Channel-floodplain coupling and mass fluxes in modern and ancient systems

Session ID#: 123450

Session Description:
Rivers convey physical, hydrological, and chemical fluxes across terrestrial landscapes to ocean sinks and interact dynamically with their floodplains (river-floodplain morphodynamics; RFM). Floodplains regulate the impact of short-term hydrological events, trap sediment and nutrients delivered by overbank flow, and fuel riparian ecosystem productivity. Sedimentation and biomass accumulation enable floodplains to react to relative sea level rise. Over longer timescales, RFM govern rates of channel migration and therefore regulate physio-chemical fluxes (e.g., carbon storage, weathering). Consequently, RFM determines the storage capacity of allogenic sediment flux signals and contributes significantly to our understanding of longer-term biogeochemical cycles. Channel-floodplain sedimentary archives (modern and ancient) offer key insight into past channel-floodplain interaction and physio-chemical fluxes. We invite a broad set of contributions that explore and quantify the interaction between channels and floodplains and its relationship to physio-chemical fluxes through terrestrial landscapes into the stratigraphic record.
Index Terms:

1615 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling [GLOBAL CHANGE]
1820 Floodplain dynamics [HYDROLOGY]
1825 Geomorphology: fluvial [HYDROLOGY]
1856 River channels [HYDROLOGY]


Primary Convener:  Kelly Marie Sanks, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States
Conveners:  Marisa Nicole Repasch, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Livermore, CA, United States, Rob Duller, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom, Elizabeth A Hajek, Pennsylvania State University, Department of Geosciences, University Park, PA, United States and Kyle M Straub, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Kelly Marie Sanks, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, United States