The Sagavanirktok River, North Slope Alaska; characterization of an Arctic stream

Hodel, K.L.

doi:10.3133/ofr86267

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…1). The Sagavanirktok River flows north into the Beaufort Sea, draining ≈ 15 000 km 2 of the Brooks Range and the North Slope (Hodel, 1986). In the study area, the river has a channel‐belt width up to 2·4 km and a gradient of 1·35 × 10 −3 .…”

Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and deposits of a gravelly braid bar, Sagavanirktok River, Alaska

Lunt¹,

Bridge²

2004

Sedimentology

144

100

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The evolution, migration and deposits of a gravelly braid bar in the Sagavanirktok River, northern Alaska, are described in unprecedented detail using annual aerial photographs, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) profiles, trenches and cores. Compound braid bars in the Sagavanirktok River form by chute cut‐off of point bars and by growth of mid‐channel unit bars. Subsequent growth is primarily by accretion of unit bars onto their lateral and downstream margins. The upstream ends of braid bars may be sites of erosion or unit bar deposition. Compound braid bar deposits vary in thickness laterally and are thickest in medial sections and near cut banks. Compound bar deposits are typically composed of three to seven sets of simple large‐scale inclined strata, each simple set formed by a unit bar. The simple large‐scale strata contain medium‐scale cross‐strata (from dune migration) and planar strata (from migration of bedload sheets). The upstream and medial parts of compound braid bar deposits show very little vertical variation in grain size, but downstream and lateral margins tend to fine upwards. The deposits are mostly poorly sorted sands and gravels, although sands tend to be deposited at the top of the braid bar, and open‐framework gravels preferentially occur near the top and base of the braid bar. The patterns of braid bar growth and migration, and the nature of the deposits, described from the Sagavanirktok River are generally similar to other sandy and gravelly braided rivers, and consistent with the theoretical braid bar model of Bridge (1993).

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Section: Study Area and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and deposits of a gravelly braid bar, Sagavanirktok River, Alaska

Lunt¹,

Bridge²

2004

Sedimentology

144

100

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“…Published work on Earth's permafrost-river hydraulic geometry does not support a large permafrost correction for width (fig. S8) (33). We emphasize the biggest-in-catchment widths because our alluvial fan rivers may subdivide downstream of the fan apex.…”

Section: Evidence For Intense Globally-distributed Climate-driven Run...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence of intense, climate-driven runoff late in Mars history

et al. 2019

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Mars is dry today, but numerous precipitation-fed paleo-rivers are found across the planet’s surface. These rivers’ existence is a challenge to models of planetary climate evolution. We report results indicating that, for a given catchment area, rivers on Mars were wider than rivers on Earth today. We use the scale (width and wavelength) of Mars paleo-rivers as a proxy for past runoff production. Using multiple methods, we infer that intense runoff production of >(3–20) kg/m2per day persisted until <3 billion years (Ga) ago and probably <1 Ga ago, and was globally distributed. Therefore, the intense runoff production inferred from the results of the Mars Science Laboratory rover was not a short-lived or local anomaly. Rather, precipitation-fed runoff production was globally distributed, was intense, and persisted intermittently over >1 Ga. Our improved history of Mars’ river runoff places new constraints on the unknown mechanism that caused wet climates on Mars.

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“…1). The Sagavanirktok River flows north into the Beaufort Sea, draining ≈ 15 000 km 2 of the Brooks Range and the North Slope (Hodel, 1986). In the study area, the braided Sagavanirktok River has a channel‐belt width up to 2·4 km and a gradient of 1·35 × 10 −3 .…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

A quantitative, three‐dimensional depositional model of gravelly braided rivers

Lunt

Bridge

Tye³

2004

Sedimentology

267

288

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A quantitative, three‐dimensional depositional model of gravelly, braided rivers has been developed based largely on the deposits of the Sagavanirktok River in northern Alaska. These deposits were described using cores, wireline logs, trenches and ground‐penetrating radar profiles. The origin of the deposits was inferred from observations of: (1) channel and bar formation and migration and channel filling, interpreted from aerial photographs; (2) water flow during floods; and (3) the topography and texture of the river bed at low‐flow stage. This depositional model quantitatively represents the geometry of the different scales of strataset, the spatial relationships among them and their sediment texture distribution. Porosity and permeability in the model are related to sediment texture. The geometry of a particular type and scale of strataset is related to the geometry and migration of the bedform type (e.g. ripples, dunes, bedload sheets, bars) associated with deposition of the strataset. In particular, the length‐to‐thickness ratio of stratasets is similar to the wavelength‐to‐height ratio of associated bedforms. Furthermore, the wavelength and height of bedforms such as dunes and bars are related to channel depth and width. Therefore, the thickness of a particular scale of strataset (i.e. medium‐scale cross‐sets and large‐scale sets of inclined strata) will vary with river dimensions. These relationships between the dimensions of stratasets, bedforms and channels mean that this depositional model can be applied to other gravelly fluvial deposits. The depositional model can be used to interpret the origin of ancient gravelly fluvial deposits and to aid in the characterization of gravelly fluvial aquifers and hydrocarbon reservoirs.

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The Sagavanirktok River, North Slope Alaska; characterization of an Arctic stream

Cited by 6 publications

References 11 publications

Evolution and deposits of a gravelly braid bar, Sagavanirktok River, Alaska

Evolution and deposits of a gravelly braid bar, Sagavanirktok River, Alaska

Persistence of intense, climate-driven runoff late in Mars history

A quantitative, three‐dimensional depositional model of gravelly braided rivers

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