GY4027
Topic 5: Fluvial Landscapes
This topic, we will look at landscapes shaped by rivers.
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
- Explain the main processes operating in fluvial landscapes
- Describe the general properties of fluvial sediments
- Explain the contribution of fluvial systems to landscape maturity
Lecture
Lecture slides: L5 Fluvial Landscapes
Reading
Suggested Textbook
I suggest reading Chapter Nine of Huggett, R. (2017) Fundamentals of Geomorphology, 4th Edition. Routledge, London.
Chapter Nine is the chapter on fluvial landscapes.
Available online.
Academic papers
- Fremier, A.K., Yanites, B.J., and Yager, E.M. 2018. Sex that moves mountains: The influence of spawning fish on river profiles over geologic timescales. Geomorphology 305, 163–172. doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.09.033
This is a rather nice paper that looks at a particular form of biological erosion in rivers. Not something you’d maybe expect to make a big difference, and that’s what makes it interesting. Don’t try to understand the maths.
- Perez-Arlucea and Smith. 1999. Depositional patterns following the 1870s avulsion of the Saskatchewan River (Cumberland Marshes, Saskatchewan, Canada). Journal of Sedimentary Research 69, 62–73. doi: 10.2110/jsr.69.62
I used a few figures from this paper in the lecture - an interesting example of change in a braided river system in Canada.
Optional additional reading
One of the most influential papers in river geomorphology is
- Wolman, M.G. and Miller, J.P. 1960 Magnitude and Frequency of Forces in Geomorphic Processes. The Journal of Geology 68, 54–74 download pdf
which used streamflow data to show that while catastrophic floods are impressive, it is actually the more moderate flows which occur often enough (every 1–2 years) to transport the vast majority of sediment over the long term. Essentially, this paper explains why rivers look the way they do.