[1] Alluvial river channels are intrinsically mobile. We mapped channel planform extent in a series of experiments to measure instantaneous rates of channel motion, loss of planform overlap with the original positions of the channels, and reworking of the fluvial surface over which the channels moved. These experiments comprise two aggrading deltas, one subsiding delta that underwent cyclical base level changes, and one braided channel system that was seeded with vegetation. We find that the amounts of channel planform overlap and remaining unreworked fluvial surface area both decay exponentially with time, and that these metrics and the instantaneously-measured rates of channel motion scale predictably with one another in spite of the different time scales of the processes they record. Rates of channel planform change increase with increasing sediment flux and bed and planform irregularity, and decrease with the establishment of riparian vegetation. Aggradation does not noticeably affect channel mobility, but induces avulsions that allow the channels to more rapidly rework the fluvial surface. Additional findings include that: (1) sediment flux in the braided experiment equals its rate of bar migration, (2) channel widths are normally distributed with time, and (3) we can use our channel mobility metrics to connect surface processes with the resultant fluvial stratigraphy.

To promote the advancement of novel observation techniques that may lead to new sources of information to help better understand the hydrological cycle, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) established the Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI) Working Group in July 2013. The group comprises a growing community of techenthusiastic hydrologists that design and develop their own sensing systems, adopt a multidisciplinary perspective in tackling complex observations, often use low-cost equipment intended for other applications to build innovative sensors, or perform opportunistic measurements. This paper states the objectives of the group and reviews major advances carried out by MOXXI members toward the advancement of hydrological sciences. Challenges and opportunities are outlined to provide strategic guidance for advancement of measurement, and thus discovery.

Lateral movements of alluvial river channels control the extent and reworking rates of alluvial fans, floodplains, deltas, and alluvial sections of bedrock rivers. These lateral movements can occur by gradual channel migration or by sudden changes in channel position (avulsions). Whereas models exist for rates of river avulsion, we lack a detailed understanding of the rates of lateral channel migration on the scale of a channel belt. In a two‐step process, we develop here an expression for the lateral migration rate of braided channel systems in coarse, non‐cohesive sediment. On the basis of photographic and topographic data from laboratory experiments of braided channels performed under constant external boundary conditions, we first explore the impact of autogenic variations of the channel‐system geometry (i.e. channel‐bank heights, water depths, channel‐system width, and channel slope) on channel‐migration rates. In agreement with theoretical expectations, we find that, under such constant boundary conditions, the laterally reworked volume of sediment is constant and lateral channel‐migration rates scale inversely with the channel‐bank height. Furthermore, when channel‐bank heights are accounted for, lateral migration rates are independent of the remaining channel geometry parameters. These constraints allow us, in a second step, to derive two alternative expressions for lateral channel‐migration rates under different boundary conditions using dimensional analysis. Fits of a compilation of laboratory experiments to these expressions suggest that, for a given channel bank‐height, migration rates are strongly sensitive to water discharges and more weakly sensitive to sediment discharges. In addition, external perturbations, such as changes in sediment and water discharges or base level fall, can indirectly affect lateral channel‐migration rates by modulating channel‐bank heights. © 2019 The Author. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 The Author. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Following the last glacial maximum (LGM), the demise of continental ice sheets induced crustal rebound in tectonically stable regions of North America and Scandinavia that is still ongoing. Unlike the ice sheets, the Alpine ice cap developed in an orogen where the measured uplift is potentially attributed to tectonic shortening, lithospheric delamination and unloading due to deglaciation and erosion. Here we show that ∼90% of the geodetically measured rock uplift in the Alps can be explained by the Earth’s viscoelastic response to LGM deglaciation. We modelled rock uplift by reconstructing the Alpine ice cap, while accounting for postglacial erosion, sediment deposition and spatial variations in lithospheric rigidity. Clusters of excessive uplift in the Rhône Valley and in the Eastern Alps delineate regions potentially affected by mantle processes, crustal heterogeneity and active tectonics. Our study shows that even small LGM ice caps can dominate present-day rock uplift in tectonically active regions.