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Distributary channels in the fluvial to tidal transition zone
Kastner K.a, Hoitink A.J.F.a, Vermeulen B.b, Geertsema T.J.a, Ningsih N.S.c
a Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, Netherlands
b Faculty of Engineering Technology, Water Engineering and Management, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
c Research Group of Oceanography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624529070653{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner layout=”boxed”][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1624695412187{border-right-width: 1px !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Abstract” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.Coastal lowland plains under mixed fluvial-tidal influence may form complex, composite channel networks, where distributaries blend the characteristics of mouth bar channels, avulsion channels, and tidal creeks. The Kapuas coastal plain exemplifies such a coastal plain, where several narrow distributaries branch off the Kapuas River at highly asymmetric bifurcations. A comprehensive geomorphological analysis shows that trends in the channel geometry of all Kapuas distributaries are similar. They consist of a short, converging reach near the sea and a nonconverging reach upstream. The two parts are separated by a clear break in scaling of geometrical properties. Such a break in scaling was previously established in the Mahakam Delta, which suggests that this may be a general characteristic in the fluvial to tidal transition zone. In contrast to the geometrical trend similarities, a clear difference in bed material between the main and side distributaries is found. In the main distributary, a continuous trend of downstream fining is established, similar to what is often found in lowland rivers. In the side distributaries, bed material coarsens in the downstream direction. This indicates an undersupply of sediment to the side distributaries, which may contribute to their long-term stability as established from historical maps. Tides may be the main agent preventing fine sediment to settle, promoting residual transport of fine material to the coastal ocean.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Author keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Indexed keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]delta,distributary,grain size,hydraulic geometry,Kapuas River,river[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Funding details” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]This research was supported by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) project SPIN3-JRP-29. The authors thank Hidayat for the processing of bed material samples at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, as well as Muhammad Pramulya (Tanjungpura University), Laura Schlebes, and Judit Snethlage (both Wageningen University) for their field work support. We also thank Pieter Hazenberg (Wagening University) for technical support. We also thank the Editor, Giovanni Coco, and three anonymous reviewers for giving constructive feedback to the draft version of this manuscript. Preprocessed data, including a detailed description thereof, are provided as supporting information (SI) files. Bulk raw data are available from the first author (Wageningen University, Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands, karl.kastner@wur.nl).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”DOI” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JF004075[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Widget Plumx[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]