GEOG 5251: 

Fluvial Geomorphology

Lecture: MWF 2:00-2:50 PM

Lab: Th 1:00-3:50 PM
Instructor: John Pitlick 

Office: Guggenheim 315 

Office Hours: M 3:00-5:00 PM

E-mail: pitlick@colorado.edu

 rees river
OVERVIEW

This course emphasizes fluvial-hydraulic processes in rivers.  In order to understand how rivers work, and what makes one river different from another, we must first know something about the water and sediment supply.  We then ask, how do channels adjust in space or time to convey the water and sediment supplied?  If we knew these quantities, and if channels acted like pipes with rigid walls, then the problem of predicting flow and sediment transport through the system would be easy.  But rarely do we know the water and sediment supply, and it's not often that a river acts like a pipe; in fact, much of the river network consists of "alluvial" channels that are free to adjust their width and depth.  There are thus two parts to this problem: One is to understand interactions between the flow and the sediment supplied to the channel, and the other is to understand how the channel adjusts to carry both water and sediment, not always in the same proportion.  Topics to be covered are as follows:

1.              Regional relations for runoff and sediment yield

2.              Basic fluid mechanics and flow in natural channels

3.              Sediment transport

4.              Hydraulic geometry

5.              Channel morphology (development of bars; braided & meandering rivers)

6.              Sediment sorting and development of the longitudinal profile

7.              Landscape evolution

We will spend about two weeks on each topic.  I will lecture most of the time; however, periodically we will have discussions of assigned readings.  In teaching the course, I assume that everyone has been exposed to the basics of hydrology and geomorphology in upper division courses, and that you are reasonably proficient in math and physics.  Lectures will be drawn from papers on the attached reading list, supplemented by information in the following textbooks:

Knighton, D., 1998, Fluvial Forms and Processes, Arnold, New York, 383 pp.

Dingman, S.L., 1984, Fluvial Hydrology, W.H. Freeman, New York, 383 pp.

Grading: Grades will be based on your scores on assigned projects and written critiques of the readings:

1. Projects: The goal of the laboratory portion of the course is to develop analytical tools for addressing theoretical or practical problems in fluvial geomorphology.  I will walk you through a series of projects, showing you how to take different types of measurements and analyze the data, and you will then summarize the results in a series of short (5-page) reports.  The projects will involve a mix of internet-based data retrieval and analysis, hands-on field trips emphasizing sampling and measurement techniques, and laboratory experiments at the USGS Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory in Golden, CO.

2. Readings: Periodically I will ask you to read a group of papers, and summarize your thoughts in a 3-page critique. The purpose of the written critiques is to get you to (a) read the literature, (b) become critical of other people's work, and (c) learn to write concisely.  We will discuss the papers as a group when the time arises.

toutle
NF Toutle River, near Mt. St. Helens, WA
colorado river
Colorado River, near Moab, UT (photo by Bob Cress)

safl flume
Flume at St. Anthony Falls Lab
hoffstadt creek
Hoffstad Creek, near Mt. St. Helens, WA

GEOG 5251 Fluvial Geomorphology Reading List

1. Surface-water Hydrology and Sediment Yield

Knighton, Chapt. 3, pp. 75-95

Milliman, J.D. and Syvitski, J.P.M., 1992, Geomorphic/tectonic control of sediment discharge to the ocean: The importance of small mountain rivers, J. Geol.,  100, 525-544.

Aalto, R., Dunne, T., and Guyot, J.L., 2006, Geomorphic controls on Andean denudation rates: J. Geol., 114, 85-99.

Wolman, M.G. and Miller, J.P., 1960. Magnitude and frequency of forces in geomorphic processes, J. Geol., 68, 54-74.


2. Fluid Mechanics and Open Channel Flow

Handouts from Dingman, pp. 95-120 and pp. 254-270; see also Knighton, Chapt. 4, pp. 96-106

Sime, L. C., R. I. Ferguson, and M. Church, 2007, Estimating shear stress from moving boat acoustic Doppler velocity measurements in a large gravel bed river, Water Resour. Res., 43, W03418, doi:10.1029/2006WR005069.

Ferguson, R., and M. Church 2009, A critical perspective on 1-D modeling of river processes: Gravel load and aggradation in lower Fraser River, Water Resour. Res., 45, W11424, doi:10.1029/2009WR007740

Other papers of interest:

Nelson, J.M., J.P. Bennett, and S.M. Wiele, 2003, Flow and sediment-transport modeling, in Tools in Fluvial Geomorphology, edited by G.M. Kondolf and H. Piegay, pp. 539-576, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.

Wiberg, P.L. and J.D. Smith, 1991, Velocity distribution and bed roughness in high-gradient streams, Water Resour. Res., 5, 825-838.


3. Initiation of Motion and Sediment Transport

Knighton, Chapt. 3, pp. 107-140 (skim)

Parker, G., Klingeman, P.C. and Mclean, D.G., 1982. Bed load and size distribution in paved gravel-bed streams, ASCE J. Hydraul. Div., 108 (HY4), 544-571 (read in preparation for lab exercise)

Wilcock, P.R. and B.W. McArdell, 1993, Surface-based fractional transport rates: Mobilization thresholds and partial transport of a sand and gravel sediment, Water Resour. Res., 29, 1297-1312.

Mueller, E.R., J. Pitlick, and J.M. Nelson, 2005, Variation in the reference Shields stress for bed load transport in gravel-bed streams and rivers, Water Resour. Res., 41, W04006, doi:10.1029/2004WR003692

Other papers of interest:

Wiberg, P.L. and Smith, J.D., 1987. Calculations of the critical shear stress for motion of uniform and heterogeneous sediments, Water Resour. Res.,  23, 1471-1480.

Wathen, S. J., R. I. Ferguson, T. B. Hoey, and A. Werritty, 1995, Unequal mobility of gravel and sand in weakly bimodal river sediments, Water Resour. Res., 31, 2087–2096.


4. Hydraulic Geometry

Knighton, pp. 167-187

Parker, G., 1979, Hydraulic geometry of active gravel rivers ASCE J. Hydraul. Div., 105(HY9), 1185-1201

Pizzuto, J.E., 1992, The morphology of graded gravel rivers- a network perspective, Geomorphology,  5, 457-475.

Pitlick, J. and R. Cress, 2002, Longitudinal trends in the channel characteristics of a large gravel-bed river, Water Resour. Res.,  38(10), 1216, doi:10.1029/2001WR000898

Other papers of interest:

Ferguson, R., 1986, Hydraulics and hydraulic geometry, Prog. Phys. Geog., 10, 1-31.

Pizzuto, J.E., 1994, Channel adjustments to changing discharges, Powder River, Montana, Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull.,  106, 1494-1501.

Parker, G., P. R. Wilcock, C. Paola, W. E. Dietrich, and J. Pitlick, 2007, Physical basis for quasi-universal relations describing bankfull hydraulic geometry of single-thread gravel bed rivers, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F04005, doi:10.1029/2006JF000549.


5. Meandering and Braided Rivers; Floodplains

Knighton, pp. 193-236

Dietrich, W.E. and Smith, J.D., 1983. Influence of the point bar on flow through curved channels, Water Resour. Res.,  19, 1173-1192.

Ashmore P., E. Sauks, 2006, Prediction of discharge from water surface width in a braided river with implications for at-a-station hydraulic geometry, Water Resour. Res., 42, W03406, doi:10.1029/2005WR003993.

Lauer, J. W., and G. Parker, 2008, Modeling framework for sediment deposition, storage, and evacuation in the floodplain of a meandering river: Application to the Clark Fork River, Montana, Water Resour. Res., 44, W08404, doi:10.1029/2006WR005529.

Other papers of interest:

Everitt, B.L., 1968. Use of the Cottonwood in an investigation of the recent history of a floodplain, Am. J. Sci.,  266, 417-439.

Church, M., Channel morphology and typology, in The Rivers Handbook: Hydrological and Ecological Principles, edited by P. Calow and G. Petts, 126-143, Blackwell, Oxford, 1992.

Wolman, M.G. and Leopold, L.B., 1957. River flood plains: some observations on their formation, U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 282-C, 89-109.


6. Longitudinal profile, downstream fining, & base level

Knighton, pp. 242-260

Bradley, W.C., Fahnestock, R.K., and Rowekamp, E.T., 1972. Coarse sediment transport by flood flows on the Knik River, Alaska, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 83, 1261-84.

Ferguson, R.I., and Wathen, S.J., 1998, Tracer pebble movement along a concave river profile: Virtual velocity in relation to grain size and shear stress, Water Resour. Res., 34, 2031-2038.

Sklar, L. S., W. E. Dietrich, E. Foufoula-Georgiou, B. Lashermes, and D. Bellugi, 2006, Do gravel bed river size distributions record channel network structure?, Water Resour. Res., 42, W06D18, doi:10.1029/2006WR005035.

Other papers of interest:

Bradley, W.C., 1970. Effect of weathering on abrasion of granitic gravel, Colorado River (Texas), Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer.,  81, 61-80.

Hack, J.T., 1957. Studies of longitudinal stream profiles in Virginia and Maryland, U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 294-B, 94 pp.

Gasparini, N.M., G.E. Tucker, and R.L. Bras, 2004, Network-scale dynamics of grain size sorting: Implications for downstream fining, stream profile concavity, and drainage basin morphology, Earth Surf. Process. Landforms,  29, 401-421.


7. Landscape evolution and Long-term Denudation

Knighton, pp. 42-50

Sklar, L. S., and W. E. Dietrich, 2004, A mechanistic model for river incision into bedrock by saltating bed load, Water Resour. Res., 40, W06301, doi:10.1029/2003WR002496.

Schaller, M., F. von Blanckenburg, N. Hovius and P.W. Kubik, 2001, Large-scale erosion rates from in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides in European river sediments, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 188, 441-458

Tucker, G.E., 2004, Drainage basin sensitivity to tectonic and climatic forcing: Implications of a stochastic model for the role of entrainment and erosion thresholds, Earth Surf. Process. Landforms,  29, 185-205.

Other papers of interest:

Howard, A.D., 1994, A detachment-limited model of drainage basin evolution, Water Resour. Res.,  30, 2261-2285.

Molnar, P. and England, P., 1990, Late Cenozoic uplift of mountain ranges and global climate change- chicken or egg, Nature,  346, 29-34.

Pinet, P. and Souriau, M., 1987, Continental erosion and large-scale relief, Tectonics,  7, 563-582.

Summerfield, M.A. and N.J. Hulton, 1994, Natural controls of fluvial denudation rates in major world drainage basins, J. Geophys. Res.,  99, B7, 13,871-13,883.