Variability of Channel-Belt Dimensions and the Consequences for Alluvial Architecture: Observations from the Holocene Rhine-Meuse Delta (The Netherlands) and Lower Mississippi Valley (U.S.A.)

2007 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J.P. Gouw ◽  
H. J.A. Berendsen
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Channel Belt ◽  
Alluvial Architecture

scholarly journals Alluvial architecture of fluvio-deltaic successions: a review with special reference to Holocene settings

2007 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J.P. Gouw
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Major Drawback ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Alluvial Architecture ◽  
Active Channels

AbstractAlluvial architecture has been subject of many studies because of the occurrence of natural resources in ancient fluvial successions. This paper provides an overview of the current state of research on alluvial architecture with special reference to Holocene fluvio-deltaic settings. Several examples from modern fluvio-deltaic areas, especially the Holocene Rhine-Meuse delta (the Netherlands) and the Lower Mississippi Valley (U.S.A.), are used to illustrate the architectural elements that can be distinguished in fluvial successions and to show the influence of the various controls on alluvial architecture (base level, climate, tectonism, aggradation, avulsion, and compaction). Avulsion is regarded as a principal process in the formation of fluvio-deltaic sequences, because it determines the location and number of active channels on the floodplain. The avulsion mechanism is still subject of debate, though. A brief description of the evolution of process-based alluvial-architecture models is given. These models simulate the proportion and distribution of coarse-grained channel belts in fine-grained overbank deposits. The major drawback of the present-day alluvial-architecture models is the lack of (three-dimensional) quantitative field data to test and validate them. The paper concludes with the suggestion to collect more architectural data from natural fluvial settings, to improve simulation of channel-belt geometry in alluvial-architecture models, and to implement new data and knowledge of fluvial processes into models.

scholarly journals From apex to shoreline: fluvio-deltaic architecture for the Holocene Rhine-Meuse delta, The Netherlands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. P. Gouw ◽  
Marc P. Hijma
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Flood Plain ◽  
Lateral Migration ◽  
Body Width ◽  
Average Width ◽  
Channel Belt ◽  
Sand Body ◽  
Spatial Trends ◽  
Alluvial Architecture

Abstract. Despite extensive research on alluvial architecture, there is still a pressing need for data from modern fluvio-deltaic environments. Previous research in the fluvial-dominated proximal and central Rhine-Meuse delta (The Netherlands) has yielded clear spatial trends in alluvial architecture. In this paper, we include the backwater length to establish architectural trends from apex to shoreline. Channel-belt sand body width/thickness ratios and interconnectedness were determined and the proportions of fluvial channel-belt deposits, fluvial overbank deposits, organics and intertidal deposits were calculated for the complete fluvio-deltaic wedge, based on high-resolution geological cross-sections. It was found that the average width/thickness ratio of channel-belt sand bodies in the proximal delta is five times higher than in the distal delta. Other down-valley trends include an 80 %-decrease of the channel deposit proportion (CDP) and a near-constant proportion of overbank deposits. Additionally, interconnectedness in the proximal delta is three times higher than in the distal delta. Based on the Rhine-Meuse dataset, the authors propose a linear empirical function to model the spatial variability of CDP. It is argued that this relationship is driven by four key factors that change along stream: channel lateral-migration rate, channel-belt longevity, creation of accommodation space and inherited flood-plain width. Additionally, it is established that the sensitivity of CDP to changes in the ratio between channel-belt sand body width and flood-plain with, (normalised channel-belt sand body width) varies spatially and is greatest in the central and distal delta. Also, the proportion of fluvial channel-belt sands is generally an appropriate proxy for the total sand content of fluvio-deltaic successions, albeit that its suitability as a total-sand indicator rapidly fades in the distal delta. With this paper, unique high-resolution quantitative data and spatial trends on the alluvial architecture are available for an entire delta, hereby providing a dataset that can be used to further improve existing fluvial stratigraphy models.

scholarly journals From apex to shoreline: fluvio-deltaic architecture for the Holocene Rhine–Meuse delta, the Netherlands

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-64
Author(s):  
Marc J. P. Gouw ◽  
Marc P. Hijma
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Lateral Migration ◽  
Body Width ◽  
Average Width ◽  
Channel Belt ◽  
Sand Body ◽  
Spatial Trends ◽  
Alluvial Architecture

Abstract. Despite extensive research on alluvial architecture, there is still a pressing need for data from modern fluvio-deltaic environments. Previous research in the fluvial-dominated proximal and central Rhine–Meuse delta (the Netherlands) has yielded clear spatial trends in alluvial architecture. In this paper, we include the backwater length to establish architectural trends from apex to shoreline. Channel-belt sand body width / thickness ratios and interconnectedness were determined, and the proportions of fluvial channel-belt deposits, fluvial overbank deposits, organics and intertidal deposits were calculated for the complete fluvio-deltaic wedge based on high-resolution geological cross sections. It was found that the average width / thickness ratio of channel-belt sand bodies in the proximal delta is 5 times higher than in the distal delta. Other down-valley trends include an 80 % decrease in the channel deposit proportion (CDP) and a near-constant proportion of overbank deposits. Additionally, interconnectedness in the proximal delta is 3 times higher than in the distal delta. Based on the Rhine–Meuse dataset, we propose a linear empirical function to model the spatial variability of CDP. It is argued that this relationship is driven by four key factors: channel lateral-migration rate, channel-belt longevity, creation of accommodation space and inherited floodplain width. Additionally, it is established that the sensitivity of CDP to changes in the ratio between channel-belt sand body width and floodplain width (normalized channel-belt sand body width) varies spatially and is greatest in the central and distal delta. Furthermore, the proportion of fluvial channel-belt sands is generally an appropriate proxy for the total sand content of fluvio-deltaic successions, although its suitability as a total sand indicator rapidly fades in the distal delta. Characteristics of the backwater zone of the Rhine–Meuse delta are (1) sand body width / thickness ratios that are lower as a consequence of channel narrowing (not deepening), (2) a rapid increase and then a drop in the organic proportion, (3) an increase in the total sand proportion towards the shoreline, and (4) a drop in the connectedness ratio. For this paper, unique high-resolution quantitative data and spatial trends of the alluvial architecture are presented for an entire delta, providing data that can be used to further improve existing fluvial stratigraphy models.

Presumed Trade and Aberrant Pottery

1949 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 130-145
Author(s):  
Alex D. Krieger
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley ◽  
Great Range ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
Site Occupation ◽  
Foreign Origin ◽  
Pronounced Deviation

The pottery in the following sections is not considered to belong to the Alto Focus complex, but to occur with it at different points in the Davis site occupation by trade or other means. If the writer appears to vacillate over what is and what is not trade pottery here, it is due in part to the problem of separating what could have been produced at the site (as extreme variations of resident styles) from what probably was not (because of some distinctive attribute which would mark it as foreign). In certain cases of pronounced deviation, a foreign origin is obvious enough, particularly when the source areas are well known. But where the whole tradition is similar as in the clay-tempered pottery of the lower Mississippi Valley region, and a great range of decorative techniques was employed for long periods of time, the problem is not easy.

Loess stratigraphy of the Lower Mississippi Valley

1996 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 167-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.M. Rutledge ◽  
M.J. Guccione ◽  
H.W. Markewich ◽  
D.A. Wysocki ◽  
L.B. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley

Age, genesis, and paleoclimatic interpretation of the Sangamon/Loveland complex in the Lower Mississippi Valley, U.S.A.

2010 ◽  
Vol 123 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 21-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. W. Markewich ◽  
D. A. Wysocki ◽  
M. J. Pavich ◽  
E. M. Rutledge
Keyword(s):  
Mississippi Valley ◽  
Lower Mississippi Valley
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