Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1002/esp.5311 |
Spatio-temporal reconstruction of avulsion history at the terminus of a modern dryland river system | |
Donselaar, Marinus E.; Gozalo, Margarita C. Cuevas; van Toorenenburg, Koen A.; Wallinga, Jakob | |
Corresponding Author | Donselaar, ME (corresponding author),Delft Univ Technol, Dept Geosci & Engn, POB 5048, NL-2600 Delft, Netherlands. |
Journal | EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS |
ISSN | 0197-9337 |
EISSN | 1096-9837 |
Year Published | 2022-01 |
Abstract in English | Fluvial depositional architecture in an unconfined environment is governed by sediment dispersal across the alluvial plain through river-path switching by avulsion. Documented inter-avulsion periodicity from modern rivers ranges from tens to over a thousand years. In this study, a quantitative spatio-temporal reconstruction of avulsion history is presented of the non-vegetated and pristine modern Rio Colorado dryland river system in the semi-arid Altiplano Basin (Bolivia), based on the integrated analysis of satellite imagery and absolute age dating using optically stimulated luminescence, complemented with sedimentological and geomorphological ground-truth data. This approach enables us to reconstruct the chronological order of channel belts of the Rio Colorado, to determine avulsion recurrence time and inter-avulsion periodicity, to identify mechanisms for flow path changes, and to present a morphodynamic model for the spatio-temporal evolution of fluvial deposits in a semi-arid environment. In a maximum timespan of 12.71 +/- 1.5 ka, successive avulsions of the Rio Colorado created a sheet of interconnected fluvial deposits, consisting of diverging and juxtaposed alluvial ridges that formed by sediment aggradation in point bars, crevasse splays, levees, and on the channel floor. The ridges show lateral onlap and amalgamation as the result of repeated avulsion and compensational stacking, whereby the river avoided the positive alluvial-ridge relief of its precursors. The resultant morphology is fan-shaped, convex-up with a surface area of approximately 500 km(2) and a maximum observed thickness of 3 m. The results show inter-avulsion periods of the river of up to 1.28 +/- 0.34 ka. A paucity in fluvial activity around 2 ka BP, and at present, is interpreted as the result of low river discharge related to long-term dry periodicity in the El Nino Southern Oscillation circulation system. Each river path started as a low sinuous, single-thread channel in a narrow belt, and in time increased its width and sinuosity by point-bar expansion and rotation. |
Keyword in English | alluvial ridges avulsion frequency compensational stacking crevasse splays endorheic basin fluvial geomorphology meandering-channel belts OSL age determination river avulsion semi-arid climate |
Subtype | Article ; Early Access |
Language | 英语 |
OA Type | hybrid, Green Published |
Indexed By | SCI-E |
WOS ID | WOS:000745529600001 |
WOS Keyword | SOUTHERN BOLIVIAN ALTIPLANO ; RHINE-MEUSE DELTA ; TRANSMISSION LOSSES ; CLIMATE ; ORIGIN ; KOSI ; STRATIGRAPHY ; MECHANISMS ; TIMESCALES ; FREQUENCY |
WOS Subject | Geography, Physical ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary |
WOS Research Area | Physical Geography ; Geology |
Document Type | 期刊论文 |
Identifier | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/377097 |
Affiliation | [Donselaar, Marinus E.; van Toorenenburg, Koen A.] Delft Univ Technol, Dept Geosci & Engn, POB 5048, NL-2600 Delft, Netherlands; [Donselaar, Marinus E.] Katholieke Univ Leuven, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Leuven, Belgium; [van Toorenenburg, Koen A.] Shell Int Explorat & Prod BV, The Hague, Netherlands; [Wallinga, Jakob] Wageningen Univ, Netherlands Ctr Luminescence Dating, Wageningen, Netherlands; [Wallinga, Jakob] Wageningen Univ, Soil Geog & Landscape Grp, Wageningen, Netherlands |
Recommended Citation GB/T 7714 | Donselaar, Marinus E.,Gozalo, Margarita C. Cuevas,van Toorenenburg, Koen A.,et al. Spatio-temporal reconstruction of avulsion history at the terminus of a modern dryland river system[J],2022. |
APA | Donselaar, Marinus E.,Gozalo, Margarita C. Cuevas,van Toorenenburg, Koen A.,&Wallinga, Jakob.(2022).Spatio-temporal reconstruction of avulsion history at the terminus of a modern dryland river system.EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS. |
MLA | Donselaar, Marinus E.,et al."Spatio-temporal reconstruction of avulsion history at the terminus of a modern dryland river system".EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS (2022). |
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