Catastrophic middle Pleistocene jökulhlaups in the upper Susquehanna River: Distinctive landforms from breakout floods in the central Appalachians

Kochel, R. Craig; Nickelsen, Richard P.; Eaton, L. Scott

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.03.025

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Ramage et al [] mapped the extent of glacial lacustrine deposits to show that glacial Lake Lesley extended over 100 km in length and 100 m in depth with an estimated maximum storage volume of 100 km 3 . As demonstrated by other studies [e.g., Kochel et al , ; Alho et al , ; Carling et al , ; Denlinger and O'Connell , ], the catastrophic failure of glacial ice dams can influence the geomorphology of the valley when large amounts of water, ice, and sediment are transported downstream.…”

Section: Glaciation and The West Branch Of The Susquehanna Rivermentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The hydraulic simulation of estimated paleoflood discharges on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River enables additional analysis of potential glaciofluvial processes and their effect on the current river bed form. When combined with previously compiled geological evidence of glacial Lake Lesley and a higher paleoflood regime [ Peltier , ; Nelson , ; Faill , ; Marchand and Crowl , ; Engel et al , ; Inners , ; Ramage et al , ; Hayes , ; Kochel et al , ], a more complete view of the potential geomorphic significance of paleofloods is possible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The goals of this study are to investigate the potential hydraulic conditions of catastrophic floods in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River during the middle to late Pleistocene period and to identify the influence of paleofloods on the current river bed form. Much of the previous work on characterizing the glaciofluvial processes of West Branch of the Susquehanna River [ Peltier , ; Nelson , ; Marchand and Crowl , ; Engel et al , ; Ramage et al , ; Kochel et al , ] has focused on the geological evidence and larger‐scale paleostage indicators preserved on the floodplain and in the tributary watersheds with some investigation of bed sediments. Therefore, it was necessary to map the current channel river bed using bathymetry data collection techniques to identify river bed form features.…”

Section: Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The geological evidence of the erosional and depositional features created by paleofloods on the West Branch are documented by Peltier [], Nelson [], Faill [], Marchand and Crowl [], Engel et al [], Inners [], Ramage et al [], Hayes [], and Kochel et al []. The observed channel bed and floodplain features are useful for comparing modern flood and paleoflood influences.…”

Section: Geological Evidence Of Paleofloods and The Modern Flow Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…These high-magnitude floods leave behind geological evidence or paleostage indicators of the water levels and flow hydraulics that are not easily "erased" by modern-day natural or anthropogenic activities. Several paleofloods have been studied worldwide [e.g., Rudoy, 2002;Alho et al, 2005;Sheffer et al, 2008;Kochel et al, 2009;Alho et al, 2010;Carling et al, 2010;Denlinger and O'Connell, 2010;Meinsen et al, 2011;Kasse, 2014]. These studies involved the identification of paleoflood indicators [Rudoy, 2002;Sheffer et al, 2008;Kochel et al, 2009;Meinsen et al, 2011;Kasse, 2014] and modeling of estimated paleoflood discharges [Alho et al, 2005[Alho et al, , 2010Carling et al, 2010;Denlinger and O'Connell, 2010] to characterize the effects of the mega-floods on the observed landscapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hydraulic modeling of glacial dam‐break floods on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania

Newlin

Hayes

2015

Earth and Space Science

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This study investigates the potential hydraulic conditions of catastrophic floods in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River (West Branch) during the middle to late Pleistocene period and the influence of these paleofloods on the current river bed form. The current channel bed form is characterized using sonar bathymetry data collection techniques. The paleofloods are hypothesized based on published geological evidence of early Pleistocene glacial Lake Lesley in the West Branch Valley, which was formed by a glacial ice dam that potentially failed during mild climate cycles in the Pleistocene period. A one-dimensional, steady hydraulic model is developed to simulate estimates of paleoflood peak discharges and the modern 100 year return period peak discharge. The computed water-surface profiles, shear stresses, and flood inundation maps could explain the erosional and depositional features identified by other researchers as being formed during the Pleistocene and could explain features revealed by the bathymetry data. Therefore, the hydraulic modeling results support previously inferred hypotheses of the occurrence of glacial dam-break floods on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The differences that are evident between the paleoflood simulations and the simulation of the modern 100 year peak discharge are attributable to valley constrictions that cause substantial backwater effects for the larger paleoflood discharges but not for the lower modern flood discharge volume. The ability to simulate potential paleofloods in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River complements the paleostage indicator work done by other researchers and enables innovative analysis of glaciofluvial processes and their effect on the current river bed form.

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