggered a large dune-building event that impounded massive amounts of sediment derived from alluvial fans deposited during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Breaching of dune dams and sediment recycling may have also increased sediment supply that contributed to late Holocene eolian activity. This profound impact on the regional geomorphology highlights the critical importance of eolian-fluvial interactions in desert environments.

scholarly journals Interactions between channels and tributary alluvial fans: channel adjustments and sediment-signal propagation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Savi ◽  
Stefanie Tofelde ◽  
Andrew D. Wickert ◽  
Aaron Bufe ◽  
Taylor F. Schildgen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Signal Propagation ◽  
Main Channel ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Alluvial Fans ◽  
Fluvial System ◽  
Channel Network ◽  
Fluvial Deposits ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Climate and tectonics impact water and sediment fluxes to fluvial systems. These boundary conditions set river form and can be recorded by fluvial deposits. Reconstructions of boundary conditions from these deposits, however, is complicated by complex channel-network interactions and associated sediment storage and release through the fluvial system. To address this challenge, we used a physical experiment to study the interplay between a main channel and a tributary under different forcing conditions. In particular, we investigated the impact of a single tributary junction, where sediment supply from the tributary can produce an alluvial fan, on channel geometries and associated sediment-transfer dynamics. We found that the presence of an alluvial fan may promote or prevent sediment to be moved within the fluvial system, creating different coupling conditions. A prograding alluvial fan, for example, has the potential to disrupt the sedimentary signal propagating downstream through the confluence zone. By analyzing different environmental scenarios, our results indicate the contribution of the two sub-systems to fluvial deposits, both upstream and downstream of the tributary junction, which may be diagnostic of a perturbation affecting the tributary or the main channel only. We summarize all findings in a new conceptual framework that illustrates the possible interactions between tributary alluvial fans and a main channel under different environmental conditions. This framework provides a better understanding of the composition and architecture of fluvial sedimentary deposits found at confluence zones, which is essential for a correct reconstruction of the climatic or tectonic history of a basin.

Synchronization of transport and supply in beach-dune interaction

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Houser
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Nearshore Processes ◽  
Transport Studies ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Dynamic Constraint ◽  
Explicit Recognition ◽  
Process Scale

This review considers the role of nearshore processes and morphological change as a flexible and dynamic constraint on the supply and transport of sediment between beach and dune. It is argued that the lack of information in this regard remains a central barrier to the development of a theory of beach-dune interaction that can be translated across scales and between field sites. Existing beach-dune models do not consider how and when sediment gets transferred to the backshore where it becomes available for transport by wind. Rather, existing models largely ascribe regional variations in dune morphology to fixed constraints on beach slope and sediment budget, without explicit recognition of processes involved. Recent (process-scale) transport studies have shown that the transfer of sediment is both spatially variable and temporally intermittent as a result of transport limitations across the beachface. While these studies have identified varied controls on sediment transport and exchange, there remains a limited capacity to predict the evolution of beach-dune systems, largely because the beachface tends to be viewed as a static transport surface without regard to supply or to the changing limits to transport. Following storm erosion, dune recovery first requires that the beach recovers through the onshore migration and welding of nearshore bars, followed by accretion in the backshore to create a supply of sediment for transport by the wind. The dependence of dune recovery on the synchronization of transport events with the recovery of sediment supply in the backshore creates a strong asymmetry in dune recovery that makes barrier island susceptible to widespread erosion and breaching if a change in the frequency or grouping of storm events is capable of resetting the bar system (offshore) before the next extreme storm.

scholarly journals Strategic basin and delta planning increases the resilience of the Mekong Delta under future uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (36) ◽  
pp. e2026127118 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. P. Schmitt ◽  
M. Giuliani ◽  
S. Bizzi ◽  
G. M. Kondolf ◽  
G. C. Daily ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Subsidence ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Sediment Management ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Sediment Yields ◽  
Development Scenarios ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

The climate resilience of river deltas is threatened by rising sea levels, accelerated land subsidence, and reduced sediment supply from contributing river basins. Yet, these uncertain and rapidly changing threats are rarely considered in conjunction. Here we provide an integrated assessment, on basin and delta scales, to identify key planning levers for increasing the climate resilience of the Mekong Delta. We find, first, that 23 to 90% of this unusually productive delta might fall below sea level by 2100, with the large uncertainty driven mainly by future management of groundwater pumping and associated land subsidence. Second, maintaining sediment supply from the basin is crucial under all scenarios for maintaining delta land and enhancing the climate resilience of the system. We then use a bottom-up approach to identify basin development scenarios that are compatible with maintaining sediment supply at current levels. This analysis highlights, third, that strategic placement of hydropower dams will be more important for maintaining sediment supply than either projected increases in sediment yields or improved sediment management at individual dams. Our results demonstrate 1) the need for integrated planning across basin and delta scales, 2) the role of river sediment management as a nature-based solution to increase delta resilience, and 3) global benefits from strategic basin management to maintain resilient deltas, especially under uncertain and changing conditions.

scholarly journals The Role of Bedload Transport in the Development of a Proglacial River Alluvial Fan (Case Study: Scott River, Southwest Svalbard)

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Waldemar Kociuba
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
River Mouth ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Bedload Transport ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Surface Erosion ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Active Channel

This study, which was conducted between 2010 and 2013, presents the results of direct, continuous measurements of the bedload transport rate at the mouth section of the Scott River catchment (NW part of Wedel-Jarlsberg Land, Svalbard). In four consecutive melt seasons, the bedload flux was analyzed at two cross-sections located in the lower reaches of the gravel-bed proglacial river. The transported bedload was measured using two sets of River Bedload Traps (RBTs). Over the course of 130 simultaneous measurement days, a total of 930 bedload samples were collected. During this period, the river discharged about 1.32 t of bedload through cross-section I (XS I), located at the foot of the alluvial fan, and 0.99 t through cross-section II (XS II), located at the river mouth running into the fjord. A comparison of the bedload flux showed a distinctive disproportion between cross-sections. Specifically, the average daily bedload flux QB was 130 kg day−1 (XS I) and 81 kg day−1 (XS II) at the individual cross-profiles. The lower bedload fluxes that were recorded at specified periods in XS II, which closed the catchment at the river mouth from the alluvial cone, indicated an active role of aggradation processes. Approximately 40% of all transported bedload was stored at the alluvial fan, mostly in the active channel zone. However, comparative Geomorphic Change Detection (GCD) analyses of the alluvial fan, which were performed over the period between August 2010 and August 2013, indicated a general lowering of the surface (erosion). It can be assumed that the melt season’s average flows in the active channel zone led to a greater deposition of bedload particles than what was discharged with high intensity during floods (especially the bankfull stage, effectively reshaping the whole surface of the alluvial fan). This study documents that the intensity of bedload flux was determined by the frequency of floods. Notably, the highest daily rates recorded in successive seasons accounted for 12–30% of the total bedload flux. Lastly, the multi-seasonal analysis showed a high spatio-temporal variability of the bedload transport rates, which resulted in changes not only in the channel but also on the entire surface of the alluvial fan morphology during floods.

The role of sediment supply in esker formation and ice tunnel evolution

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 50-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Burke ◽  
Tracy A. Brennand ◽  
Darren B. Sjogren
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Supply
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