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Occurrence of cluster microforms in mountain rivers
Author(s) -
Strom K. B.,
Papanicolaou A. N.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.1693
Subject(s) - cobble , sediment , scale (ratio) , cluster (spacecraft) , sedimentary depositional environment , hydrology (agriculture) , channel (broadcasting) , geology , physical geography , environmental science , geography , geomorphology , structural basin , ecology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , engineering , habitat , computer science , electrical engineering , biology , programming language
The occurrence of cluster microforms in natural rivers is examined using data collected from three mountain streams. The study was conducted under the premise that the occurrence of clusters is strongly tied to local reach‐scale conditions, and that prediction of clustered sites therefore can be made through identification of particular reach conditions that are conducive to cluster development. For the study, reach‐scale variables were measured at 50 sites and the presence or absence of clusters at each of these sites was recorded. A statistical analysis using logistic regression was performed to examine the correlation between the occurrence of clusters and various combinations of reach‐scale parameters. It was found that clustering was best predicted by the bankfull channel width scaled with the d 84 of the bed sediment, w / d 84 , and the non‐dimensional parameter wQ 2 / gd 6 84 . It is thought that these variables work best at predicting the presence of clusters because they are descriptive of the reach hydraulic and sedimentary conditions and work well at discriminating between reach morphology types. It was found that clustering was most strongly tied to riffle–pool type reaches. Observations from this study suggest that clusters can be described as bed features that form out of the structural organization of grains in cobble‐size sediment within depositional mountain reaches, for which the majority of the sediment can become mobilized by yearly peak flows. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.