River Channel Change with Time: An Example

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 1973 River Channel Change with Time: An Example: Address as Retiring President of The Geological Society of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 1972 LUNA B. LEOPOLD LUNA B. LEOPOLD 1U.S. Geological Survey, and Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information LUNA B. LEOPOLD 1U.S. Geological Survey, and Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1973) 84 (6): 1845–1860. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1973)84<1845:RCCWTA>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation LUNA B. LEOPOLD; River Channel Change with Time: An Example: Address as Retiring President of The Geological Society of America, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 1972. GSA Bulletin 1973;; 84 (6): 1845–1860. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1973)84<1845:RCCWTA>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Monumented channel cross sections were resurveyed over a period of 20 yrs (1953 to 1972) to determine the amount and kind of change of channel area and position on a 3.7-sq-mi basin, Watts Branch near Rockville, Maryland. For the first 12 yrs, the channel progressively but slowly became smaller as urbanization of the basin gradually proceeded. After 1966, a threshold of change apparently was passed and, probably as a result of an increased rate of land alteration upstream, large amounts of sediment were deposited within the channel and overbank. The number of floods exceeding channel capacity increased dramatically from an average of two to more than ten per year. Simultaneously, the channel area began to increase. Despite the trend toward increasing cross-sectional area, the net result after 20 yrs was a channel smaller by 20 percent than it had been originally. Urbanization did not alter the rate of channel migration. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.