The processes and timing of sediment delivery from headwaters to the trunk stream of a Central European mountain gully catchment.
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| Title: | The processes and timing of sediment delivery from headwaters to the trunk stream of a Central European mountain gully catchment. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Larsen, Annegret1,2,3 alarsen@ecology.uni-kiel.de, Bork, Hans-Rudolf1, Fuelling, Alexander4, Fuchs, Markus5, Larsen, Joshua R.6 |
| Source: | Geomorphology. Nov2013, Vol. 201, p215-226. 12p. |
| Subjects: | River sediments, Watersheds, Water quality, Water storage, Mountains |
| Geographic Terms: | Central Europe, Europe |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Gully systems determine downstream water quality and sediment loads since they are located where streams begin. They are often only considered as a sediment source, and the degree to which gully systems also store sediment, and the timescales of this storage, have received less attention. Gully sediment storage is important because many sedimentary archives, such as floodplains and lakes, have recorded increases in sedimentation rates particularly in Medieval times, which are interpreted as the result of increased slope erosion and gully activity. At present there is insufficient evidence directly linking such other sedimentary archives and gully systems. There is also a lack of long term records which may indicate how the major external controls, climatic or anthropogenic, might determine gully responses. To address this, we analysed sediment sources and sinks within a small (43ha) gully catchment in the Spessart Mountains, Germany. We found five main phases of erosion and deposition since ~13ka, which revealed catchment vegetation significantly controlled geomorphic responses. A loss of vegetation due to climate deterioration (e.g. Younger Dryas) or deforestation (e.g. Medieval period) caused widespread slope instability and the aggradation of the gully thalweg. In contrast, well forested conditions before the Medieval period, and again in recent years, re-stabilised the slopes, leading to gully incision with knickpoint retreat. This result differs from previous interpretations of gully activity in Central Europe that gully erosion mostly occurred in Medieval times. Our results also demonstrate that only the initial phase of knickpoint retreat is significant for supplying sediment to the gully fan and trunk stream. Then knickpoint retreat leads to a relative increase in the thalweg storage capacity downstream, which limits further sediment export. This has important implications for the interpretation of floodplain ages, since the initial supply of gully sediment to trunk streams may not coincide with human impact. Instead, there will be a lagged response between catchment reforestation and the onset of gully incision, which in this study is up to ~150years. Therefore, the assumption of a direct causal link between increases in floodplain sedimentation and slope erosion may not always be valid. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] |
| Copyright of Geomorphology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 90634869 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The processes and timing of sediment delivery from headwaters to the trunk stream of a Central European mountain gully catchment. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Larsen%2C+Annegret%22">Larsen, Annegret</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo><i> alarsen@ecology.uni-kiel.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bork%2C+Hans-Rudolf%22">Bork, Hans-Rudolf</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fuelling%2C+Alexander%22">Fuelling, Alexander</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fuchs%2C+Markus%22">Fuchs, Markus</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Larsen%2C+Joshua+R%2E%22">Larsen, Joshua R.</searchLink><relatesTo>6</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Geomorphology%22">Geomorphology</searchLink>. Nov2013, Vol. 201, p215-226. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22River+sediments%22">River sediments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Watersheds%22">Watersheds</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+quality%22">Water quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+storage%22">Water storage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mountains%22">Mountains</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Central+Europe%22">Central Europe</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Europe%22">Europe</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Abstract: Gully systems determine downstream water quality and sediment loads since they are located where streams begin. They are often only considered as a sediment source, and the degree to which gully systems also store sediment, and the timescales of this storage, have received less attention. Gully sediment storage is important because many sedimentary archives, such as floodplains and lakes, have recorded increases in sedimentation rates particularly in Medieval times, which are interpreted as the result of increased slope erosion and gully activity. At present there is insufficient evidence directly linking such other sedimentary archives and gully systems. There is also a lack of long term records which may indicate how the major external controls, climatic or anthropogenic, might determine gully responses. To address this, we analysed sediment sources and sinks within a small (43ha) gully catchment in the Spessart Mountains, Germany. We found five main phases of erosion and deposition since ~13ka, which revealed catchment vegetation significantly controlled geomorphic responses. A loss of vegetation due to climate deterioration (e.g. Younger Dryas) or deforestation (e.g. Medieval period) caused widespread slope instability and the aggradation of the gully thalweg. In contrast, well forested conditions before the Medieval period, and again in recent years, re-stabilised the slopes, leading to gully incision with knickpoint retreat. This result differs from previous interpretations of gully activity in Central Europe that gully erosion mostly occurred in Medieval times. Our results also demonstrate that only the initial phase of knickpoint retreat is significant for supplying sediment to the gully fan and trunk stream. Then knickpoint retreat leads to a relative increase in the thalweg storage capacity downstream, which limits further sediment export. This has important implications for the interpretation of floodplain ages, since the initial supply of gully sediment to trunk streams may not coincide with human impact. Instead, there will be a lagged response between catchment reforestation and the onset of gully incision, which in this study is up to ~150years. Therefore, the assumption of a direct causal link between increases in floodplain sedimentation and slope erosion may not always be valid. [Copyright &y& Elsevier] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Geomorphology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.06.022 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 215 Subjects: – SubjectFull: River sediments Type: general – SubjectFull: Watersheds Type: general – SubjectFull: Water quality Type: general – SubjectFull: Water storage Type: general – SubjectFull: Mountains Type: general – SubjectFull: Central Europe Type: general – SubjectFull: Europe Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The processes and timing of sediment delivery from headwaters to the trunk stream of a Central European mountain gully catchment. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Larsen, Annegret – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Bork, Hans-Rudolf – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fuelling, Alexander – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fuchs, Markus – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Larsen, Joshua R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 11 Text: Nov2013 Type: published Y: 2013 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 0169555X Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 201 Titles: – TitleFull: Geomorphology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
