Channel pattern of proglacial rivers : topographic forcing due to glacier retreat

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)



Description :
This paper compares widely used models of river channel pattern against the changes observed at Skaftafellsjökull, Iceland. Topography was found to play a large role in determining channel pattern in proglacial environments for 2 reasons : 1) glacier retreat forces rivers to flow through confined moraine reaches; 2) proximal incision of proglacial rivers, accompanied by downstream aggradation, leads to changes in slope which force the river to cross channel pattern thresholds. The findings of this work indicate that in the short term, the majority of channel pattern change in proglacial rivers is due to topographic forcing, and that changes due to changing hydrology and sediment supply are initially relatively minor, although likely to increase in significance as deglaciation progresses. These findings have implications for palaeohydraulic studies. This paper shows that channel pattern can change at timescales faster than hydrological or sediment budget changes usually occur, in association with relatively minor changes in glacier mass balance.


Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Earth surface processes and landforms, issn : 0197-9337, 2014, vol. 39, n°. 7, p. 943-951, nombre de pages : 9, Références bibliographiques : 1 p.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Royaume-Uni, Chichester, Wiley