Rivers in reverse: Upstream-migrating dechannelization and flooding cause avulsions on fluvial fans

The process of river avulsion builds floodplains and fills alluvial basins. We report on a new style of river avulsion identified in the Landsat satellite record. We found 69 examples of retrogradational avulsions on rivers of densely forested fluvial fans in the Andean and New Guinean alluvial basins. Retrogradational avulsions are initiated by a channel blockage, e.g., a logjam, that fills the channel with sediment and forces water overbank (dechannelization), which creates a chevron-shaped flooding pattern. Dechannelization waves travel upstream at a median rate of 387 m/yr and last on average for 13 yr; many rivers show multiple dechannelizing events on the same reach. Dechannelization ends and the avulsion is complete when the river finds a new flow path. We simulate upstreammigrating dechannelization with a one-dimensional morphodynamic model for open channel flow. Observations are consistent with model results and show that channel blockages can cause dechannelization on steep (10–2 to 10–3), low-discharge (~101 m3 s–1) rivers. This illustrates a new style of floodplain sedimentation that is unaccounted for in ecologic and stratigraphic models.

Transformation of different reaches of the Niida River (Japan) after extreme flood

Extreme floods can have different effects on the river bottom relief depending on several factors. The geomorphological impact of the extreme flood occurring in the Niida River basin (Fukushima prefecture, Honshu inland, Japan) on the channels and river bottom of different reaches of the river is analyzed. High-resolution satellite images and field assessments were used for quantitative evaluation of river bottom transformation which mainly occurred in the lower reach of the Niida river. The lower reach of the Niida River was divided on three subzones according the channel gradient changes. Each sub-zones is correspond with the dominance of a certain type of channel (straight, meandering and wandering). It was found that bank erosion exceeded in- channel deposition in 1,7-2,7 times for all types of river channel in the low reach located within the coastal floodplain. However, floodplain sedimentation is the most active processes for the river sections with meandering and wandering types of the river channel. Floodplain sedimentation exceed bank-erosion in 2.2 times for river sections with the meandering type of channel and in 2.9 time for the river sections with wandering type of channel. It was found that bank erosion exceeded in- channel deposition in 1,7-2,7 times for all types of river channel in the low reach located within the coastal floodplain. However, floodplain sedimentation is the most active processes for the river sections with meandering and wandering types of the river channel. Floodplain sedimentation exceed bankerosion in 2.2 times for river sections with the meandering type of channel and in 2.9 time for the river sections with wandering type of channel. The bank erosion exceeds floodplain deposition in 1,2 times only within the river sections with straight type of channel. Total sedimentation (in-channel + floodplain) in 2.6 times higher than bank erosion in the lower reach of the Niida River after extreme flood event with probability 4-5%.

Alluvial plain dynamics in the southern Amazonian foreland basin

Alluvial plains are formed with sediments that rivers deposit on the adjacent flood-basin, mainly through crevasse splays and avulsions. These result from a combination of processes, some of which push the river towards the crevasse threshold, while others act as triggers. Based on the floodplain sedimentation patterns of large rivers in the southern Amazonian foreland basin, it has been suggested that alluvial plain sediment accumulation is primarily the result of river crevasse splays and sheet sands triggered by above-normal precipitation events due to La Niña. However, more than 90 % of the Amazonian river network is made of small rivers and it is unknown whether small river floodplain sedimentation is influenced by the ENSO cycle as well. Using Landsat images from 1984 to 2014, here I analyse the behaviour of all 12 tributaries of the Río Mamoré with a catchment in the Andes. I show that these are very active rivers and that the frequency of crevasses is not linked to ENSO activity. The data suggest that most of the sediments eroded from the Andes by the tributaries of the Mamoré are deposited in the alluvial plains, before reaching the parent river. The mid-to-late Holocene paleo-channels of these rivers are located tens of kilometres further away from the Andes than the modern crevasses. I conclude that the frequency of crevasses is controlled by intrabasinal processes that act on a yearly to decadal timescale, while the average location of the crevasses is controlled by climatic or neo-tectonic events that act on a millennial scale. Finally, I discuss the implications of river dynamics on rural livelihoods and biodiversity in the Llanos de Moxos, a seasonally flooded savannah covering most of the southern Amazonian foreland basin and the world's largest RAMSAR site.

Alluvial plain dynamics in the southern Amazonian foreland basin

Alluvial plains are formed with sediments that rivers deposit on the adjacent flood-basin, mainly through crevasse splays and avulsions. These result from a combination of processes, some of which push the river towards the crevasse threshold, while others act as triggers. Based on the floodplain sedimentation patterns of large rivers in the southern Amazonian foreland basin, it has been suggested that alluvial plain sediment accumulation is primarily the result of river crevasse splays triggered by above normal precipitation events due to La Niña. However, more than 90 % of the Amazonian river network is made of small rivers and it is unknown whether small river floodplain sedimentation is influenced by the ENSO cycle as well. Using Landsat images from 1984 to 2014, here I analyse the behaviour of all the twelve tributaries of the Río Mamoré with a catchment in the Andes. I show that these are very active rivers and that the frequency of crevasses is not linked to ENSO activity. I found that most of the sediments eroded from the Andes by the tributaries of the Mamoré are deposited in the alluvial plains, before reaching the parent river. The mid- to late Holocene paleo-channels of these rivers are located tens of kilometres further away from the Andes than the modern crevasses. I conclude that the frequency of crevasses is controlled by intrabasinal processes that act on a year to decade time scale, while the average location of the crevasses is controlled by climatic or neo-tectonic events that act on a millennial scale. Finally, I discuss the implications of river dynamics on rural livelihoods and biodiversity in the Llanos de Moxos, a seasonally flooded savannah covering most of the southern Amazonian foreland basin and the world's largest RAMSAR site.

Using fallout radionuclides to investigate recent overbank sedimentation rates on river floodplains: an overview

Information on rates of overbank sedimentation on river floodplains is needed for a variety of purposes. Use of 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements provides an effective means of estimating medium-term floodplain sedimentation rates and that approach has now been successfully used in many areas of the world. This contribution reviews the use of 137Cs and 210Pbex measurements in floodplain sedimentation investigations and discusses some of the important sampling requirements and key issues associated with interpreting the measurements, and subsequently deriving reliable estimates of sedimentation rates. The potential use of other radionuclides, including 241Am, 238,239+240Pu, and 7Be is considered, and the advantages of using two or more radionuclides, in combination, is highlighted.