Abstract
MODEL studies1 of the dependence of river patterns on sediment load and on the inclination of the surface on which the model river flows—the valley slope—show that at a constant discharge very different channel patterns are formed at different slopes (Fig. 1). Although sediment load is also an important factor affecting the sinuosity of a model river, Fig. 1 shows that an abrupt change in valley slope should lead to a change in river pattern.
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References
Schumm, S. A., and Khan, H. R., Nature, 233, 407 (1971).
Schumm, S. A., and Khan, H. R., Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. (in the press).
Channel Improvement and Stabilization, Lower Mississippi River, Cairo to the Gulf (US Army Corps of Engineers, 1966).
Fisk, H. N., Geological Investigations of the Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River (Miss. River Comm., Vicksburg, 1944).
Fisk, H. N., Fine Grained Alluvial Deposits and their Effect on Mississippi River Activity (Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., 1947).
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SCHUMM, S., KHAN, H., WINKLEY, B. et al. Variability of River Patterns. Nature Physical Science 237, 75–76 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci237075a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci237075a0
