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River self-organisation inhibits discharge control on waterfall migration
Edwin R C Baynes1,2, Dimitri Lague3, Mikaël Attal4
1School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. edwin.baynes@univ-rennes1.fr.
Scientific Reports
|February 7, 2018
Summary
River valley erosion is key to landscape change. This study shows waterfall retreat rates are controlled by bedrock strength, not just drainage area, challenging existing models.
Area of Science:
- Geomorphology
- Earth Surface Processes
- Tectonic Geomorphology
Background:
- River incision and waterfall retreat are critical processes shaping landscape morphology.
- Existing models link waterfall retreat rates to drainage area, assuming a direct relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between discharge, channel geometry, and waterfall retreat rates.
- To evaluate the applicability of current models of landscape evolution under varying conditions.
Main Methods:
- An experimental study was conducted to simulate river action and waterfall retreat.
- Discharge was varied to observe changes in channel geometry and bed shear stress.
- Waterfall retreat rates were measured and correlated with discharge and bedrock properties.
Main Results:
- Increasing discharge led to wider channels, maintaining near-constant bed shear stress at the waterfall lip.
- Waterfall retreat rates did not significantly change with increased discharge due to self-regulation of channel width.
- Bedrock lithology (strength) was identified as a primary control on the mean waterfall retreat rate.
Conclusions:
- The assumption of a direct relationship between drainage area and waterfall retreat rate has limited applicability.
- Channel self-organization in response to discharge influences erosional processes.
- Numerical models of landscape evolution require re-evaluation to incorporate lithological heterogeneity and channel self-organization for accurate simulations.
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