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Accelerated floodplain sedimentation related to agricultural development of uplands has produced postsettlement alluvium (PSA) along rivers throughout the upper Midwest, U.S.A. Landscape characteristics, surficial sediments, and soils in the region vary geographically in relation to differences in geologic history, yet the extent to which this geographic variability influences PSA accumulation remains unexplored. This study uses existing data to assess how non-dimensional PSA thickness varies with landscape characteristics, surficial sediments, soils and climate. Geographic variability is associated with three subregions: 1) areas glaciated during the Late Wisconsin Episode (LWE), 2) areas glaciated during Pre-Illinois and Illinois Episodes (PI&IE), and 3) the Paleozoic Plateau (PP), an area where evidence of Quaternary glaciation is highly localized and does not influence geomorphic characteristics of the landscape. These subregions differ significantly in average geomorphic characteristics, including mean watershed slope (WS), mean local relief (LR), fraction of non-contributing area (NCA), pre-settlement drainage density (DD), and mean normalized river steepness (KSN). Native vegetation type also differs systematically between the subregions, creating significant differences in the frequency of alfisols (Alfi) and molisols (Mol). Thickness of last glacial loess (Loess) also varies across the region, although not systematically between the subregions identified. Non-dimensional PSA thickness differs significantly among the subregions, increasing systematically with landscape age, reflecting faster upland erosion rates and stronger connectivity of uplands to river corridors in older landscapes relative to more recently glaciated landscapes. Nondimensional PSA thickness is significantly positively correlated with LR, KSN, WS, Loess, Alfi, and Mol and significantly negatively correlated with NCA. Non-visibly distinct PSA is present in some LWE watersheds characterized by significantly lower KSN and WS relative to other LWE watersheds in which PSA is visibly distinct. PSA thickness and visibility reflect catchment-wide landscape characteristics and watershed-scale river steepness, which emphasize the importance of geographic setting, geological history, and landscape geomorphic characteristics for understanding historical river sediment dynamics. Spatial variability in PSA thickness also serves as an indicator of river system sensitivity to land-use change, providing insight into the relative impact of humans on rivers within different geographic settings. 

Recent research has indicated that numerous lowland rivers in North America and Europe had multithread, anabranching channel patterns prior to widespread human modification of landscapes and that contemporary human activities have transformed many anabranching rivers into single-channel meandering rivers. Although lowland rivers in the upper midwestern United States are predominantly meandering, anabranching occurs locally. Whether anabranching of these river systems was uncommon in the past or intensive agriculture has resulted in near eradication of anabranching channel patterns remains uncertain. This article quantifies the prevalence of river anabranching within several watersheds in the upper midwestern United States prior to widespread European settlement in the early to mid-1800s based on General Land Office survey plat maps and field notes. It also compares this prevalence to the contemporary occurrence of river anabranching. Results show that anabranching reaches were somewhat more common historically (22 percent more reaches in the past compared to the present), but were still relatively rare, constituting only about 1 percent of the total length of streams in the study watersheds. Analysis of the geographic distribution of anabranching reaches reveals that historical spatial patterns generally are different than modern patterns. Thus, only a handful of historical anabranching reaches have persisted through time to the present. The findings place contemporary river anabranching in the upper midwestern United States within the context of past conditions and suggest that human modification of landscapes throughout this region has not substantially modified channel patterns of rivers. 

Abstract Relatively little is known about the geomorphological characteristics of floodplain secondary channels and the potential for floodplain flows to mobilize bed material within these channels. This study examines the geomorphological characteristics (channel form, material properties, wood jams) and bed‐material mobilization potential of secondary channels on the floodplain of a meandering river in Illinois, USA. It also compares these attributes to those of the main channel. Results show that secondary channels are at most about one‐third the size of the main channel but also vary in size over distance. Channel dimensions tend to be greatest near the proximal connection of secondary channels to the main channel, suggesting that flow from the main channel is effective in producing scour where it enters secondary channels. The beds of secondary channels consist mainly of mud in contrast to sand and gravel on the bed of the main channel, implying that secondary channels do not convey bed material from the main channel onto the floodplain. Secondary channels connected to the main channel at both ends have more abundant active wood jams than those connected only at the proximal end. Flow from the main channel enters secondary channels at sub‐bankfull stages, but maximum mobilization of cohesive bed material in secondary channels only occurs during flows that exceed the average bankfull stage in the main channel. Overall, secondary channels are active conduits of flow, sediment, and large wood on floodplains and can contribute to floodplain sediment fluxes through entrainment of bed material. 

Abstract Mutual adjustment between process and form shapes the morphology of alluvial river channels, including channel banks. The tops of banks define the transition between the channel and adjacent floodplain, which corresponds to the level of incipient flooding. Despite the geomorphological and hydrological importance of this transition, few, if any, studies have extensively examined spatial variability in bank elevations and its influence on bankfull stage. This study uses an objective method to explore this variability at two spatial resolutions along three alluvial lowland meandering rivers. Results show that variability in bankfull stage is inherent to all three rivers. The mean variability of bankfull stage about the average downstream gradient in this stage is 10% to 20% of mean bankfull depth. Elevations of channel banks exhibit similar variability, even after accounting for systematic variations in heights of inner and outer banks associated with river meandering. Two‐dimensional hydraulic simulations show that the elevation range of mean variability in bankfull stage overlaps considerably with the elevation range of high curvature on rating curves, confirming that variability in bankfull stage influences the shape of these curves. The simulations verify that breaks in channel banks allow flow to extend onto the floodplain at stages below the average bankfull stage. The findings provide fundamental insight into the variable nature of bankfull conditions along meandering rivers and the role of this variability in channel‐floodplain connectivity. The results also inform river‐restoration efforts that seek to re‐establish the natural configuration of channel banks.