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1.
The continuous feedbacks among tectonics, surface processes, and climate are reflected in the distribution of catchments on active mountain ranges. Previous studies have shown a regularity of valley spacing across mountain ranges worldwide, but the origin of this geomorphological feature is currently not well known. In this work, we use a landscape evolution model to investigate the process of fluvial network organization and the evolution of regular ridge‐and‐valley patterns on simulated mountain ranges. In particular, we investigate the behavior of such patterns when subjected to a perturbation in landscape processes from a previous steady state, resulting from a sudden variation in the pattern of bedrock erodibility, from homogeneous to a gradient. We analyze the time evolution of the mean ratio λ' between the linear spacing of adjacent valleys and the half width of the mountain range. We show how a valley spacing ratio of ~0.5 is first achieved at steady state under uniform bedrock erodibility. After applying the gradient of bedrock erodibility across the landscape, we observe that λ' first increases and then decreases to a new steady‐state value that is smaller than the original value. A detailed analysis of the simulations, through observations of surface ‘snapshots’ at repeated time intervals, allows to gain some insight into the mechanisms governing this fluvial network reorganization process, driven by the migration of the main divide toward the side characterized by lower bedrock erodibility. On both sides of the range the new steady‐state valley spacing is obtained through mechanisms of catchment reorganization and competition between adjacent fluvial networks. In particular, catchment reorganization is characterized by the growth of smaller catchments between shrinking larger catchments on the side with lower erodibility, and the growth of larger catchments on the side with higher erodibility. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

2.
A natural experiment in landscape evolution is a case study of landform development in which only one element varies significantly, and for which the driving forces, initial conditions, and/or boundary conditions are well constrained. Natural experiments provide a means of testing landscape evolution theory on the large space and time scales to which that theory applies. Natural experiments can involve either steady or transient conditions. Cases with steady conditions allow one to test predictions about the relationships among topography, erosion rates, and various attributes related to climate and material properties. Transient cases are valuable for distinguishing between models whose predictions might be similar, and therefore indistinguishable, under steady conditions. Essential ingredients of a natural experiment include minimal variation in all but one factor, good constraints on timing and/or rates, well‐characterized processes, and high quality topographic data. Other useful ingredients include information about intermediate topographic states (such as a former valley profile revealed by strath terraces), and knowledge of the time history of erosion rates. In order to deepen our understanding of the physics and chemistry of long‐term landscape evolution, there is a pressing need to identify natural experiments and develop the necessary databases to take advantage of them. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

3.
Landscape evolution and surface morphology in mountainous settings are a function of the relative importance between sediment transport processes acting on hillslopes and in channels, modulated by climate variables. The Niesen nappe in the Swiss Penninic Prealps presents a unique setting in which opposite facing flanks host basins underlain by identical lithologies, but contrasting litho‐tectonic architectures where lithologies either dip parallel to the topographic slope or in the opposite direction (i.e. dip slope and non‐dip slope). The north‐western facing Diemtigen flank represents such a dip slope situation and is characterized by a gentle topography, low hillslope gradients, poorly dissected channels, and it hosts large landslides. In contrast, the south‐eastern facing Frutigen side can be described as non‐dip slope flank with deeply incised bedrock channels, high mean hillslope gradients and high relief topography. Results from morphometric analysis reveal that noticeable differences in morphometric parameters can be related to the contrasts in the relative importance of the internal hillslope‐channel system between both valley flanks. While the contrasting dip‐orientations of the underlying flysch bedrock has promoted hillslope and channelized processes to contrasting extents and particularly the occurrence of large landslides on the dip slope flank, the flank averaged beryllium‐10 (10Be)‐derived denudation rates are very similar and range between 0.20 and 0.26 mm yr?1. In addition, our denudation rates offer no direct relationship to basin's slope, area, steepness or concavity index, but reveal a positive correlation to mean basin elevation that we interpret as having been controlled by climatically driven factors such as frost‐induced processes and orographic precipitation. Our findings illustrate that while the landscape properties in this part of the northern Alpine border can mainly be related to the tectonic architecture of the underlying bedrock, the denudation rates have a strong orographic control through elevation dependent mean annual temperature and precipitation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

4.
The relative importance of tectonics, climate, base level and source lithology as primary factors on alluvial‐fan evolution, fan morphology and sedimentary style remain in question. This study examines the role of catchment lithology on development and evolution of alluvial megafans (>30 km in length), along the flanks of the Kohrud Mountain range, NE Esfahan, central Iran. These fans toe out at axial basin river and playa‐fringe sediments towards the centre of basin and tectonics, climatic change and base‐level fluctuations, were consistent for their development. They formed in a tectonically active basin, under arid to semiarid climate and a long term (Plio‐Pleistocene to Recent) change from wetter to drier conditions. The key differences between two of these fans, Soh and Zefreh fans, along the west and south flanks of this mountain range, is that their catchments are underlain by dissimilar bedrock types. The source‐area lithologies of the Soh and Zefreh fans are in sedimentary and igneous terrains, respectively, and these fans developed their geometry mainly in response to different weathering intensities of their catchment bedrock lithologies. Fan surface mapping (based on 1/50000 topographic maps, satellite images, and fieldwork), reveals that the geomorphic evolution of these fans differs in that the relatively large‐scale incision and through trenching of the Soh fan is absent in the Zefreh fan. Whereas the limited sediment supply of the Soh fan has resulted in a deep incised channel, the Zefreh fan has remained aggradational with little or no trenching into proximal to medial fan surface due to its catchment bedrock geology, composed mainly by physically weathered volcaniclastic lithology and characterized by high sediment supply for delivery during episodic flash floods. Sediment supply, which is mainly a function of climate and source lithology, is a dominant driver behind the development of fan sequences in alluvial megafans. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

5.
The west watershed of Mirror Lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire contains several terraces that are at different altitudes and have different geologic compositions. The lowest terrace (FSE) has 5 m of sand overlying 9 m of till. The two next successively higher terraces (FS2 and FS1) consist entirely of sand and have maximum thicknesses of about 7 m. A fourth, and highest, terrace (FS3) lies in the north‐west watershed directly adjacent to the west watershed. This highest terrace has 2 m of sand overlying 8 m of till. All terraces overlie fractured crystalline bedrock. Numerical models of hypothetical settings simulating ground‐water flow in a mountainside indicated that the presence of a terrace can cause local ground‐water flow cells to develop, and that the flow patterns differ based on the geologic composition of the terrace. For example, more ground water moves from the bedrock to the glacial deposits beneath terraces consisting completely of sand than beneath terraces that have sand underlain by till. Field data from Mirror Lake watersheds corroborate the numerical experiments. The geology of the terraces also affects how the stream draining the west watershed interacts with ground water. The stream turns part way down the mountainside and passes between the two sand terraces, essentially transecting the movement of ground water down the valley side. Transects of water‐table wells were installed across the stream's riparian zone above, between, and below the sand terraces. Head data from these wells indicated that the stream gains ground water on both sides above and below the sand terraces. However, where it flows between the sand terraces the stream gains ground water on its uphill side and loses water on its downhill side. Biogeochemical processes in the riparian zone of the flow‐through reach have resulted in anoxic ground water beneath the lower sand terrace. Results of this study indicate that it is useful to understand patterns of ground‐water flow in order to fully understand the flow and chemical characteristics of both ground water and surface water in mountainous terrain. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

6.
In this study, we present direct field measurements of modern lateral and vertical bedrock erosion during a 2-year study period, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of fluvial material capping a flat bedrock surface at Kings Creek located in northeast Kansas, USA. These data provide insight into rates and mechanisms of bedrock erosion and valley-widening in a heterogeneously layered limestone-shale landscape. Lateral bedrock erosion outpaced vertical incision during our 2-year study period. Modern erosion rates, measured at erosion pins in limestone and shale bedrock reveal that shale erosion rate is a function of wetting and drying cycles, while limestone erosion rate is controlled by discharge and fracture spacing. Variability in fracture spacing amongst field sites controls the size of limestone block collapse into the stream, which either allowed continued lateral erosion following rapid detachment and transport of limestone blocks, or inhibited lateral erosion due to limestone blocks that protected the valley wall from further erosion. The OSL ages of fluvial material sourced from the strath terrace were older than any material previously dated at our study site and indicate that Kings Creek was actively aggrading and incising throughout the late Pleistocene. Coupling field measurements and observations with ages of fluvial terraces can be useful to investigate the timing and processes linked to how bedrock rivers erode laterally over time to form wide bedrock valleys.  相似文献   

7.
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.  相似文献   

8.
Combining field reconstruction and landscape evolution modelling can be useful to investigate the relative role of different drivers on catchment response. The Geren Catchment (~45 km2) in western Turkey is suitable for such a study, as it has been influenced by uplift, climate change and lava damming. Four Middle Pleistocene lava flows (40Ar/39Ar‐ dated from 310 to 175 ka) filled and dammed the Gediz River at the Gediz–Geren confluence, resulting in base‐level fluctuations of the otherwise uplift‐driven incising river. Field reconstruction and luminescence dating suggest fluvial terraces in the Geren Catchment are capped by Middle Pleistocene aggradational fills. This showed that incision of the Geren trunk stream has been delayed until the end of MIS 5. Subsequently, the catchment has responded to base‐level lowering since MIS 4 by 30 m of stepped net incision. Field reconstruction left us with uncertainty on the main drivers of terrace formation. Therefore, we used landscape evolution modelling to investigate catchment response to three scenarios of base‐level change: (i) uplift with climate change (rainfall and vegetation based on arboreal pollen); (ii) uplift, climate change and short‐lived damming events; (iii) uplift, climate and long‐lived damming events. Outputs were evaluated for erosion–aggradation evolution in trunk streams at two different distances from the catchment outlet. Climate influences erosion–aggradation activity in the catchment, although internal feedbacks influence timing and magnitude. Furthermore, lava damming events partly control if and where these climate‐driven aggradations occur. Damming thus leaves a legacy on current landscape evolution. Catchment response to long‐duration damming events corresponds best with field reconstruction and dating. The combination of climate and base level explains a significant part of the landscape evolution history of the Geren Catchment. By combining model results with fieldwork, additional conclusions on landscape evolution could be drawn. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

9.
Upstream knickpoint propagation is an essential mechanism for channel erosion, carrying changes in base level, tectonics and climate across the landscape. Generally, the terraces on cross-sections at steady-state conditions have been widely reported. However, many landscapes in the field appear to be in a transient state. Here, we explore the mechanism of knickpoint initiation and fluvial evolution in a transient setting in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Analysis of channel profiles and terrace correlation indicates that the Yellow River is adjusted to match the increase in differentiated fault activity and climate change in a regional setting of continuous uplift. Consequently, a series of terraces were formed, and the number of terrace steps increased downstream, in the headwaters of the Yellow River. All terraces were dated using the optically stimulated luminescence method. The top terrace, distributed continuously in the whole basin with a gradient, was deposited during a cold period and abandoned at the climatic transition from cold to warm state, at approximately 14.6–9.5 ka. After that, one terrace formed at around 4.2 ka in the upper reach. In correlation with the continuous topographic gradient surface of this terrace, three terrace steps were formed in the down reach during the period from 9.5 ka to 4.2 ka. This phenomenon might indicate multiple phases of continuous headward migration of fluvial knickpoint waves and terrace formation during the downcutting. It was caused by fault activity and tectonic uplift of the gorge at the outlet of the basin, under influence of the gradual integration of the Yellow River from downstream. This phenomenon shows that the fluvial incision in a transient state along the high relief margin of the orogenic plateau can be caused by fault activity, in addition to widespread surface uplift, climatically driven lake spillover and the establishment of external drainage.  相似文献   

10.
The variability of Quaternary landforms preserved in the Tabernas basin of southeast (SE) Spain raises numerous questions concerning the roles of external forcing mechanisms (e.g. tectonics and/or climate) and internal landscape properties (e.g. lithological controls) in the evolution of the basin‐wide fluvial system over Late Quaternary timescales. In this study, we apply the FLUVER2 numerical model to investigate the significance of these landscape controls upon patterns of landscape evolution. We highlight the complications of generating realistic input datasets for use in the modelling of long‐term landscape evolution (e.g. discharge and runoff datasets). Model outputs are compared to extensive field mapping of fluvial terraces, their sedimentary architecture and optically stimulated luminescence dating results of the terraces. The results demonstrate the significance of non‐linear rates of flexural tectonic uplift towards the west of the Tabernas Basin which have controlled base levels throughout the Quaternary and promoted the formation of a series of diverging fluvial terraces. Our numerical model results further highlight the importance of climate cycles upon river terrace formation. Basin‐wide aggradation events were modelled during the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to 5 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) as supported by field evidence. This aggradational pattern supports the regional hypothesis of terrace formation during global glacial cycles and cold‐to‐warm stage transitions and supports the use of sea surface temperature climate proxy data in the modelling exercise. The availability of sediments derived from the surrounding hillslopes and adjacent alluvial fans explains the generation of substantial terrace aggradations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

11.
The composition, grain‐size, and flux of stream sediment evolve downstream in response to variations in basin‐scale sediment delivery, channel network structure, and diminution during transport. Here, we document downstream changes in lithology and grain size within two adjacent ~300 km2 catchments in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA, which drain differing mixtures of soft and resistant rock types, and where measured sediment yields differ two‐fold. We use a simple erosion–abrasion mass balance model to predict the downstream evolution of sediment flux and composition using a Monte Carlo approach constrained by measured sediment flux. Results show that the downstream evolution of the bed sediment composition is predictably related to changes in underlying geology, influencing the proportion of sediment carried as bedload or suspended load. In the Big Wood basin, particle abrasion reduces the proportion of fine‐grained sedimentary and volcanic rocks, depressing bedload in favor of suspended load. Reduced bedload transport leads to stronger bed armoring, and coarse granitic rocks are concentrated in the stream bed. By contrast, in the North Fork Big Lost basin, bedload yields are three times higher, the stream bed is less armored, and bed sediment becomes dominated by durable quartzitic sandstones. For both basins, the geology‐based mass balance model can reproduce within ~5% root‐mean‐square error the composition of the bed substrate using realistic erosion and abrasion parameters. As bed sediment evolves downstream, bedload fluxes increase and decrease as a function of the abrasion parameter and the frequency and size of tributary junctions, while suspended load increases steadily. Variable erosion and abrasion rates produce conditions of variable bed‐material transport rates that are sensitive to the distribution of lithologies and channel network structure, and, provided sufficient diversity in bedrock geology, measurements of bed sediment composition allow for an assessment of sediment source areas and yield using a simple modeling approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

12.
The availability of high‐resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) surveys has spurred the development of several methods to identify and map fluvial terraces. The post‐glacial landscape of the Sheepscot River watershed, Maine, where land‐use change has produced fill terraces upstream of historic dam sites, was selected to implement a comparison between terrace mapping methodologies. At four study sites within the watershed, terraces were manually mapped on LiDAR‐DEM‐derived hillshade images to facilitate the comparison among fully and semi‐automated DEM‐based procedures, including: (1) spatial relationships between interpreted terraces and surrounding natural topography, (2) feature classification algorithms, and (3) the TerEx terrace mapping toolbox. Each method was evaluated based on its accuracy and ease of implementation. The four study sites have varying longitudinal slope (0.0008–0.006 m/m), channel width (< 5–30 m), surrounding landscape relief (20–80 m), type and density of surrounding land use, and mapped surficial geologic units. All methods generally overestimate terrace areas (average predicted area 210% of manually defined area) with the most accurate results achieved within confined river valleys surrounded by the steep hillslopes. Accuracy generally decreases for study sites surrounded by low‐relief landscapes (predicted areas ranged 4–953% of manual delineations). We conclude with the advantages and drawbacks of each method tested and make recommendations for the scenarios where the use of each method is most appropriate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

13.
Sediment supply (Qs) is often overlooked in modelling studies of landscape evolution, despite sediment playing a key role in the physical processes that drive erosion and sedimentation in river channels. Here, we show the direct impact of the supply of coarse-grained, hard sediment on the geometry of bedrock channels from the Rangitikei River, New Zealand. Channels receiving a coarse bedload sediment supply are systematically (up to an order of magnitude) wider than channels with no bedload sediment input for a given discharge. We also present physical model experiments of a bedrock river channel with a fixed water discharge (1.5 l min−1) under different Qs (between 0 and 20 g l−1) that allow the quantification of the role of sediment in setting the width and slope of channels and the distribution of shear stress within channels. The addition of bedload sediment increases the width, slope and width-to-depth ratio of the channels, and increasing sediment loads promote emerging complexity in channel morphology and shear stress distributions. Channels with low Qs are characterized by simple in-channel morphologies with a uniform distribution of shear stress within the channel while channels with high Qs are characterized by dynamic channels with multiple active threads and a non-uniform distribution of shear stress. We compare bedrock channel geometries from the Rangitikei and the experiments to alluvial channels and demonstrate that the behaviour is similar, with a transition from single-thread and uniform channels to multiple threads occurring when bedload sediment is present. In the experimental bedrock channels, this threshold Qs is when the input sediment supply exceeds the transport capacity of the channel. Caution is required when using the channel geometry to reconstruct past environmental conditions or to invert for tectonic uplift rates, because multiple configurations of channel geometry can exist for a given discharge, solely due to input Qs. © 2020 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd  相似文献   

14.
Stratigraphic mapping in the lower 3km of the Vazcún Valley on the NE flank of Volcán Tungurahua (Ecuador) provides insight into the effects of long-term geomorphic changes on pyroclastic flow behavior. Exposures of deposits in the Vazcún Valley record activity over the last 2000years, during which time significant changes in the geomorphology of the valley have occurred. Two sets of terraces are present in the lower 2–3km of the valley, the older of which grades into a small debris fan at the mouth of the valley. Each terrace formed during a period of frequent activity that was separated by a long period of quiescence during which the Río Vazcún eroded a channel as deep as 40m reaching the previous base level. The pyroclastic flows from historical eruptions appear to have been largely contained within the channel that is cut through the higher terraces and debris fan. Their surface forms the lower terrace located upstream from the head of the debris fan. Thin pyroclastic deposits exposed within the city of Baños are mostly related to ash cloud surges that detached from the main flows as they slowed down within the channel. The lower reach of the present channel of the Rio Vazcún is very sinuous and deeply incised into the two sets of terraces. The winding channel would severely impede the mobility of future pyroclastic flows resulting in the deposition of thick deposits. Detachment of an overriding ash cloud surge could also occur in this region. Such a surge could be more likely to surmount the channel banks and travel over the surface of the terraces and debris for up to several kilometers from the channel.  相似文献   

15.
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.  相似文献   

16.
We report bedload data and acoustic impulse measurements due to particle impact from the Pitzbach in Austria. Impulse counts can be viewed as a measure of the energy delivered to the bed by moving particles. Impulse counts show a large scatter even for the same discharge and bedload supply. This scatter is due to varying grain size distribution, grain shape, mode of transport of the sediment particles and spatial and temporal distribution of the sediment load. The mean impulse count at given hydraulic conditions may increase or decrease with increasing sediment supply, suggesting that both tools and cover effects are active on the channel bed. Dependent on the local balance between sediment supply and transport capacity, either effect may be dominant at different locations along the cross‐section at the same time. Furthermore, the same bed location may respond to increasing sediment supply as tools‐dominated at some discharges and cover‐dominated at other discharges. Our observations may have implications for modelling of bedrock erosion in landscape evolution models and of bedrock channel morphology. Erosion models that do not incorporate both tools and cover effects are not sufficient to describe observations. Furthermore, a local erosion law cannot in general be used to describe erosion averaged over the channel cross‐section. The changing balance between sediment supply and transport capacity with increasing discharge highlights that a single representative discharge is not sufficient to capture the full erosion dynamics. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

17.
Previous analyses have identified the active width of braided rivers, the bed area over which bed load flux and short‐term morphological change occurs, as an important element of braiding dynamics and predictions of bed load flux. Here we compare theoretical predictions of active width in gravel‐bed braided rivers with observations from Sunwapta River, and from a generic physical model of gravel braided rivers, to provide general observations of the variation in active width, and to develop an understanding of the causes of variation. Bed topography was surveyed daily along a 150 m reach of the pro‐glacial Sunwapta River for a total of four weeks during summer when flow was above threshold for morphological activity. In the laboratory, detailed digital elevation models (DEMs) were derived from photogrammetric survey at regular intervals during a constant discharge run. From the field and flume observations there is considerable local and circumstantial variation in active width, but also a general trend in average active width with increasing discharge. There is also a clear relationship of active width with active braiding index (number of active branches in the braided channel network), and with dimensionless stream power, which appears to be consistent across the range of data from field and physical models. Thus there is a link between active width and the river morphology and dynamics, and the possibility of a general relationship for estimating active width from channel pattern properties or reach‐scale stream power values, from which approximate bedload flux calculations may be made. The analysis also raises questions about differences between hydraulically‐based numerical model computations of instantaneous active width and observation of time‐integrated morphological active width. Understanding these differences can give insight into the nature of bedload transport in braided rivers and the relationship to morphological processes of braiding. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

18.
Run‐off transmission loss into karstified consolidated aquifer bedrock below ephemeral streams (wadis) has rarely been described nor quantified. This study presents unique data of long‐term high‐resolution field measurements and field observations in a semiarid to subhumid Mediterranean carbonatic mountainshed. The catchment with a 103 km2 surface area is subdivided into 5 subcatchments. Coupled run‐off measurements were made in the different stream sections (reaches), and transmission loss calculated from differences in discharge. Rainfall and run‐off observations from 9 automated precipitation gauging stations and 5 pressure transducers for automatic water level recording are complemented by manual measurements during 34 run‐off events covering a total measurement period of 8 consecutive years. Run‐off generation is strongly event based depending on rainfall intensities and depths. Both, run‐off generation and transmission losses are related to spatial patterns of bedrock lithologies (and hydrostratigraphy). Transmission losses range between 62% and 80% of generated run‐off, with most of the smaller events showing 100% transmission loss. Therefore, although event run‐off coefficients in the mountains can reach up to 22%, only 0.11% of total annual precipitation leaves the catchment as run‐off. Most run‐off infiltrates directly into the regional karst aquifers (Upper Cretaceous carbonate series), with transmission loss intensities of up to 40 mm/h below the stream channels. The factors determining run‐off—such as geology, pedology, vegetation cover and land use, relief and morphology, the semiarid to subhumid Mediterranean climate with a strong elevation gradient, and the patchiness of individual storm events distributed over the winter seasons—as well as the lithology and epikarst features of the bedrock are all characteristic for larger areas in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, we expect that our findings can be generalized to a large extent.  相似文献   

19.
Knowledge on valley formation and palaeohydrology of the Yarlung Zhangbo (named Brahmaputra south of the Himalayas) is still in an early stage. Research was conducted in the middle valley reach around Gonggar in order to investigate the sediment properties, age and palaeoenvironmental implication of a widespread aggradational valley terrace. This heavily dissected terrace, lying c. 25 m above the present floodplain, consists of topping aeolian and colluvial deposits, intermediate lacustrine fines and basal fluvial sands. Sedimentological properties of the lacustrine layers suggest a cold-climate depositional environment. Geochemical data refer to a common provenance of all sediments investigated from a regional catchment area, implying a local provenance of topping loesses and sands by aeolian sorting of nearby fluvial deposits. OSL dates, representing the first luminescence dating effort partly applied to non-aeolian sediments in this valley, cluster closely in the interval 11.7 ± 0.8–17.4 ± 1.4 ka. During the Late Pleistocene (until c. 16 ka) the investigated middle valley reach around Gonggar was occupied by a lake attaining an extension of at least 100 km.  相似文献   

20.
An extensive survey and topographic analysis of five watersheds draining the Luquillo Mountains in north‐eastern Puerto Rico was conducted to decouple the relative influences of lithologic and hydraulic forces in shaping the morphology of tropical montane stream channels. The Luquillo Mountains are a steep landscape composed of volcaniclastic and igneous rocks that exert a localized lithologic influence on the stream channels. However, the stream channels also experience strong hydraulic forcing due to high unit discharge in the humid rainforest environment. GIS‐based topographic analysis was used to examine channel profiles, and survey data were used to analyze downstream changes in channel geometry, grain sizes, stream power, and shear stresses. Results indicate that the longitudinal profiles are generally well graded but have concavities that reflect the influence of multiple rock types and colluvial‐alluvial transitions. Non‐fluvial processes, such as landslides, deliver coarse boulder‐sized sediment to the channels and may locally determine channel gradient and geometry. Median grain size is strongly related to drainage area and slope, and coarsens in the headwaters before fining in the downstream reaches; a pattern associated with a mid‐basin transition between colluvial and fluvial processes. Downstream hydraulic geometry relationships between discharge, width and velocity (although not depth) are well developed for all watersheds. Stream power displays a mid‐basin maximum in all basins, although the ratio of stream power to coarse grain size (indicative of hydraulic forcing) increases downstream. Excess dimensionless shear stress at bankfull flow wavers around the threshold for sediment mobility of the median grain size, and does not vary systematically with bankfull discharge; a common characteristic in self‐forming ‘threshold’ alluvial channels. The results suggest that although there is apparent bedrock and lithologic control on local reach‐scale channel morphology, strong fluvial forces acting over time have been sufficient to override boundary resistance and give rise to systematic basin‐scale patterns. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

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