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Extreme sediment pulses generated by bend cutoffs along a large meandering river

Nature Geoscience volume 4, pages 675–678 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

In meandering rivers, bend cutoffs have long been recognized as an important mechanism of change in the path of the channel. Meander bend cutoffs can develop by the progressive migration of an elongated bend onto itself, which forms a neck cutoff, or by the erosion of a new channel across the neck of the bend, which is known as a chute cutoff1. River cutoffs affect channel navigation2, and form meander scars and oxbow lakes in river floodplains1,3,4, which are important habitats for riparian ecosystems5. The importance of cutoff processes in meander dynamics is well established1,3,4,6,7,8, but the effects of cutoffs on overall sediment flux are poorly characterized. Here we use aerial imagery, global positioning system mapping and measurements of channel bathymetry to estimate the amount of sediment released by two chute cutoffs on the Wabash River in the Midwestern USA. We find that each event triggered the rapid delivery of sediment into the river, at rates that are one to five orders of magnitude larger than those produced by lateral migration of individual bends. We find that much of this material was deposited immediately downstream, at the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio rivers, which led to significant changes in channel morphology. This sedimentation ultimately impeded barge traffic and necessitated extensive dredging.

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Figure 1: Comparison of erosion rates for bend cutoffs and lateral bend migration on the Wabash River.
Figure 2: Development of chute cutoffs on Mackey Bend, Wabash River, IL–IN, 2008–2010.
Figure 3: Bathymetry of the Wabash–Ohio river confluence.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a NSF SGER Grant (BCS-0852865). We thank K. Collier, B. Norfleet, and B. Floyd for access to the field site and for the eyewitness accounts of cutoff channel formation and the development of gullies across the interior of Mackey Bend caused by overbank flows in June 2008. We thank S. Riche of the Indianapolis Star for the oblique aerial photograph. Information regarding data for river dredging was obtained from Mr B. Vessels, Louisville District of the US Army Corps of Engineers. We also thank K. Johnson, F. Engel, J. Riley, and K. Konsoer for assistance with field data collection and R. Jackson for discussions on Wabash River morphodynamics.

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  1. Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 220 Davenport Hall, 607 S. Mathews Ave, Urbana, Illinois 61801-3671, USA

    Jessica A. Zinger & Bruce L. Rhoads

  2. Departments of Geology, Geography, Mechanical Science and Engineering and Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 208 Natural History Building, 1301 W. Green St, Urbana, Illinois 61801-3671, USA

    James L. Best

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  1. Jessica A. Zinger
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All authors gathered field data, and J.A.Z. processed the field data. All authors performed analysis and interpretation, and contributed to writing of the manuscript at all stages.

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Correspondence to Jessica A. Zinger.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Zinger, J., Rhoads, B. & Best, J. Extreme sediment pulses generated by bend cutoffs along a large meandering river. Nature Geosci 4, 675–678 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1260

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