large scale dam removal on the elwha river washington usa river channel and floodplain geomorphic change abstract a substantial increase in fluvial sediment supply relative to transport capacity causes complex large magnitude changes in river and floodplain morphology downstream although sedimentary and geomorphic responses to sediment pulses are a fundamental part of landscape evolution few opportunities exist to quantify those processes over field scales we investigated the downstream effects of sediment released during the largest dam removal in history on the elwha river washington usa by measuring changes in riverbed elevation and topography bed sediment grain size and channel planform as two dams were removed in stages over two years as 10 5 million t 7 1 million m3 of sediment was released from two former reservoirs downstream dispersion of a sediment wave caused widespread bed aggradation of 1 m greater where pools filled changed the river from pool riffle to braided morphology and decreased the slope of the lowermost river the newly deposited sediment which was finer than most of the pre dam removal bed formed new bars largely pebble granule and sand material prompting aggradational channel avulsion that increased the channel braiding index by almost 50 as a result of mainstem bed aggradation floodplain channels received flow and accumulated new sediment even during low to moderate flow conditions the river system showed a two to tenfold greater geomorphic response to dam removal in terms of bed elevation change magnitude than it had to a 40 year flood event four years before dam removal two years after dam removal began as the river had started to incise through deposits of the initial sediment wave 1 2 million t of new sediment 10 of the amount released from the two reservoirs was stored along 18 river km of the mainstem channel and 25 km of floodplain channels the elwha river thus was able to transport most of the released sediment to the river mouth the geomorphic alterations and changing bed sediment grain size along the elwha river have important ecological implications affecting aquatic habitat structure benthic fauna salmonid fish spawning and rearing potential and riparian vegetation the response of the river to dam removal represents a unique opportunity to observe and quantify fundamental geomorphic processes associated with a massive sediment influx and also provides important lessons for future river restoration endeavors

shredding of environmental signals by sediment transport 1 landscapes respond to climate tectonic motions and sea level but this response is mediated by sediment transport understanding transmission of environmental signals is crucial for predicting landscape response to climate change and interpreting paleo climate and tectonics from stratigraphy here we propose that sediment transport can act as a nonlinear filter that completely destroys shreds environmental signals this results from ubiquitous thresholds in sediment transport systems e g landsliding bed load transport and river avulsion this morphodynamic turbulence is analogous to turbulence in fluid flows where energy injected at one frequency is smeared across a range of scales we show with a numerical model that external signals are shredded when their time and amplitude scales fall within the ranges of morphodynamic turbulence as signal frequency increases signal preservation becomes the exception rather than the rule suggesting a critical re examination of purported sedimentary signals of external forcing citation jerolmack d j and c paola 2010 shredding of environmental signals by sediment transport geophys res lett 37 l19401 doi 10 1029 2010gl044638

channel and floodplain response to recent abrupt climate change the tyne basin northern england this paper examines the timing nature and magnitude of river response in upland piedmont and lowland reaches of the tyne basin northern england to high frequency 20 30 year changes in climate and flood regime since 1700 ad over this period fluvial activity has been characterized by alternating phases of river bed incision and stability coinciding with non random decadal scale fluctuations in flood frequency and hydroclimate that appear to be linked to changes in large scale upper atmospheric circulation patterns episodes of widespread channel bed incision 1760 1799 1875 1894 1955 1969 result from a higher frequency of large floods 20 year return period and cool wet climate under meridional circulation regimes phases of more moderate floods 5 20 year return period corresponding to zonal circulation types 1820 1874 1920 1954 are characterized by enhanced lateral reworking and sediment transfer in upper reaches of the catchment and channel narrowing and infilling downstream rates of fluvial activity are reduced in intermediate periods 1800 1819 1895 1919 with no dominant circulation regime associated with lower flood frequency and magnitude the results of this study provide a valuable guide for forecasting probable drainage basin and channel response to future climate change

the fate of sediment wood and organic carbon eroded during an extreme flood colorado front range usa identifying and quantifying the dominant processes of erosion and tracking the fate of sediment wood and carbon eroded during floods is important for understanding channel response to floods downstream sediment and carbon loading and the influence of extreme events on landscapes and the terrestrial carbon cycle we quantify sediment wood and organic carbon oc from source to local sink following an extreme flood in the tectonically quiescent semi arid colorado usa front range erosion of 500 000 m3 or as much as 115 yr of weathering products occurred through landsliding and channel erosion during september 2013 flooding more than half of the eroded sediment was deposited at the inlet and delta of a water supply reservoir resulting in the equivalent of 100 yr of reservoir sedimentation and 2 loss in water storage capacity the flood discharged 28 mg c km2 producing an event oc flux equivalent to humid tectonically active areas post flood remobilization resulted in a further 100 yr of reservoir sedimentation plus export of an additional 1 3 mg c km2 of wood demonstrating the ongoing impact of the flood on reservoir capacity and carbon cycling pronounced channel widening during the flood created accommodation space for 40 of flood sediment and storage of wood and eroded carbon we conclude that confined channels normally dismissed as transport reaches can store and export substantial amounts of flood constituents

gravel bed river evolution in earthquake prone regions subject to cycled hydrographs and repeated sediment pulses sediment often enters rivers in the form of sediment pulses associated with landslides and debris flows this is particularly so in gravel bed rivers in earthquake prone mountain regions such as southwest china under such circumstances sediment pulses can rapidly change river topography and leave the river in repeated states of gradual recovery in this paper we implement a one dimensional morphodynamic model of river response to pulsed sediment supply the model is validated using data from flume experiments so demonstrating that it can successfully reproduce the overall morphodynamics of experimental pulses the model is then used to explore the evolution of a gravel bed river subject to cycled hydrographs and repeated sediment pulses these pulses are fed into the channel in a fixed region centered at a point halfway down the calculational domain the pulsed sediment supply is in addition to a constant sediment supply at the upstream end results indicate that the river can reach a mobile bed equilibrium in which two regions exist within which bed elevation and surface grain size distribution vary periodically in time one of these is at the upstream end where a periodic discharge hydrograph and constant sediment supply are imposed and the other is in a region about halfway down the channel where periodic sediment pulses are introduced outside these two regions bed elevation and surface grain size distribution reach a mobile bed equilibrium that is invariant in time the zone of fluctuation free mobile bed equilibrium upstream of the pulse region is not affected by repeated sediment pulses under the scenarios tested but downstream of the pulse region the channel reaches different fluctuation free mobile bed equilibriums under different sediment pulse scenarios the vertical bed structure predicted by the simulations indicates that the cyclic variation associated with the hydrograph and sediment pulses can affect the substrate stratigraphy to some depth copyright 2017 john wiley sons ltd

discharges of turbid water during mini surges of variegated glacier alaska u s a discharges of water sediment and dissolved impurities from variegated glacier ala ska were monitored in the early summers of 1980 and 1981 during the occurrence of mini surg es sea sonal trends weat her related eve nts and diurnal variat ions similar to behavior of other temperat e gl acier streams were found the prin cipal effect in the stream associated with mini surge occurrence was a brief discharge of extremely turbi d water the turbidity is assumed to be introduced into the basal hydraulic system by initiation of the fast motion of a mini surge at a time and locat ion on the upper glacier known from oth er meas ure ments the mean water velocity in the hydraulic system over the int erven ing distance is thereby determined 0 3 m s i the mean water velocity together with the water discharge 16 m3 s 1 at the terminus places con straints on the distribution of water velocity u and total cros s sectional area at of the flow paths along the gl acier base this leads to the con clusion that within the zone of mini surge occurrence in its unpe rturbed state u is about 0 1 m s 1 or possibly less at is about 10 2 m2 or possibly more and it must be divided into a very large number of small passag eways be blocked by constrict ions or both the total water cro ss se ction corresponds to a layer 0 1 2 m thick when spr ead unifo rmly over the glacier width the water velocity is clos e to or less than the propa gation velo city of the mini s urges bet ween the zone affected by mini surges and the stream a dyna mically less active lower section of the glacier is proba bly underlain by a small number of conduits in which the water velocity may be very high 2 m s i water di scharge follo wing the mini surges puts an upper limit on water storage changes ass ociated with the anomalous ice motion

channel response to an extreme flood and sediment pulse in a mixed bedrock and gravel bed river we exploit a natural experiment caused by an extreme flood 500 year recurrence interval and sediment pulse derived from more than 2500 concurrent landslides to explore the influence of valley scale geomorphic controls on sediment slug evolution and the impact of sediment pulse passage and slug deposition and dispersion on channel stability and channel form sediment slug movement is a crucial process that shapes gravel bed rivers and alluvial valleys and is an important mechanism of downstream bed material transport further increased bed material transport rates during slug deposition can trigger channel responses including increases in lateral mobility channel width and alluvial bar dominance pre and post flood lidar and aerial photographs bracketing the 2007 flood on the chehalis river in south western washington state usa document the channel response with high spatial and temporal definition the sediment slug behaved as a gilbert wave with both channel aggradation and sequestration of large volumes of material in floodplains of headwaters reaches and reaches where confined valleys enter into broad alluvial valleys differences between the valley form of two separate sub basins impacted by the pulse highlight the important role channel and channel floodplain connectivity play in governing downstream movement of sediment slug material finally channel response to the extreme flood and sediment pulse illustrate the connection between bed material transport and channel form specifically the channel widened lateral channel mobility increased and the proportion of the active channel covered by bars increased in all reaches in the study area the response scaled tightly with the relative amount of bed material sediment transport through individual reaches indicating that the amount of morphological change caused by the flood was conditioned by the simultaneous introduction of a sediment pulse to the channel network copyright 2015 john wiley sons ltd

geomorphology water table and soil relationships in holocene beach ridges in southern sierra leone summary the coast of southern sierra leone is fringed by a wave built beach ridge barrier characterized by young weakly developed soils composed of medium to coarse quartz sand these littoral deposits have been more or less extensively modified by geomorphic processes resulting from sea level oscillations and possibly climatic fluctuations soil heterogeneity in these young beach deposits results from spatial and temporal variations in water table level such variations occur in response to geomorphic variables such as topography beach ridge dissection or progradation and swale incision

thin film channelized drainage or sheetfloods beneath a portion of the laurentide ice sheet an examination of glacial erosion forms northern new york state usa abstract morphologic analyses of characteristic bedrock erosion forms found in northern new york state usa were used to reconstruct the subglacial conditions under which they may have been produced observations from sites on wellesley island n y at point salubrious n y and at an open pit mine near balmat n y were combined with regional mapping of a diverse suite of glacial erosion forms in order to establish the areal extent and significance of subglacial drainage in northern new york results of these site specific and regional studies are the basis for discussion of the probable role of subglacial meltwater in the region bedrock erosion forms preserved at various locations in northern new york are interpreted as products of flow separation of localized subglacial meltwater during ice bed decoupling the regional distribution of these forms indicates that they are largely restricted to pre existing subglacially modified bedrock valleys that served as subglacial tunnel channels regionally extensive deep subglacial meltwater flow characterized as sheetfloods is not required to account for the erosional features described from specific sites in northern new york state

heterogeneous strain of a phyllite as revealed by porphyroblast matrix relationships abstract garnet porphyroblasts in a homogeneous phyllite specimen from the central norwegian caledonides provide insight into the distribution and type of strain which followed the garnet growth matrix schistosity is traceable through the porphyroblasts in the form of inclusions which allow the measurement of two parameters the flattening of the matrix schistosity around the porphyroblasts and an angle of rotation of the porphyroblasts relative to the matrix schistosity both parameters vary considerably as studied in a large thin section cut parallel to mineral lineation and perpendicular to schistosity accepting some simplifications and assumptions it seems necessary to consider the strain as composed of two components a noncoaxial strain component of a simple shear type and an approximately coaxial strain component both of which are heterogeneously developed on the scale of the thin section the shear planes of the simple shear type strain are likely to lie parallel or at a very small angle to the matrix schistosity the linear fabric of the phyllite seems to be a material expression of the coaxial strain component the 1 2 plane of the finite strain ellipsoid most probably varies in orientation across the thin section and is only by coincidence parallel to the almost constantly oriented matrix schistosity

imprint of climate and climate change in alluvial riverbeds continental united states 1950 2011 alluvial riverbed elevation responds to the balance between sediment supply and transport capacity which is largely dependent on climate and its translation into fl uvial discharge we examine these relations using u s geological survey streamfl ow and channel measurements in conjunction with basin characteristics for 915 reference least disturbed measurement stations across the conterminous united states for the period a d 1950 2011 we fi that 1 68 of stations have bed elevation change bec trends p 0 05 with median values of 0 5 cm yr for aggradation and 0 6 cm yr for degradation with no obvious relation to drainage basin structure physiography or lithology 2 bec correlates with drainage basin area 3 high fl ow variability q 90 q 50 where q is discharge and 90 and 50 are annual fl ow percentiles translates directly into the magnitude though not the direction of bec after accounting for the scale dependence 4 q 90 q 50 declines systematically from dry to wet climates producing disproportionately high rates of bec in drier regions and 5 marked increases in precipitation and streamfl ow occurred disproportionately at dry sites while streamfl ow declined disproportionately at wet sites climatic shifts in streamfl ow have the potential to increase decrease sediment fl ux and thus affect riverbed elevation by altering fl ood frequency these unforeseen responses of bed elevation to climate and climate change have important implications for sediment budgets longitudinal profi les ecology and river management

the dominance of dispersion in the evolution of bed material waves in gravel bed rivers bed material waves are temporary zones of sediment accumulation created by large sediment inputs recent theoretical experimental and field studies examine factors influencing dispersion and translation of bed material waves in quasi uniform gravel bed channels exchanges of sediment between a channel and its floodplain are neglected within these constraints two factors influence relative rates of dispersion and translation 1 interactions between wave topography flow and bed load transport and 2 particle size differences between wave material and original bed material our results indicate that dispersion dominates the evolution of bed material waves in gravel bed channels significant translation requires a low froude number which is uncharacteristic of gravel bed channels and low wave amplitude which for a large wave can be achieved only after substantial dispersion wave material of small particle size can promote translation but it primarily increases bed load transport rate and thereby accelerates wave evolution copyright 2001 john wiley sons ltd

river response to variations of periglacial climate in mid latitude europe abstract the last glaciation was characterised by considerable changes in climate many european river basins reacted to these changes by initial incision and subsequent pattern change earlier research explained this by the time lag of vegetation development after a climatic change which considerably affected the sediment load however since some river basins react differently or do not react at all this model needs to be refined this paper deals with the fluvial evolution of several rivers in northern and central europe during the last glaciation and two of them the weise elster river in the leipzig area and the spree river in the niederlausitz germany are discussed in more detail the vegetation cover on the floodplain in combination with the presence of frozen ground which affects the discharge characteristics largely determines the river type nevertheless when the sequences are compared not only synchronous changes in fluvial development may be observed but also distinct differences in fluvial development by analysing the different rivers in their varying geomorphological settings it appears that grain size basin configuration and catchment size are important parameters also which can determine whether a threshold is exceeded or not

hydraulics of subglacial cavities modele theorique du comportement a l etat stationnaire des cavites remplies d eau et interconnectees sur le lit du glacier

reconstructing a sediment pulse modeling the effect of placer mining on fraser river canada gold mining along 525 km of the fraser river between 1858 and 1909 added an estimated 1 1 108 t of tailings half gravel and the rest finer to the river s natural sediment load we simulate the response using a 1 d multigrain size morphodynamic model since premining conditions are unknown and modern data are insufficient for tuning the process representation we devised a novel modeling strategy which may be useful in other data poor applications we start the model from a smoothed version of the modern longitudinal profile with bed grain size distributions optimized to match alternative assumptions about natural sediment supply and compare runs that include mining with control runs that can be used to quantify the effects of deficiencies in process representation and initialization simulations with an appropriate choice of natural supply rate closely match the best available test data which consist of a detailed 1952 1999 gravel budget for the distal part of the model domain the simulations suggest that the main response to mining was rapid bed fining which allowed a major increase in bed load transport rate with only slight 0 1 m mean aggradation within the mining region and most of the excess sediment exported well beyond the mountain front within the mining period or soon afterward we compare this pattern of response by a large powerful river with previous case studies of river adjustment to sediment supply change

a probabilistic model for the persistence of early planar fabrics in polydeformed pelitic schists abstract although early planar fabrics are commonly preserved within microlithons in low grade pelites in higher grade amphibolite facies pelitic schists fabric regeneration often appears complete evidence for early fabrics may be preserved within porphyroblasts but within the matrix later deformation often appears to totally obliterate or reorient earlier fabrics however examination of several hundred dalradian pelites from connemara western ireland reveals that preservation of early fabrics is by no means uncommon relict matrix domains although volumetrically insignificant are remarkably persistent even when inferred later strains are very large and fabric regeneration appears at first sight complete deterministic plasticity theories are ill suited to the analysis of such an inhomogeneous material response and a probabilistic model is proposed instead it assumes that ductile polycrystal deformation is controlled by elementary flow units which can be activated once their associated stress barrier is overcome bulk flow propensity is related to the proportion of simultaneous activations and a measure of this is derived from the probabilistic interaction between a stress barrier spectrum and an internal stress spectrum the latter determined by the external loading and the details of internal stress transfer the spectra are modelled as gaussian distributions although the treatment is very general and could be adapted for other distributions using the time rate of change of activation probability it is predicted that initially fabric development will be rapid but will then slow down dramatically even though stress increases at a constant rate this highly non linear response suggests that early fabrics persist because they comprise unfavourable distributions of stress barriers which remain unregenerated at the time bulk stress is stabilized by steady state flow relict domains will however bear the highest stress and are potential upper bound palaeostress estimators some factors relevant to the micromechanical explanation of relict matrix domains are discussed

disequilibrium of holocene sediment yield in glaciated british columbia it is generally supposed that specific sediment yield the quantity of sediment passing a monitored river cross section per unit area drained upstream of that section declines as the area drained increases1 3 part of the sediment mobilized from the land surface is supposed to go back into storage at field edges and on footslopes and floodplains in contrast we show here that data from british columbian rivers reveal a pattern of increasing specific sediment yield at all spatial scales up to 3 104 km2 this results from the dominance of secondary remobilization of quaternary sediments along river valleys over primary denudation of the land surface the result controverts the conventional model which has been derived from studies of small highly disturbed agricultural catch ments the rivers are still responding to the last glaciation giving a landscape relaxation time greater than 10 kyr this holds pro found implications for geomorphological theory and for studies of erosion

the development of shear zones in polycrystalline camphor urai j l and humphreys f j 1981 the development of shear zones in polycrystalline camphor in g s lister h j behr k weber and h j zwart editors the effect of deformation on rocks tectonophysics 78 677 685 thin polycrystalline specimens of rhombohedral camphor have been deformed in pure shear in the temperature range 283 343k the deformation processes dynamic recrystallization and the development of microstructure were followed by transmission polarized light microscopy when the stress distribution in the specimens was favourable shear zones were initiated the development of microstructure changed drastically above 310320k the shape of the dynamically recrystallized grains which was equiaxed below this temperature became strongly elongated this change probably due to the development of a marked anisotropy in grain boundary mobilities and the activation of new slip systems made the development of shear zones a more frequently occurring phenomenon above 310 320k

stochastic forcing of sediment supply to channel networks from landsliding and debris flow sediment influx to channel networks is stochastically driven by rainstorms and other perturbations which are discrete in time and space and which occur on a landscape with its own spatial variability in topography colluvium properties and state of recovery from previous disturbances the resulting stochastic field of sediment supply interacts with the topology of the channel network and with transport processes to generate spatial and temporal patterns of flux and storage that characterize the sedimentation regime of a drainage basin the regime varies systematically with basin area we describe how the stochastic sediment supply is generated by climatic topographic geotechnical and biotic controls that vary between regions the general principle is illustrated through application to a landscape where sediment is supplied by mass wasting and the forcing variables are deterministic thickening of colluvium random sequences of root destroying wildfires and random sequences of rainstorms that trigger failure in a population of landslide source areas with spatial variance in topography and colluvium strength landslides stop in channels or convert to scouring debris flows depending on the nature of the low order channel network sediment accumulates within these channels for centuries before being transferred downstream by debris flows time series of sediment supply transport and storage vary with basin scale for any combination of climatic topographic and geotechnical controls in a companion paper benda and dunne this issue we use simulations of timing volumes and locations of mass wasting to study the interaction between a stochastically forced sediment supply and systematic changes of storage and flux through channel networks

glacier outburst floods at mount rainier washington state u s a during the twentieth century glacial outburst floods have been the most destructive natural events on mount rainier a stratovolcano in the cascade range in washington state u s a in the period between 1930 and 1980 numerous floods were reported from five glaciers on the mountain most of which flowed from nisqually kautz or south tahoma glaciers on its southern flank such floods threaten lives and property because they occur without warning and quickly mobilize the loose volcanic debris into debris flows a monitoring program was begun in 1987 which was designed to measure the dimensions and timing of outburst floods but this has been unsuccessful because no floods have yet occurred on the monitored streams four floods did burst from south tahoma glacier that was unmonitored but in spite of this they have been useful in providing evidence of flood storage and release mechanisms all flood volumes were found to be of approximately similar orders of magnitude of 1 10 5 m 3 of water indicating that all floods probably had similar mechanisms for storage and release of water hydraulic pressure considerations indicate that such a large volume of flood water would be stored at the bed of the glacier rather than in isolated englacial cavities the stepped bedrock terrain provides an ideal setting for the formation of subglacial cavities capable of storing the volumes of flood water noted

landslides control the spatial and temporal variation of channel width in southern taiwan implications for landscape evolution and cascading hazards in steep tectonically active landscapes

numerical model of sediment pulses and sediment supply disturbances in mountain rivers sediment pulses in rivers can result from many mechanisms including landslides entering from side slopes and debris flows entering from tributaries artificial sediment pulses can be caused by the removal of a dam this paper presents a numerical model for the simulation of gravel bedload transport and sediment pulse evolution in mountain rivers a combination of the backwater and quasi normal flow formulations is used to calculate flow parameters gravel bedload transport is calculated with the surface based bedload equation of parker in 1990 the exner equation of sediment continuity is used to express the mass balance at different grain size groups and lithologies as well as the abrasion of gravel the river is assumed to have no geological controls such as bedrock outcrops and immobile boulder pavements the results of nine numerical experiments designed to study various key parameters relevant to the evolution of sediment pulses are reported here results of the numerical runs indicate that the evol

the interaction of deformation and metamorphism in slates abstract the distribution microchemistry and internal structure of phases present in a slate are reported and used as a basis for a discussion of the interaction between deformation and metamorphism in slates the study reveals details of the interactions between mechanical and chemical processes involved in slaty cleavage evolution evidence for the involvement of mechanical rotation solution and crystallisation recrystallisation and metamorphic reactions is presented and amalgamated into a model of cleavage development the model involves a synchronous variation in the type location and rate of cleavage evolution processes and a change in the importance of particular processes during the total history the early stages of cleavage development are dominated by mechanical rotation associated with crenulation and possibly accompanied by grain boundary sliding and solution processes later stages of cleavage evolution are more heterogeneous and occur by a complex interaction of deformation and metamorphic growth processes which are concentrated at the interfaces between domains generated earlier in the strain history the variations in grain chemistry and orientation together with changes in the strain rate or stress level are suggested to control the different deformation behaviour of different grains along these strain accommodation zones and to dictate whether grains bend kink dissolve recrystallise or react and undergo growth evidence for the involvement of reactions ranging from ionic exchange to crystallisation from solution and solid state reordering is presented and the influence of deformation on the location and rates of these reactions discussed approximately ten potential reactions are involved in the cleavage evolution of the slate studied the model presented incorporates these reactions into the deformation processes and accounts for the concentration of phengite and iron poor chlorites in to one microstructural domain and paragonite quartz and fe rich chlorites into the other domain two transformations appear to be fundamental in the slate studied 1 1 the transformation of illite to phengite 2 2 the transformation of fe rich chlorite to fe poor chlorites and both can be related to particular responses of grains to the reorientation processes at domain interfaces

geologic and physiographic controls on bed material yield transport and channel morphology for alluvial and bedrock rivers western oregon the rivers of western oregon have diverse forms and characteristics with channel substrates ranging from continuous alluvial gravel to bare bedrock analysis of several measurable morphologic attributes of 24 valley reaches on 17 rivers provides a basis for comparing nonalluvial and alluvial channels key differences are that alluvial reaches have greater bar area greater migration rates and show systematic correlation among variables relating grain size to bed material transport capacity we relate these differences between channel types to bed material transport rates as derived from a coupled regional analysis of empirical sediment yield measurements and physical experiments of clast attrition during transport this sediment supply analysis shows that overall bed material transport rates for western oregon are chiefly controlled by 1 lithology and basin slope which are the key factors for bed material supply into the stream network and 2 lithologic control of bed material attrition from in transport abrasion and disintegration this bed material comminution strongly affects bed material transport in the study area reducing transport rates by 50 90 along the length of the larger rivers in the study area a comparison of the bed material transport estimates with the morphologic analyses shows that alluvial gravel bed channels have systematic and bounding relations between bed material transport rate and attributes such as bar area and local transport capacity by contrast few such relations are evident for nonalluvial rivers with bedrock or mixed bed substrates which are apparently more influenced by local controls on channel geometry and sediment supply at the scale of western oregon the physiographic and lithologic controls on the balance between bed material supply and transport capacity exert far reaching influence on the distribution of alluvial and nonalluvial channels and their consequently distinctive morphologies and behaviors differences germane for understanding river response to tectonics and environmental perturbations as well as for implementing effective restoration and monitoring strategies

channel response to sediment wave propagation and movement redwood creek california usa redwood creek north coastal californa usa has experienced dramatic changes in channel confguation since the 1950s a series of large floods in 1955 1964 1972 and 1975 combined with the advent of widespread commercial timber harvest and road building resulted in extensive erosion in the basin and contributed high sediment loads to redwood creek since 1975 no peak flows have exceeded a 5 year recurrence interval twenty years of cross sectional survey data document the downstream movement of a sediment wave in the lower 26 km of this gravel bedded river at a rate of 800 to 1600 m a i durng this period of moderately low flows higher transit rates are associated with reaches of higher unit stream power the wave was initially deposited at a site with an abrupt decrease in channel gradient and increase in channel width the amplitude of the wave has attenuated more than i m as it moved downstream and the duration of the wave increased from eight years upstream to more than 20 years downstream channel aggradation and subsequent degradation have been accommodated across the entire channel bed channel width has not decreased significantly after initial channel widening from large 25 year recurrence interval floods three sets of longitudinal surveys of the streambed showed the highest increase in pool depths and frequency in a degrading reach but even the aggrading reach exhbited some pool development through time the aggraded channel bed switched from functioning as a sediment sink to a significant sediment source as the channel adjusted to high sediment loads from 1980 to 1990 sediment eroded from temporary channel storage represented about 25 per cent ofthe total sediment load and 95 per cent of the bedload exported from the basin

differentiating the effects of logging river engineering and hydropower dams on flooding in the skokomish river washington usa abstract a decades long progressive loss of channel capacity in the skokomish river a 622 km2 basin draining the southeast olympic mountains of washington state has caused increasing flooding with severe consequences to endangered salmon runs infrastructure and private property to differentiate among multiple potential drivers of the capacity loss we analyze the geomorphic evidence for the potential effects of flow regulation by two dams constituting the cushman hydroelectric project which began regulating flow in the river s north fork in 1925 and diverting water out of the basin in 1930 sediment production from mid twentieth century logging in the river s south fork basin and twentieth century river engineering in the mainstem bankfull channel capacity in the mainstem has steadily declined since about 1940 from 370 m3 s 1 to

channel responses to varying sediment input a flume experiment modeled after redwood creek california article i nfo storage flume aggradation degradation at the reach scale a channel adjusts to sediment supply and flow through mutual interactions among channel form bed particle size and flow dynamics that govern river bed mobility sediment can impair the beneficial uses of a river but the timescales for studying recovery following high sediment loading in the field setting make flume experiments appealing we use a flume experiment coupled with field measurements in a gravel bed river to explore sediment transport storage and mobility relations under various sediment supply conditions our flume experiment modeled adjustments of channel morphology slope and armoring in a gravel bed channel under moderate sediment increases channel bed elevation increased and sediment output increased but channel planform remained similar to pre feed conditions during the following degradational cycle most of the excess sediment was evacuated from the flume and the bed became armored under high sediment feed channel bed elevation increased the bed became smoother mid channel bars and bedload sheets formed and water surface slope increased concurrently output increased and became more poorly sorted during the last degradational cycle the channel became armored and channel incision ceased before all excess sediment was removed selective transport of finer material was evident throughout the aggradational cycles and became more pronounced during degradational cycles as the bed became armored our flume results of changes in bed elevation sediment storage channel morphology and bed texture parallel those from field surveys of redwood creek northern california which has exhibited channel bed degradation for 30 years following a large aggradation event in the 1970s the flume experiment suggested that channel recovery in terms of reestablishing a specific morphology may not occur but the channel may return to a state of balancing sediment supply and transport capacity published by elsevier b v

holocene changes in tropical wind intensity and rainfall evidence from southeast ghana abstract remnants of a fixed aeolian dune ridge occur along the southeast coast of ghana just behind the present shoreline aeolian sands also cover extensive areas of the accra plains no dunes are present here the sands mainly occurring as sheets which blanket an early holocene landscape the sediments are of mid holocene age and were deposited during the interval 4500 b p 3800 yr b p when the southwesterly winds were stronger than they are at present and much of tropical africa seems to have been subject to marked aridity the onset of drier windier conditions around 4500 yr b p brought to an end the more equable climates than had characterized much of west africa during the earlier holocene aridity intensified winds and desert expansion between 4500 and 3800 yr b p parallel environmental conditions in tropical continental areas at the height of the late pleistocene glaciation

incision and morphologic evolution of an alluvial channel recovering from hydraulic mining sediment hydraulic gold mining in the sierra nevada california produced such a large volume of sediment from 1853 to 1884 that channels could not carry a substantial proportion of the delivered sediment the lower bear river aggraded as much as 5 m and underwent a major avulsion during the 1870s channel morphology continues to respond to these changes more than 100 years after the cessation of most hydraulic mining textures of mine tailings and older alluvium are contrasted and channel incision and channel shape changes from 1930 to 1985 are documented unlike the yuba and sacramento rivers the lower bear river had not returned to pre mining base levels by 1950 as sediment loads decreased nor were incision rates or morphological change governed by reduced sediment loads below dams built in 1928 and in the mid 1960s channel stability was due to resistance of a cohesive stratum on the channel bed an episode of channel down cutting was instigated by a moderately large flood in december 1955 that pierced the cohesive layer and was sustained through the 1970s by moderate magnitude floods the 1955 flood did not directly erode large volumes of sediment but it destabilized the channel allowing smaller floods to erode the channel at an accelerated rate episodic channel bed incision is contrasted to progressive morphologic changes cross section shape narrowed and deepened steadily from 1930 through the mid 1970s as the channel was superimposed onto cohesive older alluvium progressive deepening set up a positive feedback that ensured the ultimate penetration of the paved bed channel morphologic readjustment from the avulsion thus was both progressive and episodic

mid to late quaternary environments and stratigraphy of the southern sierra leone shelf west africa the middle to upper quaternary succession of the southern sierra leone shelf appears to have been deposited in response to three glacial sea level cycles the last of which has left the most complete sedimentary record the unconformable base of the succession is deeply incised off larger rivers inshore but has little relief toward the shelf break this difference results from the steep gradient of the inner shelf and the gentle gradient of the valley9s long profile incision was caused by high fluvial discharge during sea level fall decline of discharge and sediment supply during and after glacial maximum resulted in cessation of incision and in the formation of cemented beach ridges at the shelf break the lowstand wedge of the last glacial cycle is well developed beyond the shelf break and where the pre existing shelf was deep where sampled it is deposited below wave base its preservation is apparently the result of protection from wave and shelf current action during regression the subsequent transgressive wedge entirely dominates shelf deposition infilling incised valleys and contains vertically stacked fluvial estuarine littoral and sub littoral elements it is thin or absent beyond the shelf as a result of active oceanic currents hindering sedimentation active oceanic currents also result in only weak development of the highstand wedge energy regime as represented by moderate shelf currents and variable fluvial discharge has been the fundamental control on sediment architecture sediment supply has been of only secondary importance

geomorphic response of lillooet river british columbia to meander cutoffs and base level lowering abstract a detailed record of channel profiles slopes and stream discharge on lillooet river provides an opportunity to study the effects of natural and artificial channel changes that have occurred over the past century we analyze the long term effects of channel alterations that may affect flood hazard in the mid 1940s several meanders were artificially severed side channels blocked off and the level of downstream lillooet lake was lowered these measures were thought to increase hydrologic efficiency and decrease flood risk in the largely agricultural valley between 1947 and 1994 average channel width in the upper reaches decreased by 50 most of which occurred by the late 1950s between 1945 and 1969 lillooet river degraded its bed elevation by 3 4 m 12 5 to 16 7 cm a 1 in the upper reaches and up to 2 m 8 3 cm a 1 in the lower reaches this sudden and profound degradation compares to average bed elevation increases of 2 4 cm a 1 prior to the engineering works between 1969 and 1985 the cross section area increased by 22 in the upper reaches and 13 in the lower reaches and decreased to 12 and 8 respectively for the time period 1985 to 2000 the increased sediment supply that was caused by channel straightening accelerated delta advance in lillooet lake from 7 m a 1 1858 to 1948 to 30 m a 1 for the five year period following the 1948 channel works these rates have decreased over time but with a current advance rate of 10 5 m a 1 1986 2009 are still above the long term average prior to the channel changes this study demonstrates the time scale direction and magnitude of channel changes following significant artificial river alterations while the initial goal of decreasing flood risk had been achieved in the short term the lower river apparently is slowly returning to an overall aggradational phase ongoing delta advance will ultimately increase channel elevations in the lower reaches and lead to significant flood hazards for populated areas

mechanisms of subglacial cavity filling in glacier de tete rousse french alps the deadliest outburst flood from an englacial cavity occurred on glacier de tete rousse in the mont blanc area french alps in 1892 a subglacial reservoir was discovered in the same glacier in 2010 and drained artificially in 2010 2011 and 2012 to protect the 3000 inhabitants downstream the mechanism leading to the spontaneous refilling of the cavity following these pumping operations has been analyzed for this purpose the subglacial water volume changes between 2010 and 2013 were reconstructed the size of the cavity following the pumping was found to have decreased from 53 500 m 3 in 2010 to 12 750 m 3 in 2013 creep and the partial collapse of the cavity roof explain a large part of the volume loss analysis of cavity filling showed a strong relationship between measured surface melting and the filling rate with a time delay of 4 6 hours a permanent input of 15 m 3 d 1 not depending on surface melt was also found the meltwater and rain from the surface is conveyed to bedrock through crevasses and probably through a permeable layer of rock debris at the glacier bed the drainage pathway permeability was estimated at 0 054 m s 1 from water discharge measurements and dye tracing experiments

cosmogenic 10be as a tracer for hillslope and channel sediment dynamics in the clearwater river western washington state we use the 10be concentration in alluvial sand and gravel to document hillslope exposure history and trace the reduction in grain size of river alluvium in the clearwater river basin western washington state clearwater tributary basins wilson creek wc 6 km2 and east fork miller creek efmc 12 km2 were each sampled in headwater and downstream sites for 10be in alluvial sand 0 25 0 50 mm and gravel 22 6 90 mm grain size distributions were determined at each sampling site as well as at several locations along the main stem of the clearwater river channel and watershed geomorphology were quantified using long profile modeling and related morphometric analyses we found that the 10be concentrations differ significantly between the two grain size fractions at all four sampling locations at both headwater sites the gravel exhibits 25 lower 10be concentrations compared to the sand similarly the downstream site of lower wc exhibits 55 lower 10be concentration in the gravel compared to the sand in contrast the gravel from the downstream site on lower efmc exhibited 22 higher 10be concentration in the gravel compared to the sand the disparity in 10be concentration at the wc sites is best explained by shielding of the coarser grain size fraction and its delivery to the channel by deep seated landslide processes more intense landsliding in the downstream wc site is consistent with the increased disparity of 10be between the sand and gravel fractions at that site the inverse relationship between the sand and gravel 10be concentrations at the headwater efmc site is best explained by a sediment provenance mechanism where the hillslope weathering rate exceeds the down slope transport rate for this particular basin the inverse grain size dependency gravel sand observed in the downstream efmc site requires a more complex interplay between hillslope and channel processes including cobble weathering and grain size reduction during fluvial transport resulting in a dilution of the 10be signal in the sand fraction downstream these results underscore the importance of geomorphic consideration and the grain size sampled in the correct interpretation of basin average erosion rates

water and sediment outbursts from advanced franz josef glacier new zealand the franz josef glacier westland new zealand has a history of catastrophic sediment laden outburst oods associated with extreme rainfall events when the glacier toe is advanced over its own sediments consideration of these events and inspection of recent sediment deposits suggest that there are three distinct modes of outburst the rst is associated with fans fed by over ow along the glacier margin as the glacier has advanced across its own fore eld gravels it is inferred that the primary drainage conduit has developed a reach of negative slope in high ows massive boulders can block the conduit trapping lesser clasts the resulting backup of water causes over ows through marginal moulins producing the fan type of deposit the second type of outburst deposits massive imbricated boulders at a greater or lesser distance from the glacier portal in this case pressure buildup drives the blockage out of the portal where the boulders deposit smaller materials are generally carried away the third type consists of very shallow ows and produces massive gravel deposits of uncertain provenance in this condition the excess pressure in the conduit results in slight uplift of the glacier and widespread discharge of water and sediment below the glacier snout gravels and smaller sediments are laid down in a massive deposit across the fore eld the massive boulder veneered deposit from the december 1995 outburst is interpreted in the light of the above mechanisms as a hyperconcentrated ow deposit from hydraulic jacking overlain by boulders emplaced by a subsequent conduit outburst a possible association of outbursts with the present advanced position of the glacier is suggested copyright 2003 john wiley sons ltd

evolution of a landslide induced sediment wave in the navarro river california a streamside landslide delivered 60 000 m3 of mixed size sediment to the navarro river a sinuous gravel bed channel drainage area 535 km2 at the end of the annual high runoff period in spring 1995 the deposit formed a 9 m high dam that partially breached within several hours but recessional flows entrained little material until the following high runoff season the landslide afforded the opportunity to measure the evolution of a sediment wave from its inception to near obliteration and particularly to test relative tendencies for translation and dispersion of a sediment wave in a natural gravel bed channel this study represents a simple case the wave originated from a single input the preexisting channel was relatively uniform and resistant banks prevented adjustments in width we surveyed channel topography over a 1 5 4 5 km reach centered on the landslide dam each year from 1995 to 1999 and we sampled bed material downstream of the dam in 1995 and 1997 landslide material was coarser than ambient bed material but all sizes were mobilized by subsequent peak flows abrasion of weathered and fractured graywacke sandstone landslide material was roughly an order of magnitude greater than the ambient river gravel the sediment wave dispersed and mostly disappeared within a few years with no measurable translation sediment filled the reservoir created by the eroding landslide dam until throughput of bed load was restored in 1998 the stationary wave crest eroded until in 1999 it was 1 m higher e mail dsutherl fs fed us than the preslide elevation as the wave profile flattened its detectable leading edge extended downstream from 620 m in 1995 to 1600 m in 1997 downstream advance of the wave was associated with coarsening of bed material the sediment wave created a longitudinal disturbance in sediment transport by using the dam as a reference datum of zero bed load transport we computed longitudinal variations in annual bed load and suspended sediment transport rates in 100 m increments downstream of the dam these longitudinal variations were controlled by scour and fill of the bed and by abrasion of bed load particles bed load transport rates in the first and second years after the landslide increased in the landslide vicinity and then decreased downstream as sediment deposited behind the advancing leading edge of the wave the location of peak bed load transport rate advanced from the first year 400 m to the second 800 m we used a physically based one dimensional model cui et al 2002b to hindcast annual changes in transversely averaged bed elevation over the study reach agreement between measured and predicted bed elevations was very good this result supports our conclusion that once emplaced sediment waves in gravel bed rivers tend to disperse with little or no translation

sediment pulse evolution and the role of network structure abstract sediment pulses are triggered through a variety of mechanisms from landslides to land use change how do these pulses move through the fluvial system and how do they evolve in a system with perfect sediment connectivity the erosional response to a perturbation and the resulting signal at the river mouth would match however this rarely occurs many studies have addressed reach scale dynamics of sediment pulses and how they translate or disperse downstream at the watershed scale network structure and storage become more important in modulating the sediment signal here we review the current literature on sediment pulse behavior and then address the role of network structure on maintaining dispersing or transforming sediment pulses in a fluvial system we use a reduced complexity network routing model that simulates the movement of bed material through a river basin this model is run in the greater blue earth river gber basin in minnesota usa first with spatially uniform inputs and then with inputs constrained by a detailed sediment budget once the system reaches equilibrium a sediment pulse is introduced first at a single location and then throughout the system and tracked as it evolves downstream results indicate that pulses able to translate downstream disperse in place upon arriving at over capacity reaches as sediment goes into storage in the gber basin these zones occur just upstream of a knickpoint that is propagating upstream through all mainstem channels as the pulses get caught in these sediment bottlenecks there is a decoupling of the original pulse of sediment and the resulting bed material wave these results show that the network structure both in terms of network geometry and the spatial pattern of transport capacity can play a dominant role in sediment connectivity and should be considered when predicting sediment pulse behavior at the watershed scale

strain variation between quartz grains of different crystallographic orientation in a naturally deformed metasiltstone abstract the shapes of isolated quartz grains in a metasiltstone from the fleurieu peninsula south australia vary markedly the amount of strain undergone by individual grains being strongly influenced by crystallographic orientation relative to the finite strain axes the least deformed grains have c axis orientations clustered about the principal strain directions that is they have orientations for which the resolved shear stress on the 0001 a and 1010 c slip systems would have been close to zero during coaxial deformation a simple theoretical approach suggests that the geometry of the bulk strain should influence the observed c axis fabric of these least deformed grains the fabrics should vary from a a pronounced maximum parallel to z with a subsiduary distribution in the xy plane for pure flattening strain through b fabrics with maxima parallel to x and z and a weak maximum parallel to y to c fabrics with a pronounced maximum parallel to x and a subsiduary distribution within the yz plane for pure constriction the most elongate quartz grains in the metasiltstone show a strong maximum of c axes parallel to the intermediate strain axis y this suggests predominant prismatic slip in a direction at a large angle to the c axis probably on 1010 a the bulk strain undergone by the specimen is an integral of the variable strains in the component minerals and the extremes the least deformed or the most elongate grains cannot be regarded as anomalous if a realistic strain estimate is to be obtained

morphosedimentary evolution of a delta sourced drift aligned sand barrier lagoon complex western bight of benin the coast of eastern ghana and togo is bounded by a major holocene sand barrier complex hinged on the volta delta to the west and subject to high rates of longshore sand drift 1 1 5 106 m3 yr in spite of its proximity to this major deltaic sediment source this barrier system shows marked longshore variations in progradation following the middle holocene eustatic stillstand it is a hybrid system in terms of internal facies composition and plan view morphology in that it has evolved from an essentially regressive to a stationary synonymous with cessation of progradation system both transgressive and barrier inlet facies have also developed through time and space these temporal and spatial changes in patterns of development reflect variations in longshore sand transport and deposition over the last 5000 years such variations have been controlled by sediment supply from the volta by antecedent topography by lagoonal and river drainage by sediment cell development and maturation and in the very recent past by anthropogenic perturbation barrier progradation in the western bight of benin diminished considerably or ceased probably as early as 3400 yr b p as a single major equilibrium drift aligned bight cell matured permitting transport of volta sand toward the rest of the eastern bight in benin and nigeria the eastward longshore supply from the volta has involved both direct inputs of upland derived sand by the volta river channel and reworking of nearshore deltaic deposits a recent reduction in direct fluvial supply exacerbated by the akosombo dam completed in 1961 has induced a wave of erosion of the downdrift delta mouth barrier and shoreface deposits to fulfil the strong drift requirements in togo construction of a deepwater port in 1967 has also affected the barrier system both of these changes have had considerable impacts on longshore sediment dynamics the most significant impact has been segmentation of the former unique sediment cell characterising the 400 km long bight of benin coast resulting in differential longshore erosion progradation or equilibrium these changes have also induced new patterns of barrier behaviour that include transgressive and regressive dynamics at various locations alongshore

climatic control of denudation in the deglaciated landscape of the washington cascades erosion in the washington cascades mountains was dominated by glacier activity until the end of the last glacial maximum when fluvial incision and mass wasting became the dominant drivers an analysis of millennial scale rates of denudation in the range suggest erosion is sensitive both to spatial variations in precipitation and inherited topography

water flow through temperate glaciers understanding water movement through a glacier is fundamental to several critical issues in glaci ology including glacier dynamics glacier induced floods and the prediction of runoff from glacierized drainage basins to this end we have synthesized a conceptual model of water movement through a temper ate glacier from the surface to the outlet stream pro cesses that regulate the rate and distribution of water input at the glacier surface and that regulate water movement from the surface to the bed play important but commonly neglected roles in glacier hydrology where a glacier is covered by a layer of porous perme able firn the accumulation zone the flux of water to the glacier interior varies slowly because the firn tempo rarily stores water and thereby smooths out variations in the supply rate in the firn free ablation zone in con trast the flux of water into the glacier depends directly on the rate of surface melt or rainfall and therefore varies greatly in time water moves from the surface to the bed through an upward branching arborescent net work consisting of both steeply inclined conduits formed by the enlargement of intergranular veins and gently inclined conduits spawned by water flow along the bottoms of near surface fractures crevasses engla cial drainage conduits deliver water to the glacier bed at a limited number of points probably a long distance downglacier of where water enters the glacier englacial conduits supplied from the accumulation zone are quasi steady state features that convey the slowly varying water flux delivered via the firn their size adjusts so that they are usually full of water and flow is pressurized in contrast water flow in englacial conduits supplied from the ablation area is pressurized only near times of peak daily flow or during rainstorms flow is otherwise in an open channel configuration the subglacial drainage system typically consists of several elements that are distinct both morphologically and hydrologically an up glacier branching arborescent network of channels in cised into the basal ice conveys water rapidly much of the water flux to the bed probably enters directly into the arborescent channel network which covers only a small fraction of the glacier bed more extensive spatially is a nonarborescent network which commonly includes cav ities gaps between the glacier sole and bed channels incised into the bed and a layer of permeable sediment the nonarborescent network conveys water slowly and is usually poorly connected to the arborescent system the arborescent channel network largely collapses during winter but reforms in the spring as the first flush of meltwater to the bed destabilizes the cavities within the nonarborescent network the volume of water stored by a glacier varies diurnally and seasonally small temper ate alpine glaciers seem to attain a maximum seasonal water storage of 200 mm of water averaged over the area of the glacier bed with daily fluctuations of as much as 20 30 mm the likely storage capacity of subglacial cavities is insufficient to account for estimated stored water volumes so most water storage may actually occur englacially stored water may also be released abruptly and catastrophically in the form of outburst floods

frequent outburst floods from south tahoma glacier mount rainier u s a relation to debris flows meteorological origin and implications for subglacial hydrology destructive debris flows occur frequently at glacierized mount rainier volcano washington u s a twenty three such lows have occurred in the tahoma creek valley since 1967 hydrologic and geomorphic evidence indicate that all or nearly all of these lows began as outburst loods from south tahoma glacier flood waters are stored subglacially the volume of stored water discharged during a typical outburst flood would form a layer several centimeters thick over the bed of the entire glacier although it is more likely that large linked cavities account for most of the storage statistical analysis shows that outburst floods usually occur during periods of atypically hot or rainy weather in summer or early autumn and that the probability of an outburst increases with temperature a proxy measure of ablation rate or rainfall rate we suggest that outburst floods are triggered by rapid water input to the glacier bed causing water pressure transients that destabilize the linked cavity system the correlation between outburst floods and meteorological factors casts doubt on an earlier hypothesis that melting around geothermal vents triggers outburst floods from south tahoma glacier

an in situ optical investigation of the deformation behaviour of sodium nitrate an analogue for calcite abstract in situ observations have been made under the optical microscope of the deformation of thin polycrystalline specimens of sodium nitrate calcite structure at temperatures between 20 c 0 5 tm and 300 c 0 98 tm at low temperatures or high strain rates deformation twinning is observed between 20 c and 180 c inhomogeneous deformation together with dynamic recrystallisation by subgrain rotation results in a core and mantle microstructure at temperatures above 180 c rapid dynamic recrystallisation by grain boundary migration also occurs producing a coarse grained microstructure the results are interpreted in terms of impurity controlled grain boundary motion as proposed for halite and a strong similarity between the deformation behaviour of sodium nitrate and marble is noted

a fluvial record of long term steady state uplift and erosion across the cascadia forearc high western washington state six late quaternary river terraces preserved along the clearwater river in northwestern washington state provide a 140 ka record of long term incision and uplift across the western side of the cascadia forearc high terrace ages are constrained by weathering rind and radiocarbon dating and by correlation to dated coastal glacio fluvial deposits and the global eustatic curve the terraces overlie flat bedrock surfaces called straths which represent uplifted segments of the river channel bedrock incision is measured by the height of a strath relative to the adjacent modern river channel the straths along the clearwater show an upstream increase in bedrock incision ranging from 0 at the coast to a maximum of 110 m in the headwaters the incision at any point along the profile increases systematically with strath age the calculated incision rates range from 10 ky the clearwater river valley has maintained a steady state profile defined by a long term balance in the rates of incision and rock uplift upstream divergence of terraces is best explained by an increase in the rate of rock uplift from the coast toward the central part of the range these results are consistent with other evidence indicating a long term steady state balance between the accretionary influx and the erosional outflux for this part of the cascadia subduction wedge since 14 ma these results help show how terrace deposits form in tectonically active landscapes the dominantly fluvial clearwater drainage was forming straths while alpine glaciers were advancing in adjacent drainages in turn the straths were buried during the transition to interglacial times because of increased sediment supply due to local deglaciation and because of eustatic highstands that forced aggradation in the lower reach of the drainage and across the continental shelf as well the fluvial system shows strong forcing by the glacial climate cycle even so the river appears to have returned to the same valley profile during each cycle of strath cutting thus bedrock incision is clearly unsteady at time scales shorter than the glacial climate cycle 100 ky but appears to be relatively steady when averaged over longer time scales a simple kinematic model is used to examine how uplift of the cl our analysis indicates that the accretionary flux into the wedge occurs mainly by frontal accretion and not by underplating if accretion occurred entirely at the front of the wedge the present west coast should be moving to the northeast at 3 m ky relative to a fixed puget sound this prediction is in good agreement with offset of a 122 ka sea cliff preserved at the southwest side of the clearwater valley profile in this case the long term margin perpendicular shortening would account for 20 to 35 percent of the geodetically measured northeast southwest shortening across the olympic mountains

annual down glacier drainage of lakes and water filled crevasses at helheim glacier southeast greenland supraglacial lake drainage events are common on the greenland ice sheet observations on the west coast typically show an up glacier progression of drainage as the annual melt extent spreads inland we use a suite of remote sensing and modelling techniques in order to study a series of lakes and water filled crevasses within 20km of the terminus of helheim glacier south east greenland automatic classification of surface water areas shows a down glacier progression of drainage which occurs in the majority of years between 2007 and 2014 we demonstrate that a linear elastic fracture mechanics model can reliably predict the drainage of the uppermost supraglacial lake in the system but cannot explain the pattern of filling and draining observed in areas of surface water downstream we propose that the water levels in crevasses downstream of the supraglacial lake can be explained by a transient high pressure wave passing through the subglacial system following the lake drainage we support this hypothesis with analysis of the subglacial hydrological conditions which can explain both the position and interannual variation in filling order of these crevasses similar behaviour has been observed in association with jokulhaups surging glaciers and antarctic subglacial lakes but has not previously been observed on major outlets of the greenland ice sheet our results suggest that the behaviour of near terminus surface water may differ considerably from that of inland supraglacial lakes with the potential for basal water pressures to influence the presence of surface water in crevasses close to the terminus of tidewater glaciers

debris flow initiation in proglacial gullies on mount rainier washington article i nfo effects of climate change retreating glaciers and changing storm patterns on debris flow hazards concern managers in the cascade range usa and mountainous areas worldwide during an intense rainstorm in november 2006 seven debris flows initiated from proglacial gullies of separate basins on the flanks of mount rainier gully heads at glacier termini and widespread failure of gully walls imply that overland flow was trans formed into debris flow along gullies we characterized gully change and morphology and assessed spatial distributions of debris flows to infer the processes and conditions for debris flow initiation slopes at gully heads were greater than 0 35 m m 1 19 and exhibited a significant negative relationship with drainage area a break in slope drainage area trends among debris flow gullies also occurs at 0 35 m m 1 representing a possible transition to fluvial sediment transport and erosion an interpreted hybrid model of debris flow initi ation involves bed failure near gully heads followed by sediment recruitment from gully walls along gully lengths estimates of sediment volume loss from gully walls demonstrate the importance of sediment inputs along gullies for increasing debris flow volumes basin comparisons revealed significantly steeper drainage networks and higher elevations in debris flow producing than non debris flow producing proglacial areas the high slopes and elevations of debris flow producing proglacial areas reflect positive slope elevation trends for the mount rainier volcano glacier extent therefore controls the slope distribution in proglacial areas and thus potential for debris flow generation as a result debris flow activity may increase as glacier termini retreat onto slopes inclined at angles above debris flow initiation thresholds

evidence for nonlinear diffusive sediment transport on hillslopes and implications for landscape morphology steep soil mantled hillslopes evolve through the downslope movement of soil driven largely by slope dependent transport processes most landscape evolution models represent hillslope transport by linear diffusion in which rates of sediment transport are proportional to slope such that equilibrium hillslopes should have constant curvature between divides and channels on many soil mantled hillslopes however curvature appears to vary systematically such that slopes are typically convex near the divide and become increasingly planar downslope this suggests that linear diffusion is not an adequate model to describe the entire morphology of soil mantled hillslopes here we show that the interaction between local disturbances such as rainsplash and biogenic activity and frictional and gravitational forces results in a diffusive transport law that depends nonlinearly on hillslope gradient our proposed transport law 1 approximates linear diffusion at low gradients and 2 indicates that sediment flux increases rapidly as gradient approaches a critical value we calibrated and tested this transport law using high resolution topographic data from the oregon coast range these data obtained by airborne laser altimetry allow us to characterize hillslope morphology at 2 m scale at five small basins in our study area hillslope curvature approaches zero with increasing gradient consistent with our proposed nonlinear diffusive transport law hillslope gradients tend to cluster near values for which sediment flux increases rapidly with slope such that large changes in erosion rate will correspond to small changes in gradient therefore average hillslope gradient is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of rates of tectonic forcing or baselevel lowering where hillslope erosion is dominated by nonlinear diffusion rates of tectonic forcing will be more reliably reflected in hillslope curvature near the divide rather than average hillslope gradient