Synonyms
Channel abandonment; Channel shifting; Diversion
Definition
Avulsion is recognized as an abrupt change in the course of a stream.
Background
An avulsion is when a river channel switches location, often abruptly, along part of its course. Avulsions are characteristic of fluvial and deltaic environments, including alluvial fans and rivers with multiple channels. Partial or complete abandonment of the active channel results in an inactive channel or a channel with substantially less flow. Avulsions usually occur during floods, either through levee breaching via lowlands or occupying a preexisting channel with which it is connected. Frequency, spatial scale, and causes vary widely depending on the type of river and environmental setting (Jones and Schumm, 1999; Slingerland and Smith, 2004; Stouthamer and Berendsen, 2007). Human activities may cause or promote avulsions where levees have been destroyed during floods, intentionally harming some areas with the aim to protect others,...
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Bibliography
Ethridge, F. G., Skelly, R. L., and Bristow, C. S., 1999. Avulsion and crevassing in the sandy, braided Niobrara River: complex response to base-level rise and aggradation. In Smith, N. D., and Rogers, J. (eds.), Fluvial Sedimentology VI. International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication 28. Oxford: Blackwell Science, pp. 179–191.
Jones, L. S., and Schumm, S. A., 1999. Causes of avulsion: an overview. In Smith, N. D., and Rogers, J. (eds.), Fluvial Sedimentology VI. International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication 28. Oxford: Blackwell Science, pp. 171–178.
Mossa, J., and Marks, S. R., 2011. Pit avulsions and planform change on a mined river floodplain: Tangipahoa River, Louisiana, USA. Physical Geography, 32.
Slingerland, R., and Smith, N. D., 2004. River avulsions and their deposits. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 32, 257–285.
Stouthamer, E., and Berendsen, H. J. A., 2007. Avulsion: the relative roles of autogenic and allogenic processes. Sedimentary Geology, 198, 309–325.
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Mossa, J. (2013). Avulsion. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_18
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