An approach for assessing geomorphic river sensitivity across a catchment based on analysis of historical capacity for adjustment

Khan, Sana; Fryirs, Kirstie

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107135

Cited by 22 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…1 a Tipping points of human development, b classification of the five phases of river management in the Rur River catchment into phases of human impacts on river courses worldwide. Source: own illustration modified after [19] react with varying degrees of sensitivity to a particular anthropogenic impact [53,54].…”

Section: Five Phases Of River Management On the Rur Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

et al. 2021

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Background Over the last 200 years, the courses of most European rivers have experienced significant irreversible changes. These changes are connected to different kinds of anthropogenic river use and exploitation, which have varied from running water mills and rafting to large-scale hydroelectric power plants, industrial water withdrawal and flood protection measures. Today, in most developed countries, water quality and ecological river development are important factors in water management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the specific impacts of different time periods during the last 200 years on river courses and their effects on current river management using the example of the 165-km-long German Rur River (North Rhine-Westphalia). The Rur River is a typical central European upland-to-lowland river whose catchment has been affected by various phases of industrial development. Methods In this study, a range of morphological changes over the last 200 years are determined based on historic maps and up-to-date orthophotos. River length, sinuosity, oxbow structures, sidearms and the number of islands are used to investigate human impact. The results are correlated with historic time periods. Results This analysis shows that river straightening increases, especially during the Industrial Revolution, even without direct hydraulic channelization. The period and grade of river straightening have a direct morphodynamic impact on today’s river restorations. Since the Rur River is a typical upland-to-lowland river, the results show an additional impact by geofactors, such as landform configurations. Conclusions Morphodynamic development is correlated with five historic periods of industrial development between 1801 and 2019 up to the introduction of the EU—Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). Each period shows a different influence on the watercourse, which is connected with human intervention. Even if worldwide comparisons show that the five historical phases differ slightly in their timing between regions, they are applicable to other study areas.

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Section: Five Phases Of River Management On the Rur Rivermentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

et al. 2021

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“…For validation of the modelled valley bottom, a vector-format polygon shapefile mapping the geomorphic units across the Richmond catchment was obtained from the NSW Government Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data (SEED) website (https:// www.seed.nsw.gov.au/). To validate the k-means-derived valley bottom segment result, the output was compared to the field-verified, expert manual identification of coarse-scale river types described in Khan and Fryirs (2020) (Figure 1).…”

Section: Study Area and Data Usedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of globally available, coarse‐resolution digital elevation models for delineating valley bottom segments of varying length across a catchment

Khan

Fryirs

2020

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The worldwide availability of digital elevation models (DEMs) has enabled rapid (semi‐)automated mapping of earth surface landforms. In this paper, we first present an approach for delineating valley bottom extent across a large catchment using only publicly available, coarse‐resolution DEM input. We assess the sensitivity of our results to variable DEM resolution and find that coarse‐resolution datasets (90 m resolution) provide superior results. We also find that LiDAR‐derived DEMs produce more realistic results than satellite‐derived DEMs across the full range of topographic settings tested. Satellite‐derived DEMs perform more effectively in moderate topographic settings, but fail to capture the subtleties of valley bottom extent in mild gradient, low‐lying topography and in narrow headwater reaches. Second, we present a semi‐automated technique within ArcGIS for delineating valley bottom segments using DEM‐derived network scale metrics of valley bottom width and slope. We use an unsupervised machine‐learning technique based on the k‐means clustering algorithm to solve a conundrum in GIS‐based geomorphic analysis of rivers: the delineation of valley bottom segments of variable length. The delineation of valley bottom segments provides a coarse‐scale entry point into automated geomorphic analysis and characterization of river systems. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Despite the massive anthropogenic influences, geo-factors of riverine landscapes are still affecting the morphology and hydrology of rivers and their floodplains today, as they have always been [32]. Irreversible tipping points in watercourse development are highly dependent on the nature of the catchment area, which is why watercourses react with varying degrees of sensitivity to a particular anthropogenic impact [33,34].…”

Section: History Of Human Influence On River Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[69]). Reduced sinuosity often is a sign for river straightening [33,76], an increase is a sign for tending towards a new equilibrium [70] but can also occur when the flow velocity increases [35]. Indicators are used to evaluate the development of river straightening (Eq.…”

Section: Digitalization Of River Courses and Resolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of 200 Years of Water Resource Management on a Typical Central European River 

Wolf¹,

Esser²,

Schüttrumpf³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background Over the last 200 years, most European river courses experienced significant irreversible changes. These changes were connected with different kinds of anthropogenic river use and exploitation, which varied from running water mills and rafting to large-scale hydroelectric power plants, industrial water withdrawal and measures for flood protection. Today, in most of the developed countries water quality and ecological river development are stakeholders in water management. The aim of the following study is to evaluate the specific impact of different time periods during the last 200 years on river courses, and its effects on the current river management using the example of the 165 km long German Rur River (North Rhine-Westphalia). The Rur River is a representative central European upland to lowland river, whose catchment has been affected by various phases of industrial development.MethodsIn this study, large-scale morphological changes over the last 200 years are determined based on historic maps and up-to-date orthophotos. The indicators river length, sinuosity, oxbow structures, sidearms and the number of islands are used to investigate human impact. The results are correlated with historic time periods.ResultsThis analysis shows that river straightening does increase especially during the industrial revolution, even without direct hydraulic channelization, which applies not only to the study area but also to further examples worldwide. The period and grade of river straightening has a direct morphodynamic impact on today’s river restorations. Since the Rur River is a typical upland to lowland river, the results show additional impact of geo-factors, like landform configurations.ConclusionsThe morphodynamic development is correlated with five historic periods between 1801 and 2019 of industrial development up to the introduction of the EU - Water Framework Directive (EU-WFD). Each period shows different influence on the watercourse which is connected with human intervention. Even if worldwide comparisons show that the five historical phases differ slightly in time between regions, they are applicable to other study areas.

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An approach for assessing geomorphic river sensitivity across a catchment based on analysis of historical capacity for adjustment

Cited by 22 publications

References 64 publications

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

Application of globally available, coarse‐resolution digital elevation models for delineating valley bottom segments of varying length across a catchment

Influence of 200 Years of Water Resource Management on a Typical Central European River

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An approach for assessing geomorphic river sensitivity across a catchment based on analysis of historical capacity for adjustment

Cited by 22 publications

References 64 publications

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

Influence of 200 years of water resource management on a typical central European river. Does industrialization straighten a river?

Application of globally available, coarse‐resolution digital elevation models for delineating valley bottom segments of varying length across a catchment

Influence of 200 Years of Water Resource Management on a Typical Central European River&nbsp;

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Influence of 200 Years of Water Resource Management on a Typical Central European River