The graded alluvial river: Profile concavity and downstream fining

Astrid Blom*, Enrica Viparelli, Victor Chavarrias Borras

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

48 Citations (Scopus)
206 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

There has been quite some debate on the relative importance of particle abrasion and grain size selective transport regarding the river profile form and the associated grain size trends in a graded alluvial stream. Here we present new theoretical equations for the graded alluvial river profile that account for the effects of particle abrasion and grain size selective transport in the absence of subsidence, uplift, and sea level change. Under graded conditions we find that abrasion results in a mild profile concavity and downstream fining, whereas under aggradational conditions grain size selective transport can lead to large spatial changes in channel slope and bed surface mean grain size.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6285-6293
Number of pages9
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume43
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • downstream fining
  • particle abrasion
  • profile concavity
  • river longitudinal profile
  • selective transport

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