Rivers/Fluvial Sedimentologi & Prinsip

Stratigrafi
Overview
• Fluvial systems
• River forms
• Flow in channel
• Architectural Elements: Channels and overbanks
• Fluvial depositional architectural records
Geomorphological zones
➢ the erosional zone
➢ streams are actively downcutting
➢ removing bedrock from the valley floor and from the
valley sides
➢ downslope movement of material into the stream
bed.

➢ the transfer zone

➢ gradient is lower,
➢ streams and rivers are not actively eroding,
➢ but nor is this a site of deposition.

➢ the depositional zone

➢ sediment is deposited in the river channels and Nichols, 2009

➢ on the floodplains of a fluvial system or

➢ on the surface of an alluvial fan.
Geomorphological vs
depositional zones

Nichols, 2009

Allen & Heller, 2012

Fluvial System
• Catchment area or the drainage basin; the
area of ground that supplies water to a river
system .

• Rivers and streams are mainly fed by

➢ surface run-off and groundwater from
subsurface aquifers in the catchment
area , following periods of rain.
➢ Soils act as a sponge soaking up
moisture and gradually releasing it out
into the streams.

• Two factors controlling the supply of water to

a river system
➢ size of the catchment area
➢ climate
 River forms
Rivers can have a variety of forms:
➢how straight or sinuous the channel
➢presence or absence of depositonal bars of sand or gravel within the
channel
➢number of separate channels that are present in a stretch of the river.

Nichols, 2009
River forms
General river types can be recognised based on their channel geometry (Miall
1978; Cant 1982):

• A straight channel without bars is the simplest form but is relatively uncommon

• A braided river contains mid-channel bars that are covered at bank-full flow

• Anastomosing or anabranching river, consists of multiple, interconnected

channels that are separated by areas of floodplain (Makaske 2001)

• High sinuous rivers that have depositional bars only on the insides of bends are
called meandering.
 Flow in Channel
➢ most of the time the flow is
concentrated within channels.

➢ When the water level is below the level

of the channel banks it is at low flow
stage.

➢ A river with water flowing close to or at

the level of the bank is at high flow stage
or bank-full flow.

➢ When the volume of water exceeds the

volume that can be contained within the
channel, the river flood
➢ overbank flow occurs on the
floodplain adjacent to the channel
 Flow in Channel
As water flows in a channel it is slowed down by friction with
➢ the floor of the channel
➢ the banks and
➢ the air above

These frictional effects decrease

➢ away from the edges of the flow
➢ the deepest part of the channel the highest velocity
flow.
Nichols, 2009

A sandy river channel and adjacent overbank area: the river is

The line of the deepest part of the channel is called the
at low-flow stage exposing areas of sand deposited in the
thalweg.
channel.

The existence of the thalweg and its position in a channel

➢ important to the scouring of the banks
➢ the sites of deposition in all channels.

Nichols, 2009
 Thalweg
The position of the rivers fastest flowing current
(least friction, greater energy, greater erosion)
Flow separation
River forms

In ancient fluvial sediments, grain size

is the feature most easily diagnosed.
It may be expressed in two ways:

1. the grain size of the bedload

sediment forming the bedforms
and bars of the channel floor will
normally fall within the range
pebble gravel to fine sand
although both coarser and finer
examples may be found; and

2. the ratio between bedload and

suspended load.

after Orton & Reading, 1993

River
forms
River Architectural Elements
River Architectural Elements

Nichols, 2009
Mid-channel gravel bars in braided rivers

Nichols, 2009
Point bars in meandering rivers

Nichols, 2009
Mid-channel sand bars in braided rivers

Nichols, 2009
Point bars in meandering rivers

Nichols, 2009
Mid-channel bars in braided rivers

McGeary, 1996
Coarse grained bedload-Braided River
Braided river characteristics:

➢ Channel divides around islands

(bars);

➢ Tend to form on higher slopes in

coarser material

➢ Dominant load - coarser grain sizes

(gravels – sands).

➢ Bank – lack cohesive and leads

mobile channel courses
➢ Channels – Continually shift and
bifurcate, produce rapid network
braid channel
Combination of high bedload, low sinuosity rivers
➢ stratigraphic records dominated lenticular,
concave upward
➢ sand bodies with cross stratification,
➢ lateral accretion deposits
➢ lack of channel margin
Formation of Braided river
• Usually found in areas of high
sediment influx, high water
influx, and high gradient
• Examples include glacial
discharge plains, distal portions
of alluvial fans, and
mountainous regions.
• During times of flooding the
river is choked with a high
amount of sediment and a new
channel is formed
• Mid channel bars is a result from
sediment that too large to be
carried
Braided river deposits
• Contain gravel in lower portions of bars and channels
and sand throughout the rest of the deposit
• mud is almost nonexistent
• Longitudinal bars present with some having horizons
of plant roots
• Linguoid and transverse bars also present
• Lateral bars possible, also with possible plants roots
• Lateral extent of a braided river deposit can be
extensive because lateral migration of the system and
the high sedimentation rate
 Braided River
depositional profiles
➢ Braided rivers have a variety of bar types
point bars, alternate bars (may be attached
to one bank or mid-channel bars)

➢ Alternate bars form in straight

channels; they migrate downstream

➢ Depending on channel width:depth

ratio, alternate bar patterns may
evolve into braid bars
 Braided River
depositional
models
Gravelly braided
fluvial system

Irregular fining-up poorly

Flow developed

Broad Continuous belt

Downstream
accretion (DA)

Sandy braided
fluvial system
Courtesy of Dardji, 2017
Depositional architecture of a braided river

Nichols, 2009
Depositional architecture
of a braided river
Deposition on Braid Bars
• Bars migrate downstream, but
also grow laterally
• Will produce lateral accretion
surfaces that can be seen in
views perpendicular to flow
• Downstream-accreting bars will
produce large foresets; may be
internally large-scale X-stratified
Depositional architecture of a braided bar
Deposition on Braid Bars
• Bars migrate downstream, but
also grow laterally
• Will produce lateral accretion
surfaces that can be seen in
views perpendicular to flow
• Downstream-accreting bars will
produce large foresets; may be
internally large-scale X-stratified
Braided River Depositional Profiles

Model of Braided River Sediments (Miall’s 1977) Platte type made up of Ss. Stacked plannar X bed
Scott type shows noncyclic congl., Bijou Creek type composed superimposed
Donjek type congl. and Ss.rough-cyclic, trough X horizontral bedded sheetflood deposits.
 • Gravelly braided river

• Sandy braided river

• the discharge shows only a moderate
variation through the year called
perennial fluvial systems.
Facies & Elements
Facies & Architectural Elements
Ramos & Sopena, 1983
 Meandering River Characteristics
➢ High sinuosity drainage areas dominated by Low-gradient slopes.

➢ Commonly dominated by a high suspended load

➢ Channels lie on broad meander belt. Complex distribution (active and abandoned) channels

➢ Typically organized into channel and overbank segments

➢ Active deposition is in channel belt resulting alluvial ridge higher than flood plain

➢ Distal margin alluvial ridge form overbank that interfinger with flood plain

➢ Point bars and associated lateral accretion may be constrained by abandoned channel plugs or by lateral
migrated channel.

➢ Sediment load – range from fine grained suspended load system to coarse sand gravel pebble rich system
Meandering River
 Formation of Meandering River
• Further down stream the river has a much less
sediment influx, and therefore, does not form
bars as a result of sediment choking, but starts
to deposit the smaller sediment in its system
and also erodes the surrounding banks

• The cut bank will erode the outside bank and

cause the river to expand laterally while the
point bar will deposit sediment from the
system and accrete the river laterally with
sandy silt deposits and sometimes mud

• A meander will sometimes meet another and • During flooding stages the river will spill over its banks and
then form a faster way down stream so the deposit on the levee and also on the flood plain depositing
abandoned channel will become an ox-bow silts and muds
lake
Meandering River Architectural Elements

Meandering deposits consist

➢ channel deposits and
➢ floodplain (overbank) deposits
Meandering River Architectural Elements

Nichols, 2009
 Meandering
River
depositional
Flood plain deposits models
Frequent capping the
Point Bar

Courtesy of Dardji, 2017

Meandering river deposits
• The majority of the deposit will consist of the accretion of
the point bar
• Some abandoned channels and deep channels will be
preserved as dish shaped structures, up to hundreds of
meters wide, in the outcrop
• The point bar will have a fining upward succession starting
from a channel deposit rising through trough cross bedding
and sand stone lenses up to ripples and finally a flood plain
deposit
• The flood plain forms by the deposition of fine material
from the river during flood stages
• Deposits are usually laminated and may be oxidized
• Paleosols may also be present on floodplain, levee, and
point bar (though much less common here)
• A crevasse-splay deposit will consist of a sheet flow with
some cross bedding towards the upper section with rip up
clasts present in the bottom of the section
Sedimentation processes in Meander Channel
➢ Characteristics of these deposits is related to
flow pattern that develops in river bends.

➢ Flow is pushed toward outer bank of meander

bend, Helical flow develops in meander

➢ Flow near bed is directed toward inner bank

➢ Erosion & Deposition in River Meanders

➢ Faster flow and strong bed shear stresses along

outer bank causes intense erosion; only
coarsest sediment remains on bed as a lag
deposit

➢ Slower flow and decreasing bed shear stress

toward inner bank results in deposition of a
point bar
Deposition of Point Bar in Meandering
Channel • Point bar slopes gently toward thalweg:

• coarse lag deposit (all but coarsest grains are eroded

away)

• Most of point bar is covered with dunes: get large-scale

cross-stratified sand.

• Top of point bar commonly rippled: get small-scale

cross-stratified finer sand

• Tops of point bar deposits dry out during low flows,

become vegetated, and eventually becoming part of
the floodplain as channel migrates laterally.

• Tops of point bar deposits commonly show desiccation

cracks and bioturbation by roots & burrowing
organisms.
Deposition of Point
Bar in Meandering
Channel
• Point bar slopes gently toward thalweg:

• coarse lag deposit (all but coarsest grains

are eroded away)

• Most of point bar is covered with dunes: get

large-scale cross-stratified sand.

• Top of point bar commonly rippled: get

small-scale cross-stratified finer sand

• Tops of point bar deposits dry out during

low flows, become vegetated, and
eventually becoming part of the floodplain
as channel migrates laterally.

• Tops of point bar deposits commonly show

desiccation cracks and bioturbation by roots
& burrowing organisms.
Deposition of Point Bar
Deposition of Point Bar in Meandering
Channel
Meandering River Characters

Classic fining upward sequence

deposited by lateral migration of
meandering river.

➢ Intraclast conglomerate at the

base, Trough cross bed,

➢ parallel laminated sands

➢ rippled sands

➢ overbank muds at the top

(Allen 1970)
River’s Channel
Log Patterns (Meandering River Deposits)
Nichols, 2009
Nichols, 2009
Overbank (Flood-plain) deposits
• Overbank deposition occurs during
floods
• Floodplain is vegetated; soils develop;
sediments become bioturbated
• Overbank deposits are finer-grained
than channel deposits;
• Levee Deposits
• Overbank deposition may occur all
along the banks of the channel during
a flood.
• Close to channel, coarser sediment is
deposited; may see ripples or dunes
• Flow strength decreases through time;
levee deposits will show fining in
grainsize vertically
• Farther from channel, sediments are
fine-grained, laminated
Overbank deposits
http://www.seddepseq.co.uk
Burns et al., 2017 Polanco-Boulware & Rice, 2017
Gulliford et al., 2017
Dark organic rich overbank deposits
Facies & Architectural Elements
Anastomosed River System
Anastomosed River Characteristics
➢ Interconnected network low gradient

➢ Relatively deep and narrow channels, variable

sinuosity

➢ Very stable and vegetated bank

➢ Fine Siltstone – Clay.

➢ Very high mud/ sand ratio

➢ Sediment mostly from vertical aggradations

➢ Lateral migration limited,

➢ Changes channels occur through avulsion

Facies model block diagram for
anastomosed river (Smith and Smith, 1980) ➢ Flooding events create progressing breaching,
creavassing can lead to form new channel course

➢ Overbank and flood plain consist of narrow natural

levees crevassing, vegetated island wet lands.
Anastomosed River Model
Anastomosed River Model
Formation of Anastomosed river
• Anastomosing rivers are usually formed by avulsions,
i.e., flow diversions that cause the formation of new
channels on the floodplain.

• As a product of avulsion, anastomosing rivers

essentially form in two ways:

(1) by formation of bypasses, while bypassed older

channel-belt segments remain active for some
period; and

(2) by splitting of the diverted avulsive flow, leading

to contemporaneous scour of multiple channels
on the floodplain.

(Makaske, 2001)
Avulsion

after Stouthamer 2001

Avulsion
Avulsion
 Soil Forming Processes (Pedogenesis)
Soil - a layer of weathered, unconsolidated material on top of bedrock Soils can be classified according to (Mack
Common soil constituents: clay minerals, quartz, water, organic matter et al.1993):

• the degree of alteration (weathering) of

the parent material;
• . the precipitation of soluble minerals

such as calcite and gypsum;

• . oxidising/reducing conditions (redox

conditions), particularly with respect to

iron minerals;
• . the development of layering

(horizonation); . the redistribution of

clays, iron and organic material into
these different layers (illuviation);
• . the amount of organic matter that is

preserved.

Nichols, 2009
Fossil Soil
(Paleosol)
 Fossil Soil
(Paleosol)

• Gelisols indicate a cold climate

• aridisols are characteristic of arid conditions
• oxisols form most commonly under humid, tropical
conditions
• vertisols form in subhumid to semi-arid climates with
pronounced seasonality.
• Particular hydrological conditions are required for some
soils, such as the waterlogged setting that histosols (peaty
soils) formmin.
• entisols are very immature
• inceptisols show more development, but are less mature
than the other types lower in the list
• spodosols, alfisols and ultisols are soils formed in forests,
whereas
• mollisols are grassland soils.
• andisols is restricted to volcanic substrates.

Nichols, 2009
Fossil Soil (Paleosol)

• The precipitation of calcium

carbonate within the soil is a
feature of some aridisols (semi-
arid to arid climates) >
‘calcrete soils’ form by the
movement of water through
the soil precipitating calcium
carbonate as root encrustations
(rhizocretions) and as small soil
nodules (glaebules) (Wright &
Tucker 1991).
• The nodules grow and coalesce
as precipitation continues to
form a fully developed calcrete,
with tepee structures, i.e.
domes in the layer formed by
the expansion of the calcium
carbonate as it is precipitated
(Allen 1974).
Fossil Soil (Paleosol)
Thank You