Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Hudson Fluvial Depositional Processes and Landforms AAG PDF
Hudson Fluvial Depositional Processes and Landforms AAG PDF
net/publication/318351094
CITATIONS READS
0 1,550
1 author:
Paul F. Hudson
Leiden University
57 PUBLICATIONS 842 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Paul F. Hudson on 11 November 2017.
2
F L U V I A L DEPOS ITIONA L PROC ES S ES AND L A ND F OR MS
during the moment of deposition. The transi- bar deposits are heavily exploited for aggregate,
tion to upper flow regime (Froude number >1) especially for construction of urban areas and
includes upstream migrating antidunes, which associated transportation infrastructure.
are rarely preserved in the sedimentary record
(Bridge 2003). Between low and high flow
stage, ripples and dunes provide sedimentologic
Overbank sedimentary processes
evidence of recent events and the hydraulics of Overbank sedimentation is an important mecha-
sedimentation. Phases of point bar deposition nism for floodplain creation. Overbank deposits
can often be distinguished by thin (≈1–3 mm) bury coarse-grained channel bar deposits, and
“clay drapes,” consisting of fine-grained cohesive in especially wide valleys cohesive fine-grained
wash load sediments deposited during slackwa- backswamp deposits constitute a considerable
ter conditions during the waning stage of the proportion of overall accommodation space.
discharge hydrograph. In addition to backswamps, other fluvial sedi-
mentary features formed by overbank processes
include natural levees, crevasses, and infilled
Channel bars
channels (Bridge 2003).
Channel bars develop as ripples and dunes are Overbank sedimentation includes coarse sed-
successively deposited along the flanks of shallow iment (sand/coarse silt) transported as bedload
channel margins, resulting in lateral accretion. and fine-grained sediment transported in sus-
The process of lateral channel bar aggradation pension, especially wash load (clay/fine silt).
results in a distinctive fining-up trend in particle Although large floods receive a great deal of
size, and is consistent with the concept of helical attention from the standpoint of hydrology, sed-
flow and a laterally migrating channel, which is a imentologically there is no relationship between
key sedimentary signature to identify past fluvial flood magnitude and the rate of floodplain
processes. The development of point bars within sedimentation. Individual flood deposits vary in
meandering rivers is among the most studied thickness from millimeters to as much as half a
sedimentary features. Under an assumption of meter, exhibiting pronounced lateral fining in
equilibrium, alternating channel bars and point thickness and particle size with distance from the
bars adjust in association with lateral migration active channel. Overbank flow velocity rapidly
and maintain a consistent size and morphology. decreases upon exiting the channel. This causes
Bar deposits represent the largest percentage sand and coarse silt to fall out of suspension
of overall accommodation space within a river and to be deposited along the channel margins,
valley. The recognition of floodplains infilled or transported across the floodplain as bedload,
with channel bar deposits is an important indi- which may then be preserved as dunes and rip-
cation of former channel activity, which may ples as flow conditions transition from upper to
provide evidence for prior hydroclimatic con- lower flow regime (Bridge 2003). The distance
ditions. Coarse-grained floodplain deposits are that coarser sediments are transported across the
important natural resources which are heav- floodplain surface as bedload is controlled by
ily exploited by humans. Within dry regions, local floodplain hydraulics, which are influenced
floodplain agriculture is often dependent upon by the floodplain topography, the growth of veg-
alluvial aquifers for irrigation, particularly etation, and floodplain hydrology. The overbank
during extended low-flow conditions. Channel sedimentation process can be further considered
3
F L U VI AL DEP O SI TI O NA L P RO C E S S E S AN D L A ND F OR MS
based on whether advective or turbulent diffusive size, with coarse sediments associated with steep
processes are dominant (Pizzuto 1987). Turbu- natural levees while fine-grained sediments are
lent diffusive processes occur when floodplain more associated with broad low sloping natural
basins (e.g., backswamps) are inundated prior levees (Cazanacli and Smith 1996). Along a given
to the river being overbank. This produces a river reach, the largest natural levees are located
steep suspended sediment concentration gra- at the outside of meander bends, suggesting the
dient across the floodplain, and induces abrupt reworking of floodplain deposits during large
sedimentation and high amounts of coarse events, but also that crevasse mechanisms are
sediment to be deposited along the channel important to natural levee development. In the
margins. Advective sedimentation occurs when case of laterally stable channels, minor natural
the river floods an otherwise dry floodplain, levees may form on the inside of meander bends
and enables coarser suspended sediment to be (burying point bar deposits). Along a river, the
transported further from the channel margins. size of natural levees increases downstream of
Along the distant margins of natural levees and tributaries, especially with a large increase in
in backswamps, slackwater deposition of clay is discharge and sediment load. Natural levees are
the dominant mode of sedimentation and results largest towards the lower reaches of large coastal
in thin clay laminations perhaps a millimeter in plain alluvial valleys, but then decrease in size as
thickness (Aalto et al. 2003). they flow within deltaic settings and sediment
load is exhausted (Hudson and Heitmuller 2003).
From the standpoint of humans, natural levees
Natural levees are among the most important landforms within
Natural levees represent the aggregate con- an active floodplain, as their higher surface and
struction of numerous individual sedimentation permeable soils permit settlement and, especially,
events and require hundreds of years to form. agricultural activities with minimal flood risk.
Natural levees form along channel-floodplain
margins and slope towards floodplain bottoms.
Crevasse splays
Natural levees are located along meandering,
braided, anastomosing, estuarine, crevasse, and A crevasse is formed during overbank conditions
distributary channels of alluvial fans and deltas. because of flood waters scouring a trough into
They are especially associated with flood-prone the channel bank. A crevasse splay is a fan-shaped
rivers dominated by suspended sediment trans- deposit with an axial scour channel extending at
port, and coastal plain meandering rivers in a tangent from the main river channel and natural
particular. The size (height and width) of natural levee crest, along the outside of a meander bend
levees is related to flood stage variability and the (Bridge 2003). Crevasses have a dendritic pattern
available sediment for construction (Cazanacli because of smaller bifurcating channels, which
and Smith 1996). The stratigraphy of natural are primarily depositional. Sediment is deposited
levees at cutbanks includes individual strata com- mainly by sheet wash, and includes minor
monly ranging from 1 cm to 10 cm in thickness, natural levees formed along the banks of the
decreasing in thickness with distance from the larger secondary channels (Cazanacli and Smith
active channel bank. 1996). Crevasses are important mechanisms
The slopes of natural levees between the for distributing coarse sediments from high-
channel and flood basins are related to sediment energy settings to low-energy settings, which are
4
F L U V I A L DEPOS ITIONA L PROC ES S ES AND L A ND F OR MS
otherwise dominated by fine-grained cohesive material obtained from field coring is a common
deposits. The formation of crevasses is especially approach to identifying the timing of past river
associated with flood duration, although flood channel changes, as well as paleoflood history.
frequency is also important. Infilled channels exist within active meander
Crevasse splays provide an indication of the belts, but are also preserved in abandoned mean-
flood activity of a river, and in remote locations der belts. The timescales for channel infilling
should be seen as a good indicator of flood depend greatly on the main-stem sediment load
hazards. In regions with considerable economic and flood regime, as well as on the floodplain
and human welfare interests, river management topography and distance of the old channel
agencies are tasked with managing crevasses. from the active channel. Over long periods
Restoration of floodplain ecosystem services (10−3 years) infilled deposits become compacted
along some lowland rivers includes the explicit and dense, and form clay plugs. Old clay plugs,
breaching of river dikes during flood events however, have contemporary relevance because
to simulate crevasse processes. The ensuing of being resistant to bank erosion, which thereby
hydrologic and topographic variability restores influences subsequent patterns of river meander-
important elements of a river’s geodiversity, stim- ing. The presence of hard clay plugs is especially
ulating biogeographic complexity (Florsheim common where an active channel is reworking
and Mount 2003). The recognition of distal an older channel belt, and should be considered
floodplain sedimentation by crevasse-like pro- in the development of channel engineering and
cesses is especially important in rivers with a bank protection management plans.
high flood duration, such as humid tropical rivers
which undergo an extended season of floodplain
inundation. In such cases, crevasses continue
Backswamps
to deliver large amounts of coarse silts to flood Beyond the limits of coarse sediment delivery,
basins within a network of interconnected overbank flooding results in the transport and
floodplain channels (e.g., Aalto et al. 2003). accumulation of thick fine-grained cohesive
deposits. Backswamps are usually associated
with larger river valleys which have sufficient
Infilled channels
accommodation space to store old deposits,
Many floodplains contain evidence of past river and which are distal enough from the active
channel dynamics in the form of old channels, channel that they are dominated by low-energy
including abandoned river courses, meander cut- conditions and fine-grained sedimentation for
offs, and sloughs. Old channels become infilled extended periods (10−3 years). Sedimentation
with overbank deposits, primarily fine-grained is dominated by the deposition of wash load
cohesive deposits. Sedimentologically, these are sediments (fine silt/clay) within a slackwater
often termed “clay plugs,” especially infilled environment. The presence of “stringers” of
oxbow lakes. This is somewhat of an oversim- coarser sediments (silt/fine sand) transported by
plification, however, as most infilled channels prior large flood events is occasionally noted
also contain lenses of coarser deposits (fine sand in deep floodplain corings. The thickness of
and coarse silt) which provide an indication backswamp deposits varies mainly according to
of the frequency of prior flood events, espe- the size (depth and width) of the river valley, but
cially large floods. Radiocarbon dating organic commonly exceeds 10 m (Bridge 2003).
5
F L U VI AL DEP O SI TI O NA L P RO C E S S E S AN D L A ND F OR MS
6
F L U V I A L DEPOS ITIONA L PROC ES S ES AND L A ND F OR MS
persistent – ideas concerning the origin of river mouth, which abruptly results in sedi-
terraces attempted to “fit” each specific fluvial ment sorting and deposition. Sediment sorting
terrace to a glacial cycle, an idea that originated at the river mouth produces deltaic sedi-
in central Europe with the study of Rhine River mentary facies comprising three distinctive
terraces in relation to glaciation in the Alps. This depositional units: (i) bottom-set – horizontal
conceptual framework was also applied in North bedding consisting of soft fine-grained cohesive
America, especially in relation to continental deposits derived from the suspended load;
ice sheets, sea level fluctuation, and Mississippi (ii) fore-set – inclined bedding consisting of
River terraces. Modern ideas concerning the coarse-grained deposits derived from bedload;
origin of river terraces recognize a greater range and (iii) top-set – horizontal bedding consisting
of climatic variability across the oxygen isotope of medium- to fine-grained deposits derived
record, changes in sediment load, and especially from overbank processes with organic material
tectonic controls. representative of wetland and marsh environ-
ments (Bridge 2003). Continued river mouth
progradation results in dense coarse-grained
Fluvial deltas fore-set bedding burying and compacting soft
bottom-set bedding, producing a distinctive
Deltas form at the terminus of a watershed coarsening-up vertical sedimentary sequence
where a river discharges into a standing body of which defines deltaic facies.
water, and result in coastal environments with
considerable geomorphic and biological diver-
sity. The classification of deltas is based upon Floodplain deposits and pedogenesis
their morphology, which primarily relates to
their planform geometry. The shape of a delta is Understanding the development of floodplain
determined by the style of deltaic sedimentation, soils in relation to sedimentary parent material
with three controls on sedimentation being tides, requires consideration of sediment structure,
waves, and fluvial regime, with the latter control floodplain hydrology, weathering, and bioturba-
being defined by river discharge and sediment tion. The length of time for which sedimentary
load. Fluvial deltas are located within lakes and structure is preserved depends not only on pri-
marine settings having low wave energy or tidal mary sedimentology, particle size, and bedding,
range relative to fluvial inputs. Fluvial deltas are but also on pedogenic regime. Floodplains are
characterized by an elongated channel, which is often considered a single depositional envi-
formed as a prograding river mouth advances into ronment, but pedogenic characteristics vary
a receiving basin. Fluvial delta evolution occurs spatially, away from the channel. A soil catena,
in association with river mouth progradation, for example, may occur along the natural levee
and especially includes river mouth bifurcation profile, which represents a systemic topographic
and the formation of distributary branches transition from higher well-drained channel bank
and subdeltas created by crevasse events during margin to lower and poorly drained backswamps.
flooding, which collectively form a delta lobe. Sandy sediment structure is usually preserved
The process of delta lobe formation is ini- longer than fine-grained muddy bedding,
tiated upon the debouching of sediment at a with individual sedimentary laminae possibly
7
F L U VI AL DEP O SI TI O NA L P RO C E S S E S AN D L A ND F OR MS
destroyed after a year or so because of bio- fundamental controls influencing Earth’s fluvial
turbation by plants and burrowing organisms, sedimentary processes.
especially in the humid tropics. Soils developing
on thicker, sandier, and well-drained surfaces
of channel bars and natural levee crests fre- SEE ALSO: Fluvial erosional processes and
quently have oxidized and leached horizons with landforms; Geomorphic hazards;
abundant manganese nodules and iron oxide Geomorphological mapping and geospatial
stains. These soils may have medium to stiff, technology; Rivers and streams; Water resources
and hydrological management
mottled gray, tan, and brown silty clay, sandy
clay, or silty sand, and overlay darker fine-grained
soils with considerable organic matter, devel- References
oped in floodplain bottoms. The most common
soil profile along a channel cutbank is an A-C Aalto, R., L. Maurice-Bourgoin, T. Dunne,
horizon, which occurs because of insufficient et al. 2003. “Episodic Sediment Accumula-
time for eluvial (E) or illuvial (B) horizons to tion on Amazonian Flood Plains Influenced by
develop. High rates of overbank sedimentation El Niño/Southern Oscillation.” Nature 425:
result in floodplain topsoil typically lacking dark 493–497.
organic matter. With increasing distance from Bridge, J.S. 2003. Rivers and Floodplains: Forms, Pro-
the active channel, however, the maturity of cesses, and Sedimentary Record. Oxford: Blackwell.
Cazanacli, D., and N.D. Smith. 1996. “A Study of
soils increases, as does bioturbation. Soils within
Morphology and Texture of Natural Levees –
poorly drained flood basins typically lack strat- Cumberland Marshes, Saskatchewan, Canada.”
ification and have better developed illuvial (Bt) Geomorphology, 25(1–2): 43–55.
horizons. Backswamp soils are frequently gleyed Florsheim, J.L., and J.M. Mount. 2003. “Changes
(iron reduction) because of a persistent high in Lowland Floodplain Sedimentation Processes:
water table. In the case of a high water table, Pre-disturbance to Post-rehabilitation, Cosumnes
the plant root zone is near the surface, whereas River, CA.” Geomorphology, 56(3–4): 305–323.
in floodplains with high seasonal fluctuation Gomez, B. 2006. “The Potential Rate of Bed-Load
Transport.” Proceedings of the National Academy of
in the water table the root zone extends much
Sciences USA, 103(46): 17170–17173.
deeper, which reduces the preservation of thinly Harvey, A.M. 2002. “The Role of Base-Level Change
laminated sedimentary structure. in the Dissection of Alluvial Fans: Case Studies
from Southeast Spain and Nevada.” Geomorphology,
45(1–2): 67–87.
Conclusions Hudson, P.F., and F.T. Heitmuller. 2003. “Local- and
Watershed-Scale Controls on the Spatial Variability
Fluvial deposits are associated with a diverse of Natural Levee Deposits in a Large Fine-Grained
range of surficial environments and have been Floodplain: Lower Pánuco Basin, Mexico.” Geo-
morphology, 56(3–4): 255–269.
important to humans for millennia for settle-
Nanson, G.C., and J.C. Croke. 1992. “A Genetic
ment, agriculture, and natural resources. Because Classification of Floodplains.” Geomorphology, 4(6):
of their sensitivity to climatic and anthropogenic 459–486.
influences, in an era of global environmental Pizzuto, J.E. 1987. “Sediment Diffusion during Over-
change it remains essential to understand the bank Flows.” Sedimentology, 34(2): 301–317.
8
F L U V I A L DEPOS ITIONA L PROC ES S ES AND L A ND F OR MS