Backwater and river plume controls on scour upstream of river mouths: Implications for fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface Vol. 117; no. F1
• Main Authors: Lamb, Michael P., Nittrouer, Jeffrey A., Mohrig, David, Shaw, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2012; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: Accelerated flow; backwater; Backwaters; Continental margins; Drawdown; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; erosion; Exact sciences and technology; Fluvial sediments; Geomorphology; High flow; Hydrology; Oceans; Offshore; River beds; River mouth; river plume; River plumes; Rivers; Scour; Sediment transport; Sedimentary structures; Sedimentation; Sediments; Upstream; Water depth; United States; Mississippi River; North America, Mississippi R; sediment sources; Deceleration; plumes; North America; offshore; bedforms; continental margin sedimentation; acceleration; coastal zone; dynamics; scours; depth; sediment transport; discharge; erosion; two-dimensional models; estuaries; flow

Sediment flux from rivers to oceans is the fundamental driver of fluvio‐deltaic morphodynamics and continental margin sedimentation, yet sediment transport across the river‐to‐marine boundary is poorly understood. Coastal rivers typically are affected by backwater, a zone of spatially decelerating f...