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1.
《国际泥沙研究》2020,35(6):609-620
The fluvial geomorphology in tectonically active (particularly rapid uplift) regions often undergoes continuous change. The rapid uplift is coincident with high erosion rates; consequently, incised valleys are formed. Mass flows (for example, avalanches, landslides, and debris flows) in incised valleys can markedly influence fluvial processes and even reshape valley geomorphology. However, these processes and long-term evolution corresponding to mass flows require further clarification. Field campaigns were carried out in the region near the Yigong Tsangpo and Palong Tsangpo Rivers (hereafter the Yigong and Palong Rivers), the two largest tributaries of the lower Yarlung Tsangpo River, to examine the feedback between fluvial processes and mass flows. Remote sensing images from recent decades were used to compare the channel morphology before and after typical mass flows (particularly catastrophic ones). The morphology of the lower Yigong River has evidently been impacted by landslides, while that of the Palong River has mainly been shaped by glacial processes and debris flows. At present, the morphology of the latter consists of alternating sections of gorges and wide valleys, with a staircase-like longitudinal profile. The gorge sections exhibit single and deeply incised channels with a high-gradient channel bed and terraces. In contrast, the wide valley sections consist of lakes, braided or anabranching channels, gentle bed gradients, and thick alluvial deposits. Debris flows occur more frequently in gullies in the reaches of the gorge sections and rarely in gullies along the wide valley sections. The occurrence of mass flow events has resulted in an imbalance of the previous (quasi-)equilibrium in the river morphology; however, this has triggered negative feedback that is driving the transient river morphology to a new state of (quasi-)equilibrium.  相似文献   

2.
Epigenetic gorges form when channels that have been laterally displaced during episodes of river blockage or aggradation incise down into bedrock spurs or side‐walls of the former valley rather than excavating unconsolidated fills and reinhabiting the buried paleovalley. Valley‐filling events that promote epigenetic gorges can be localized, such as a landslide dam or an alluvial/debris flow fan deposit at a tributary junction, or widespread, such as fluvial aggradation in response to climate change or fluctuating base‐level. The formation of epigenetic gorges depends upon the competition between the resistance to transport, strength and roughness of valley‐filling sediments and a river's ability to sculpt and incise bedrock. The former affects the location and lateral mobility of a channel incising into valley‐filling deposits; the latter determines rates of bedrock incision should the path of the incising channel intersect with bedrock that is not the paleovalley bottom. Epigenetic gorge incision, by definition, post‐dates the incision that originally cut the valley. Strath terraces and sculpted bedrock walls that form in relation to epigenetic gorges should not be used to directly infer river incision induced by tectonic activity or climate variability. Rather, they are indicative of the variability of short‐term bedrock river incision and autogenic dynamics of actively incising fluvial landscapes. The rate of bedrock incision associated with an epigenetic gorge can be very high (>1 cm/yr), typically orders of magnitude higher than both short‐ and long‐term landscape denudation rates. In the context of bedrock river incision and landscape evolution, epigenetic gorges force rivers to incise more bedrock, slowing long‐term incision and delaying the adjustment of rivers to regional tectonic and climatic forcing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

3.
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.  相似文献   

4.
Weichselian geomorphological and fluvial evolution has been recorded in the valley fill of the Reusel, a small tributary of the lower Maas river. It has been studied by means of borehole sections. A first deep incision into the substratum occurred during the Early Weichselian-Lower Pleniglacial. This was followed by aggradation, at first by a braided river, at a later date by a meandering river, dating respectively from the Lower and Middle Pleniglacial. The Upper Pleniglacial aggradation again points to a braided river system. The end of the Pleniglacial is characterized by aeolian infilling of the valley and decreasing carrying capacity of the river.  相似文献   

5.
Geospatial techniques play a crucial role in geomorphic studies, particularly in the challenging terrains like mountainous regions, inaccessible areas and densely vegetated landscapes, where geomorphic features cannot be recorded easily. Tectono-geomorphologic observations provide important clues regarding the landscape evolution, morpho-dynamics and ongoing tectonism of the region. The present study has been carried out in the Zanskar Basin (ZB), located to the south of the Indus Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ), in the hinterland of the NW Himalaya. This study has been carried out to assess and evaluate active tectonics by employing tectono-geomorphic analysis, dynamics in drainage networks, geomorphological field observations and the Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. High-resolution satellite images, topographic maps and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) were used to generate primary data sets, which were corroborated with field investigations for valid inferences. The geometry of the ZB suggests that continuous tectonic activity exerts first-order control on the overall shape, size and structure of the ZB. This first-order response is clearly reflected in the landforms modified by tectonic processes, namely, linear mountain fronts, elongated shape and tilting of the basin, braided and meandering river courses and lower stream length gradient index values in hard rock terrain. The ZB exhibits several eye-catching geomorphic features, such as well-defined triangular facets with wide base lengths and wine-glass valleys with small outlets along the footwall block of the Zanskar Shear Zone/South Tibetan Detachment System (ZSZ/STDS), as well as the presence of wind gaps, water gaps, bedrock incision, incised and entrenched valleys, narrow gorges and a high incision rate inferring active tectonics and recent uplift in the region. In addition, the existence of uplifted river terraces, as well as the stepped morphology of fans and strath terraces, suggests that the region is experiencing recent activity and ongoing tectonic uplift. These modified geomorphic characteristics suggest that the hinterland, which is part of the NW Himalaya, is tectonically quite active and has experienced a differential rate of tectonics during its evolution. The quantified geomorphic indices and their relations with the tectonics, climate and erosion activity infer that the basin geometry is mostly controlled by the ZSZ/STDS that dips 20°–70° NE, the south-dipping Zanskar Counter Thrust (ZCT) and other local tectonic elements like the Choksti Thrust (CT), Stondgey Thrust, Zangla Thrust and tectonic structures. The synergised results of quantified geomorphic indices and tectono-geomorphic evidence in the ZB strongly indicate that both the past and ongoing tectonism have significantly shaped and modified geomorphology of the ZB.  相似文献   

6.
Quantifying rates of river incision and continental uplift over Quaternary timescales offer the potential for modelling landscape change due to tectonic and climatic forcing. In many areas, river terraces form datable archives that help constrain the timing and rate of valley incision. However, old river terraces, with high-level deposits, are prone to weathering and often lack datable material. Where valleys are incised through karst areas, caves and sediments can be used to reconstruct the landscape evolution because they can record the elevation of palaeo-water tables and contain preserved datable material. In Normandy (N. France), the Seine River is entrenched into an extensive karstic chalk plateau. Previous estimates of valley incision were hampered by the lack of preserved datable fluvial terraces. A stack of abandoned phreatic cave passages preserved in the sides of the Seine valley can be used to reconstruct the landscape evolution of the region. Combining geomorphological observations, palaeomagnetic and U/Th dating of speleothem and sediments in eight caves along the Lower Seine valley, we have constructed a new age model for cave development and valley incision. Six identified cave levels up to ∼100 m a.s.l. were formed during the last ~1 Ma, coeval with the incision of the Seine River. Passage morphologies indicate that the caves formed in a shallow phreatic/epiphreatic setting, modified by sediment influxes. The valley's maximum age is constrained by the occurrence of late Pliocene marine sand. Palaeomagnetic dating of cave infills indicates that the highest-level caves were being infilled prior to 1.1 Ma. The evidence from the studied caves, complemented by fluvial terrace sequences, indicates that rapid river incision occurred during marine isotope stage (MIS) 28 to 20 (0.8–1 Ma), with maximal rates of ~0.30 m ka−1, dropping to ~0.08 m ka−1 between MIS 20–11 (0.8–0.4 Ma) and 0.05 m ka−1 from MIS 5 to the present time. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

7.
Anabranching rivers evolve in various geomorphic settings and various river planforms are present within these multi‐channel systems. In some cases, anabranches develop meandering patterns. Such river courses existed in Europe prior to intensive hydro‐technical works carried out during the last 250 years. Proglacial stream valleys, inherited from the last glaciation, provided a suitable environment for the development of anabranching rivers (wide valleys floors with abundant sand deposits). The main objective of the present study is to reconstruct the formation of an anabranching river planform characterized by meandering anabranches. Based on geophysical and geological data obtained from field research and a reconstruction of palaeodischarges, a model of the evolution of an anabranching river formed in a sandy floodplain is proposed. It is demonstrated that such a river system evolves from a meandering to an anabranching planform in periods of high flows that contribute to the formation of crevasse splays. The splay channels evolve then into new meandering flow paths that form ‘second‐order’ crevasses, avulsions and cutoffs. The efficiency of the flow is maintained by the formation of cutoffs and avulsions preventing the development of high sinuosity channels, and redirecting the flow to newly formed channels during maximum flow events. A comparison with other anabranching systems revealed that increased discharges and sediment loads are capable of forming anabranching planforms both in dryland and temperate climate zones. The sediment type available for transport, often inherited from older sedimentary environments, is an important variable determining whether the channel planform is anabranching, with actively migrating channels, or anastomosing, with stable, straight or sinuous branches. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

8.
In analytical and numerical models of river meandering, initiation of meandering typically occurs uniformly along the streamwise coordinate in the channel. Based on a historical analysis of the Nierskanaal, here we show how and under which circumstances meandering has initiated in isolated sections of a channel. The Nierskanaal was constructed by the end of the 18th century, as a straight channel between the river Niers and the river Meuse. The purpose of this measure was to reduce flood risk in the downstream reaches of the river Niers. The banks on the Dutch part of the channel were left unprotected and developed into a morphodynamically active channel, featuring a meandering planform and valley incision. The planform development and incision process is analysed using topographic maps and airborne LiDAR data. Meandering initiated in three sections of the channel, where the channel sinuosity developed asynchronously. Sedimentary successions in the study area show layers of iron oxide, indicating groundwater seepage from aeolian river dunes and river deposits located nearby. Only at the spots where meandering has initiated iron oxide is found close to the surface level. This provides a clue that seepage triggered bank erosion by increasing moisture content of the banks. The isolated meandering sections expanded in the longitudinal direction. Valley incision has developed in the first decades after the construction of the channel, and diminished after a gravel layer was reached. Gravel was deposited in the downstream half of the channel bed, acting as an armouring layer. The spatial variation in meandering behaviour, as observed in the Nierskanaal, justifies efforts to implement the influence of floodplain heterogeneity and the effect of seepage on bank erosion in meander models. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
The Matera Horst (“Murgia materana”) is included in the Apulian plateau, basically formed by Mesozoic shallow-water carbonates. The zone is located in a present-day temperate belt and form a flat-topped morphostructural large element inside the foreland area of the southern Apennines. This horst is bordered by high-angle faults and surrounded by downthrown blocks covered by Plio-Quaternary marine and alluvial sediments. The structural high experienced several morphological cycles from Miocene to Quaternary. In particular, three evolutionary stages can be recognized at least. The first stage is currently represented by relics of a flat erosional landscape at the top of the relieves. The second one is testified by gentle slopes with wide glacis at the foothills, locally covered by coarse waste deposits. During the third stage a series of marine terraces formed and a drainage system developed creating both bland valleys and well-defined channels and gorges. The latter streams deeply carve the Cretaceous limestone of the Matera Horst for they represent the morphological response to the tectonic uplift of the area and clearly post-date the former features. Since the fluvial net took place on Pleistocene covers, later widely eroded, it is possible to conclude that the major part of the Matera Horst drainage system represents a good example of superimposition. However, low order streams and segments of major rivers appear to be structurally controlled, as suggested by comparison with the fracture system. Further, also open synclines and gently steeped flexures may locally exert a driving control on minor streams. These apparently conflicting genetic hypotheses can be explained by the role of exhumation of inherited structures of the bedrock in add to a constant interplay between tectonics, erosion and drainage evolution during Quaternary times.  相似文献   

10.
Anticipating geomorphic tipping points requires that we learn from the past. Major geomorphic changes in coastal plain rivers of Texas resulting in river metamorphosis or regime shifts were identified and the major driving factors determined. Eleven such transformations – possible tipping points – were identified from contemporary observations, historical records, and Quaternary reconstructions. Two of the tipping points (between general aggrading and degrading valley states) are associated with reversals in a fundamental system control (sea‐level). One (stable or aggrading versus degrading channels) is associated with an abrupt change in sediment supply due to dam construction, and two others (changes from meandering to anastomosing channel patterns, and different anastomosis styles) are similarly related to changes in sediment supply and/or transport capacity, but with additional elements of historical contingency. Three tipping points are related to avulsions. One, from a regime dominated by re‐occupation of former channels to one dominated by progradation into flood basins, is driven by progressive long‐term filling of incised valleys. Another, nodal avulsions, is triggered by disturbances associated with tectonic uplift or listric faults. The third, avulsions and related valley metamorphosis in unfilled incised valleys, is due to fundamental dynamical instabilities within the fluvial system. This synthesis and analysis suggests that geomorphic tipping points are sometimes associated with general extrinsic or intrinsic (to the fluvial system) environmental change, independent of any disturbances or instabilities. Others are associated with natural (e.g. tectonic) or human (dams) disturbances, and still others with intrinsic geomorphic instabilities. This suggests future tipping points will be equally diverse with respect to their drivers and dynamics. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

11.
Active and semi‐active anastomosing Holocene channels upstream of the delta in the lower valley of the meandering Neches River in southeast Texas represent several morphologically distinct and hydrologically independent channel systems. These appear to have a common origin as multi‐thread crevasse channels strongly influenced by antecedent morphology. Levee breaching leads to steeper cross‐valley flows toward floodplain basins associated with Pleistocene meander scars, creating multi‐thread channels that persist due to additional tributary contributions and ground water inputs. Results are consistent with the notion of plural systems where main channels, tributaries, and sub‐channels may have different morphologies and hydrogeomorphic functions. The adjacent Trinity and Sabine Rivers have similar environmental controls, yet the Trinity lacks evidence of extensive anastomosing channels on its floodplain, and those of the Sabine appear to be of different origin. The paper highlights the effects of geographical and historical contingency and hydrological idiosyncrasy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

12.
Air photo interpretation and field survey were used to examine rates and patterns of planform change over the last 40 years on an 80 km reach of the Luangwa River, Zambia. The river, a tributary of the Zambezi, is a 100–200 m wide, medium sinuosity sand‐bed river (sinuosity index 1·84). High rates of channel migration (<33 m a−1) and cutoffs on meandering sections are frequent. Some meandering reaches, however, have remained relatively stable. A form of anastomosing with anabranches up to 14 km in length is also a characteristic. Patterns of meander development vary between bends but all can be described in relation to traditional geomorphic models; change occurs by translation, rotation, double‐heading, concave bank bench formation and cutoff causing river realignment. At the local scale spatial variability in bank resistance, induced by floodplain sedimentology, controls rate of bank erosion, and valley‐side channel ‘deflection’ is also apparent. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

13.
The middle Amazon River, between the confluences of the Negro and Madeira Rivers in Brazil, shows an anastomosing morphology with relatively stable, multiple interconnected channels that locally enclose floodbasins. Additionally, this system is characterized by sinuous secondary channels with meander development, discontinuous natural levees concentrated on the concave banks and extensively distributed scroll bars mainly in the islands, related to subrecent and present‐day migration of mainly secondary channels. This distinguishes the Amazon from many other anastomosing rivers that have laterally stable, non‐meandering channels. We analyzed sedimentary processes using field data, morphology and channel changes trough a temporal analysis using remote sensing data and obtained optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to understand the genesis of this large anastomosing river and the development of its meandering secondary channels. Scroll bars have developed in a multichannel river system at least since 7.5 ± 0.85 ka. Avulsion is inferred to have played a minor role in the formation of this anastomosing system, with only one documented case while mid‐channel bar formation and chute cut‐offs of the main and secondary channels are the main formative mechanisms of anastomosis in this system. Differences in resistance to erosion control the relatively straight main channel and allow secondary channels to develop a meandering platform. Vegetation contributes to the relative stability of islands and the floodplain. Low gradient and high average aggradation rate (1.1 mm yr?1) are conditions which favor the development of anastomosis. Additionally, stable external conditions, low abandonment rate of older channels and independence from high avulsion frequency suggest a long‐lived, semi‐static type of anastomosing river in this reach of the Amazon. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

14.
Least action principle (LAP) in rivers is demonstrated by maximum flow efficiency (MFE) and is the foundation of variational mechanics based on energy and work rather than Newtonian force and momentum. Empirical evidence shows it to be the primary control for the adjustment of alluvial channels. Because most rivers flow with imposed water and sediment loads down valley gradients they have largely inherited, they self‐regulate energy expenditure to match the work they are required to do to remain stable. Overpowered systems develop a variety of channel patterns to expend excess energy and remain stable. Australia offers an opportunity to study low‐energy rivers closely adjusted to very low continental gradients. The anabranching Marshall and single‐thread Plenty Rivers flow down nearly straight channels with average H numbers [ratio between excess bed shear and width/depth (W/D) ratio] close to the optimum of 0.3 for stationary equilibrium. Ridge‐form divisions of the original channel width create anabranches that radically alter W/D ratios relative to bed shear, the same being true for short‐wide islands on the large low‐gradient Yangtze River in China. In contrast, Mount Chambers Creek in Australia's tectonically more active Flinders Ranges is accreting an alluvial fan with unstable distributary channels exhibiting H numbers well below the optimum. LAP also explains profound biases in Earth's stratigraphic record. Because meandering is an energy‐shedding mechanism, sinuous rivers sequester relatively little sediment resulting in all sequences being just a few tens of metres thick. In contrast, low‐energy braided disequilibrium systems can sequester sediment piles over a kilometre in thickness and tens of kilometres wide. LAP provides a new paradigm for river research by identifying the attractor state controlling river channel evolution. It links advances in theoretical physics to fluvial geomorphology, stratigraphy and hydraulic engineering and opens opportunities for diverse investigations in Earth system science. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

15.
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.  相似文献   

16.
Meandering channels and valleys are dominant landscape features on Earth. Their morphology and remnants potentially indicate past base-level fluctuations and changing regional slopes. The prevailing presence of meandering segments in low-slope areas somewhat confuses the physically based relationships between slope and channel meandering. This relationship underlies a fundamental debate: do incised sinuous channels actively develop during steepening of a regional slope, or do they inherit the planform of a preexisting sinuous channel through vertical incision? This question was previously explored through reconstructed evolution of meandering rivers, numerical simulations, and controlled, scaled-down laboratory experiments. Here, we study a rare, field-scale set of a dozen adjacent perennial channels, evolving in recent decades in a homogeneous erodible substrate in response to the Dead Sea level fall (> 30 m over 40 years). These channels are fed by perennial springs and have no drainage basin or previous fluvial history; they initiated straight and transformed into incising meandering channels following the emergence of the preexisting lake bathymetry, which resulted in increased channel lengths and regional slopes at different rates for each channel. This field setting allows testing the impact of changing regional slope on the sinuosity of a stream in the following cases: (a) relatively long and low-gradient shelf-like margins, (b) a sharp increase in the basinward gradient at the shelf-slope transition, and (c) gradually steepening slopes. Under a stable and low valley slope, the channels mainly incise vertically, inheriting a preexisting sinuous pattern. When the regional slope steepens, the channels start to meander, accompanying the vertical incision. The highest sinuosity evolved in the steepest channel, which also developed the deepest and widest valley. These results emphasize the amplifying impact of steepening regional slope on sinuosity. This holds when the flow is confined and chute cutoffs are scarce.  相似文献   

17.
Floodplains and terraces in river valleys play important roles in the transport dynamics of water and sediment. While flat areas in river valleys can be identified from LiDAR data, directly characterizing them as either floodplain or terraces is not yet possible. To address this challenge, we hypothesize that, since geomorphic features are strongly coupled to hydrological and hydraulic dynamics and their associated variability, there exists a return frequency, or possibly a narrow band of return frequencies, of flow that is associated with floodplain formation; and this association can provide a distinctive signature for distinguishing them from terraces. Based on this hypothesis we develop a novel approach for distinguishing between floodplains and terraces that involves transforming the transverse cross‐sectional geometry of a river valley into a curve, named a river valley hypsometric (RVH) curve, and linking hydraulic inundation frequency with the features of this curve. Our approach establishes that the demarcation between floodplains and terraces can be established from the structure of steps and risers in the RVH curves which can be obtained from the DEM data. Further, it shows that these transitions may themselves be shaped by floods with 10‐ to 100‐year recurrence. We additionally show that, when floodplain width and height (above channel bottom) are normalized by bankfull width and depth, the ratio lies in a narrow range independent of the scale of the river valley. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

18.
River meandering has been successfully modelled using vector based methods, but these can not simulate multiple or braided channels. Conversely, cellular braided river models fail to replicate meandering. This paper describes a new method to simulate river meandering within a cellular model (CAESAR). A novel technique for determining bend radius of curvature on a cell by cell basis is described, that importantly allows regional information on bend curvature to be transferred to local points. This local curvature is then used to drive meandering and lateral erosion through two methods. Key difficulties are identified, including the deposition of material on point bars and cut off development, but the method illustrates how meandering can be integrated within a cellular framework. This demonstrates the potential to produce a single model that can incorporate both meandering and braiding. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

19.
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.  相似文献   

20.
There are 18 gullies displaying sinistral contortions to different degrees along the western terminal segment about 10 km long of the active Daqingshan piedmont fault near the Donghe District, Baotou City. The contortion amount of gullies ranges from 20 m to 300 m. The contortion and length of the gullies are in direct proportion. The relation between piedmont terraces and gullies indicates that the gullies with upper reaches of about 1 ～ 5 km long and those smaller than one kilometer were formed at the end of Late Pleistocene and Holocene.Meanwhile, sandy gravel layer of alluvial-proluvial sediment on the upthrown wall is directly in contact with yellow clayey sand of the downthrown wall. During the Holocene, the sinistral strike-slip rate along the western terminal segment of the active Daqingshan piedmont fault reached 5 mm/a from age data of dislocated sediments. The evolutional mechanism of the active Daqingshan piedmont fault is also discussed in the paper.  相似文献   

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