Abstract. The width of valleys and channels affects the hydrology, ecology,and geomorphic functionality of drainage networks. In many studies, thewidth of valleys and/or channels (W) is estimated as a power-law function ofthe drainage area (A), W=kcAd. However, in fluvial systemsthat experience drainage reorganization, abrupt changes in drainage areadistribution can result in valley or channel widths that are disproportionalto their drainage areas. Such disproportionality may be more distinguishedin valleys than in channels due to a longer adjustment timescale forvalleys. Therefore, the valley width–area scaling in reorganized drainagesis expected to deviate from that of drainages that did not experiencereorganization. To explore the effect of reorganization on valley width–drainage areascaling, we studied 12 valley sections in the Negev desert, Israel,categorized into undisturbed, beheaded, and reversed valleys. We found thatthe values of the drainage area exponents, d, are lower in the beheadedvalleys relative to undisturbed valleys but remain positive. Reversedvalleys, in contrast, are characterized by negative d exponents, indicatingvalley narrowing with increasing drainage area. In the reversed category, wealso explored the independent effect of channel slope (S) through theequation W=kbAbSc, which yieldednegative and overall similar values for b and c. A detailed study in one reversed valley section shows that the valleynarrows downstream, whereas the channel widens, suggesting that, ashypothesized, the channel width adjusts faster to post-reorganizationdrainage area distribution. The adjusted narrow channel dictates the widthof formative flows in the reversed valley, which contrasts with the meaningfullywider formative flows of the beheaded valley across the divide. Thisdifference results in a step change in the unit stream power between thereversed and beheaded channels, potentially leading to a “width feedback”that promotes ongoing divide migration and reorganization. Our findings demonstrate that valley width–area scaling is a potential toolfor identifying landscapes influenced by drainage reorganization. Accountingfor reorganization-specific scaling can improve estimations of erosion ratedistributions in reorganized landscapes.
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This content will become publicly available on July 14, 2024
Debris‐Flow Process Controls on Steepland Morphology in the San Gabriel Mountains, California
Steep landscapes evolve largely by debris flows, in addition to fluvial and hillslope processes. Abundant field observations document that debris flows incise valley bottoms and transport substantial sediment volumes, yet their contributions to steepland morphology remain uncertain. This has, in turn, limited the development of debris‐flow incision rate formulations that produce morphology consistent with natural landscapes. In many landscapes, including the San Gabriel Mountains (SGM), California, steady‐state fluvial channel longitudinal profiles are concave‐up and exhibit a power‐law relationship between channel slope and drainage area. At low drainage areas, however, valley slopes become nearly constant. These topographic forms result in a characteristically curved slope‐area signature in log‐log space. Here, we use a one‐dimensional landform evolution model that incorporates debris‐flow erosion to reproduce the relationship between this curved slope‐area signature and erosion rate in the SGM. Topographic analysis indicates that the drainage area at which steepland valleys transition to fluvial channels correlates with measured erosion rates in the SGM, and our model results reproduce these relationships. Further, the model only produces realistic valley profiles when parameters that dictate the relationship between debris‐flow erosion, valley‐bottom slope, and debris‐flow depth are within a narrow range. This result helps place constraints on the mathematical form of a debris‐flow incision law. Finally, modeled fluvial incision outpaces debris‐flow erosion at drainage areas less than those at which valleys morphologically transition from near‐invariant slopes to concave profiles. This result emphasizes the critical role of debris‐flow incision for setting steepland form, even as fluvial incision becomes the dominant incisional process.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10441399
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
- Volume:
- 128
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2169-9003
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Steep channel networks commonly show a transition from constant‐gradient colluvial channels associated with debris flow activity to concave‐up fluvial channels downstream. The trade‐off between debris flow and fluvial erosion in steep channels remains unclear, which obscures connections among topography, tectonics, and climate in steep landscapes. Here, we analyze steep debris‐flow‐prone channels across the western United States and observe: (1) similar maximum channel gradients across a range of catchment erosion rates and geologic settings; and (2) lengthening colluvial channels with coarsening sediment cover. Following this compilation, we hypothesize that steep channel gradients are controlled by two competing thresholds of motion for bed‐sediment cover: bed failure by mass‐wasting and fluvial entrainment. We use downstream patterns in discharge, channel geometry, and sediment size to calculate discharges needed to mobilize sediment cover by both mechanisms across channels in the San Gabriel Mountains (SGM) and northern San Jacinto Mountains (NSJM) in southern California. Across steep colluvial channels in both landscapes, decadal discharges are below fluvial entrainment thresholds but above mass‐wasting entrainment thresholds for (median) sediment sizes, consistent with recent debris flows captured by repeat imagery. Colluvial channel gradient is similar despite > 3× contrasts in surface sediment grain size. In concave‐up fluvial channels downstream, decadal discharges exceed fluvial entrainment thresholds, and mass‐wasting is not predicted on lower gradients. In both landscapes, fluvial channels steepen downstream compared to gradients needed to mobilize sediment cover, which we interpret to reflect downstream increases in sediment flux. Coarser sediment supply in the NSJM than the SGM increases fluvial entrainment thresholds, which increases total channel relief in the NSJM by (1) lengthening colluvial channels shaped by debris flows and (2) increasing fluvial channel gradients. Our compilation and downstream analysis show how differing sensitivity of fluvial and debris flow processes to sediment grain size impacts the relative relief of colluvial and fluvial regimes in headwater channel networks.
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Abstract Incipient valley formation in mountainous landscapes is often associated with their presence at a regular spacing under diverse hydroclimatic forcings. Here we provide a formal linear stability theory for a landscape evolution model representing the action of tectonic uplift, diffusive soil creep, and detachment‐limited fluvial erosion. For configurations dominated by only one horizontal length scale, a single dimensionless quantity characterizes the overall system dynamics based on model parameters and boundary conditions. The stability analysis is conducted for smooth and symmetric hillslopes along a long mountain ridge to study the impact of the erosion law form on regular first‐order valley formation. The results provide the critical condition when smooth landscapes become unstable and give rise to a characteristic length scale for incipient valleys, which is related to the scaling exponents that couple fluvial erosion to the specific drainage area and the local slope. The valley spacing at first instability is uniquely related to the ratio of the scaling exponents and widens with an increase in this ratio. We find compelling evidence of sediment transport by diffusive creep and fluvial erosion coupled with the specific drainage area equation as a sufficient mechanism for first‐order valley formation. We finally show that the predictions of the linear stability analysis conform with the results of numerical simulations for different degrees of nonlinearity in the erosion law and agree well with topographic data from a natural landscape.
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Abstract Bedrock landsliding, including the formation of landslide dams, is a predominant geomorphic process in steep landscapes. Clarifying the importance of hydrologic and seismic mechanisms for triggering deep‐seated landslides remains an ongoing effort, and formulation of geomorphic metrics that predict dam preservation is crucial for quantifying secondary landslide hazards. Here, we identify >200 landslide‐dammed lakes in western Oregon and utilize dendrochronology and enhanced14C dating (“wiggle matching”) of “ghost forests” to establish slope failure timing at 20 sites. Our dated landslide dataset reveals bedrock landsliding has been common since the last Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake in January 1700 AD. Our study does not reveal landslides that date to 1700 AD. Rather, we observe temporal clustering of
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