Conditions to Preserve the Sedimentary Record of Channel Planforms in Temperate Rivers of the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract

A sedimentary record of channel planforms preserved in alluvial sediments provides information about past climate changes. This is because dry and humid periods influence the magnitude of discharge, sediment load, channel width and depth, velocity, slope, and roughness (Leopold & Wolman, 1957). These interactions are recorded in fluvial sedimentary architecture. There are seven orders of elements constituting fluvial sedimentary architecture -from the single lamina, through bar surface, bars, nested channel cuts, channel fills and channel belts, to a nested valley (Miall, 1985). The record of channel belts includes information about the type of channel planform including records of past fluvial events that is, channel cutoffs, avulsions, the occurrence of floods, and changes in sedimentation style.

The evolution of meandering and anabranching rivers in postglacial and loess landscapes of Europe

“…Stream power of these rivers successively decreased from 2.0 to 3.0 W m −2 in the Late Glacial to ~0.5 W m −2 in the Holocene (cf. Słowik et al, 2022). The floodplain sedimentary architecture is multi-storey (Figure 4a).…”

“…BP), and Holocene. Traces of these river systems have been preserved in sedimentary record of paleochannels and floodplains, especially in river valleys where a decreasing trend of stream power, aggradational nature of river systems, and successively decreasing channel belts favored such a preservation (Słowik et al, 2022). Despite extensive studies on river planform changes (see Supplemental Materials for detailed review), knowledge about processes forming channel patterns, and connections between these processes and available sediments and landforms remains incomplete.…”