2019 CSDMS meeting-014: Difference between revisions

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{{CSDMS meeting abstract title temp2019
{{CSDMS meeting abstract title temp2019
|CSDMS meeting abstract title=Assessing basin-scale lithologic controls on river and landscape evolution
|CSDMS meeting abstract title=Assessing basin-scale lithologic controls on river and landscape evolution
}}
{{CSDMS meeting authors template
|CSDMS meeting coauthor first name abstract=Georgina
|CSDMS meeting coauthor last name abstract=Bennett
|CSDMS meeting coauthor institute / Organization=University of East Anglia
|CSDMS meeting coauthor country=United Kingdom
|CSDMS meeting coauthor email address=georgina.bennett@uea.ac.uk
}}
{{CSDMS meeting authors template
|CSDMS meeting coauthor first name abstract=Gregory
|CSDMS meeting coauthor last name abstract=Tucker
|CSDMS meeting coauthor institute / Organization=University of Colorado
|CSDMS meeting coauthor town-city=Boulder
|CSDMS meeting coauthor country=United States
|State=Colorado
|CSDMS meeting coauthor email address=gtucker@colorado.edu
}}
{{CSDMS meeting authors template
|CSDMS meeting coauthor first name abstract=Kevin
|CSDMS meeting coauthor last name abstract=Roback
|CSDMS meeting coauthor institute / Organization=California Institute of Technology
|CSDMS meeting coauthor town-city=Pasadena
|CSDMS meeting coauthor country=United States
|State=California
|CSDMS meeting coauthor email address=kroback@caltech.edu
}}
{{CSDMS meeting authors template
|CSDMS meeting coauthor first name abstract=Scott
|CSDMS meeting coauthor last name abstract=Miller
|CSDMS meeting coauthor institute / Organization=University of Utah
|CSDMS meeting coauthor town-city=Salt Lake City
|CSDMS meeting coauthor country=United States
|State=Utah
|CSDMS meeting coauthor email address=scott.r.miller@utah.edu
}}
{{CSDMS meeting authors template
|CSDMS meeting coauthor first name abstract=Joshua
|CSDMS meeting coauthor last name abstract=Roering
|CSDMS meeting coauthor institute / Organization=University of Oregon
|CSDMS meeting coauthor town-city=Eugene
|CSDMS meeting coauthor country=United States
|State=Oregon
|CSDMS meeting coauthor email address=jroering@uoregon.edu
}}
}}
{{CSDMS meeting abstract template 2019
{{CSDMS meeting abstract template 2019
|CSDMS meeting abstract=TBD
|CSDMS meeting abstract=Bedrock lithology has been shown to strongly influence how rivers and landscapes respond to tectonic perturbations, yet the specific variables and mechanisms that set how lithology controls river erosion are poorly understood. Recent field and modeling work suggests that one important lithologic control on channel response may be the delivery of large, generally immobile boulders from hillslopes to channels. This raises the possibility that differences in boulder delivery rates between lithologies may cause substantial differences in how landscapes respond to tectonics. An intriguing recent study suggested that in the Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ) region of northern California, bedrock lithology might control the frequency and size of boulders delivered to channels, and therefore govern channel steepness and river evolution (Bennett et al., 2016). We further test this hypothesis here.
 
The Central Belt of the Franciscan Complex, a mix of sheared graywacke and mudstone, contains large blocks of more resistant serpentinite, greenstone, and amphibolite that are delivered to channels by earthflows. The adjacent Coastal Belt generally lacks such boulders, and sediment delivery to channels is dominated by shallow landsliding. This geologic setting provides a unique opportunity to test whether boulder abundance exerts a first-order control on landscape form. We use a landscape-scale analysis of channel steepness and active width indices, local topographic relief, lithology, and mapped boulder occurrence to understand the differences between the catchments eroding the Central Belt and those eroding the Coastal Belt. We find that channels are steeper in the Central Belt than in the Coastal Belt, both across the whole MTJ region and when averaged over 10-50 km2 subcatchments. Channels are also generally narrower in the Central Belt. This result could reflect lithologic controls or spatial heterogeneity in erosion rates. To control for the latter, we construct clusters of neighboring subcatchments that are free of knickpoints to explore possible controls of lithologic makeup (percent of a subcatchment underlain by Central Belt rocks) on channel steepness independent of erosion rate variations. We find inconsistent relationships between lithologic makeup and channel steepness within a given cluster of catchments with similar baselevel history. Finally, we compared channel segments adjacent to hillslope failures with segments far from failures. Central Belt channels show greater absolute increases in steepness adjacent to hillslope failures, but relative increases in steepness are consistent between the Central Belt and Coastal Belt.
 
Our preliminary results suggest that Central Belt channels are steeper and narrower than Coastal Belt channels, but that the lithological influence on steepness is difficult to disentangle from the effects of spatially variable erosion rates. We are continuing to map in-channel boulder size distributions to assess the relative importance of intra- vs. inter-lithologic variability in setting boulder concentrations and landscape form.
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Assessing basin-scale lithologic controls on river and landscape evolution

Charles Shobe, University of Colorado Boulder Colorado, United States. charles.shobe@colorado.edu
Georgina Bennett, University of East Anglia , United Kingdom. georgina.bennett@uea.ac.uk
Gregory Tucker, University of Colorado Boulder Colorado, United States. gtucker@colorado.edu
Kevin Roback, California Institute of Technology Pasadena California, United States. kroback@caltech.edu
Scott Miller, University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah, United States. scott.r.miller@utah.edu
Joshua Roering, University of Oregon Eugene Oregon, United States. jroering@uoregon.edu


Bedrock lithology has been shown to strongly influence how rivers and landscapes respond to tectonic perturbations, yet the specific variables and mechanisms that set how lithology controls river erosion are poorly understood. Recent field and modeling work suggests that one important lithologic control on channel response may be the delivery of large, generally immobile boulders from hillslopes to channels. This raises the possibility that differences in boulder delivery rates between lithologies may cause substantial differences in how landscapes respond to tectonics. An intriguing recent study suggested that in the Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ) region of northern California, bedrock lithology might control the frequency and size of boulders delivered to channels, and therefore govern channel steepness and river evolution (Bennett et al., 2016). We further test this hypothesis here.

The Central Belt of the Franciscan Complex, a mix of sheared graywacke and mudstone, contains large blocks of more resistant serpentinite, greenstone, and amphibolite that are delivered to channels by earthflows. The adjacent Coastal Belt generally lacks such boulders, and sediment delivery to channels is dominated by shallow landsliding. This geologic setting provides a unique opportunity to test whether boulder abundance exerts a first-order control on landscape form. We use a landscape-scale analysis of channel steepness and active width indices, local topographic relief, lithology, and mapped boulder occurrence to understand the differences between the catchments eroding the Central Belt and those eroding the Coastal Belt. We find that channels are steeper in the Central Belt than in the Coastal Belt, both across the whole MTJ region and when averaged over 10-50 km2 subcatchments. Channels are also generally narrower in the Central Belt. This result could reflect lithologic controls or spatial heterogeneity in erosion rates. To control for the latter, we construct clusters of neighboring subcatchments that are free of knickpoints to explore possible controls of lithologic makeup (percent of a subcatchment underlain by Central Belt rocks) on channel steepness independent of erosion rate variations. We find inconsistent relationships between lithologic makeup and channel steepness within a given cluster of catchments with similar baselevel history. Finally, we compared channel segments adjacent to hillslope failures with segments far from failures. Central Belt channels show greater absolute increases in steepness adjacent to hillslope failures, but relative increases in steepness are consistent between the Central Belt and Coastal Belt.

Our preliminary results suggest that Central Belt channels are steeper and narrower than Coastal Belt channels, but that the lithological influence on steepness is difficult to disentangle from the effects of spatially variable erosion rates. We are continuing to map in-channel boulder size distributions to assess the relative importance of intra- vs. inter-lithologic variability in setting boulder concentrations and landscape form.