Stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and dendrogeomorphic analyses of rapid floodplain formation along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Dean, David J.; Scott, Michael L.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Schmidt, John C.

doi:10.1130/b30379.1

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…While riparian plants can be removed by sediment erosion, these plants survive sediment deposition of more than a meter in a single event and several meters over decades (Plate 2 [see footnote 1]; Hupp, 1992;Dean et al, 2011). In rapidly aggrading reaches of the Rio Puerco, the bank and bed include buried stems and roots that increase fl uid drag if exposed by minor erosion and produce new sprouts throughout the growing season.…”

Section: Narrow Trapezoidal Channel Is Maintained By Vegetation and Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When a stem is buried, subsequent annual rings in the buried section develop characteristics of roots (Sigafoos, 1964;Nanson and Beach, 1977). In salt cedar and sandbar willow, rings in buried stems become narrower, vessels within the rings become larger, and transitions between rings become less distinct Dean et al, 2011). Finally, for each stem, we determined the year and elevation of the establishment point-the point below which there is no pith, and the entire cross section is root .…”

Section: Tree Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

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Processes of arroyo filling in northern New Mexico, USA

Friedman¹,

Vincent²,

Griffin³

et al. 2014

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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We documented arroyo evolution at the tree, trench, and arroyo scales along the lower Rio Puerco and Chaco Wash in northern New Mexico, USA. We excavated 29 buried living woody plants and used burial signatures in their annual rings to date stratigraphy in four trenches across the arroyos. Then, we reconstructed the history of arroyo evolution by combining trench data with arroyo-scale information from aerial imagery, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), longitudinal profi les, and repeat surveys of cross sections. Burial signatures in annual rings of salt cedar and willow dated sedimentary beds greater than 30 cm thick with annual precision. Along both arroyos, incision occurred until the 1930s in association with extreme high fl ows, and subsequent fi lling involved vegetation development, channel narrowing, increased sinuosity, and fi nally vertical aggradation. A strongly depositional sediment transport regime interacted with fl oodplain shrubs to produce a characteristic narrow, trapezoidal channel. The 55 km study reach along the Rio Puerco demonstrated upstream progression of arroyo widening and fi lling, but not of arroyo incision, channel narrowing, or fl oodplain vegetation development. We conclude that the occurrence of upstream progression within large basins like the Rio Puerco makes precise synchrony across basins impossible. Arroyo wall retreat is now mostly limited to locations where meanders impinge on the arroyo wall, forming hairpin bends, for which entry to and exit from the wall are stationary. Average annual sediment storage within the Rio Puerco study reach between 1955 and 2005 was 4.8 × 10 5 t/yr, 16% of the average annual suspended sediment yield, and 24% of the long-term bedrock denudation rate. At this rate, the arroyo would fi ll in 310 yr.

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Section: Narrow Trapezoidal Channel Is Maintained By Vegetation and Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tree Scalementioning

confidence: 99%

Processes of arroyo filling in northern New Mexico, USA

Friedman¹,

Vincent²,

Griffin³

et al. 2014

Geological Society of America Bulletin

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“…Trees that are excavated after burial contain anatomical characteristics that can be used to reconstruct the history of sedimentation. These observations have been recorded for relatively few tree species including tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), sandbar willow (Salix exigua) (Friedman et al, 2005;Dean et al, 2011) and other willow (Salix) species (Rubstov and Salmina, 1983), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) (Sigafoos, 1964), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) (Nanson and Beach, 1977). Similarly, roots that were once buried and then became exposed due to erosive events develop changes in structure from root-like characteristics (large vessels and less distinct annual rings) to more stem-like growth patterns (smaller vessels and more distinct annual rings) (Gärtner et al, 2001;Gärtner, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Correlating these event histories with specific deposits described in stratigraphic sections adjacent to the excavated trees provided a remarkable means of documenting event horizons in floodplain stratigraphic records (Friedman et al, 2005Dean et al, 2011;Merigliano et al, 2013). By excavating trees and analyzing anatomical variations in selected samples, the timing of burial events was determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By excavating trees and analyzing anatomical variations in selected samples, the timing of burial events was determined. The dating method is usually only accurate to within a year of deposition (Friedman et al, 2005;Dean et al, 2011), although abrupt within-season changes in anatomy may allow resolution of flood timing within a year (Friedman et al, 2005). Despite its promise and potential, however, limitations with this approach have also been noted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Event‐scale floodplain accretion revealed through tree‐ring analysis of buried plains cottonwoods, Powder River, MT, USA

Metzger

Pizzuto

Trampush

et al. 2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Six plains cottonwoods along the axis of a meander were excavated to determine if dendrochronology could identify the year and location of germination and date past overbank sedimentation events. Samples from all excavated trees showed clear anatomical changes associated with burial, including increased vessel size, decreased definition of annual ring boundaries, and decreased ring widths. Some of these burial signatures were created by deposition of only a few centimeters of sediment, and most burial events were detected by multiple samples from the same tree. Four of the trees germinated at or near the upper surfaces of bar deposits, while two germinated within thin overbank deposits draped over bar deposits, indicating that germination is closely associated with bars. Dates and inferred thicknesses of overbank sedimentation events are consistent with repeated topographic surveys and data obtained from cesium‐137 (137Cs) analyses. However, the record of overbank sedimentation extracted from the trees does not entirely reflect the history of past peak discharges documented by stream gaging, largely because individual trees are progressively less likely to be flooded through time as the river migrates farther away. Germination dates and locations closely track past positions of the river channel. Germination elevations and the elevations of the tops of point bars appear to be decreasing with time as the bend migrates, implying vertical incision by Powder River at a rate of 7.1 ± 4.3 mm/yr. The rate of floodplain growth determined by elevation changes decreases progressively through time, ultimately reaching an apparent plateau after 0.8–1.3 m of vertical accretion. While similar patterns of vertical accretion have previously been interpreted as resulting from decreasing flood probability with increasing floodplain elevation, distance from the channel is also a first‐order control on vertical floodplain growth. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Sediment supply versus local hydraulic controls on sediment transport and storage in a river with large sediment loads

et al. 2016

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The Rio Grande in the Big Bend region of Texas, USA, and Chihuahua and Coahuila, Mexico, undergoes rapid geomorphic changes as a result of its large sediment supply and variable hydrology; thus, it is a useful natural laboratory to investigate the relative importance of flow strength and sediment supply in controlling alluvial channel change. We analyzed a suite of sediment transport and geomorphic data to determine the cumulative influence of different flood types on changing channel form. In this study, physically based analyses suggest that channel change in the Rio Grande is controlled by both changes in flow strength and sediment supply over different spatial and temporal scales. Channel narrowing is primarily caused by substantial deposition of sediment supplied to the Rio Grande during tributary‐sourced flash floods. Tributary floods have large suspended‐sediment concentrations, occur for short durations, and attenuate rapidly downstream in the Rio Grande, depositing much of their sediment in downstream reaches. Long‐duration floods on the mainstem have the capacity to enlarge the Rio Grande, and these floods, released from upstream dams, can either erode or deposit sediment in the Rio Grande depending upon the antecedent in‐channel sediment supply and the magnitude and duration of the flood. Geomorphic and sediment transport analyses show that the locations and rates of sand erosion and deposition during long‐duration floods are most strongly controlled by spatial changes in flow strength, largely through changes in channel slope. However, spatial differences in the in‐channel sediment supply regulate sediment evacuation or accumulation over time in long reaches (greater than a kilometer).

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Stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and dendrogeomorphic analyses of rapid floodplain formation along the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park, Texas

Cited by 21 publications

References 47 publications

Processes of arroyo filling in northern New Mexico, USA

Processes of arroyo filling in northern New Mexico, USA

Event‐scale floodplain accretion revealed through tree‐ring analysis of buried plains cottonwoods, Powder River, MT, USA

Sediment supply versus local hydraulic controls on sediment transport and storage in a river with large sediment loads

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