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Onset and growth of tributary‐dammed lakes
Author(s) -
Hsu Jammie P. C.,
Capart Hervé
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2008wr007020
Subject(s) - tributary , aggradation , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , sediment , sediment transport , streams , geomorphology , fluvial , structural basin , geotechnical engineering , geography , computer network , cartography , computer science
We propose and test a theory describing the onset and growth of tributary‐dammed lakes. Using a diffusion equation constrained by backwater effects, we show how tributary sediment influx can cause either a cuspate river aggradation or the formation of a lake upstream of the tributary junction. This lake expands up valley and drowns previous deposits to leave a downstream‐facing lake bed of inclination milder than the angle of stability. We obtain exact similarity solutions for such river and lake bed profiles and validate them quantitatively using laboratory experiments. The resulting profiles are in qualitative accord with those of natural tributary‐dammed rivers.