Planform dynamics of the Iquitos anabranching structure in the Peruvian Upper Amazon River
Authors:
Alejandro Mendoza
,
Jorge D. Abad
,
Christian E. Frias
First published:
21/07/2019
doi:
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1235009
Citations:
318
The Upper reach of the Amazon River has a very dynamic morphology with the highest rates of migration
observed in the entire Amazon River. It has an anabranching channel pattern which alternates between a
condition of single channel and anachancing structures; in particular the anabrancing structure near Iquitos
City shows an interesting channel behavior. Its channels migrate at di
fferent rates, where there are processes
of narrowing and widening, and also collision and development of new channels. The temporal evolution of
the Iquitos anabranching structure is described during the period from 1985 to 2014. The study is carried out
by using satellite images to track the migration patterns which are contrasted to the underlying geological
units in the valley. Bathymetry of the structure and several velocity transects were obtained during a field
campaign prior to the 2012 historic flood event. This information allowed for numerical modeling in order
to compute the hydrodynamic flow field that complements the temporal analysis, aiming to understand
the planform migration patterns after the 2012 flood event. It is observed that the geological units play an
important role in modulating the migration rates and planform development of the channels. The channels in
the structure are in contention to be the main channel which become the secondary channel after migration.
This causes the channels to experience a raise in bed elevation and narrowing of the channel itself; if this trend
continues for several more years, these channels will detach from the Iquitos anabranching structure thus
forming paleo-channels. This geomorphic process is important for horizontal and vertical soil heterogeneity
along the floodplain. In general, the analysis shows a complex interaction between the underlying geological
units, flow structure, morphology of the bed, and planform migration.
Keywords:
Anabranching rivers
,
River migration
,
geologic modulation
,
Amazon River
Hydrogeomorphology
|
Biodiversity
|
Hazards
|
Conservation
[1] sensoramiento remoto
[1] modelamiento
Statistics
Articles per topic
Articles per basin
Help
Please review our
User Guide to learn how to use this site.
Export
You will the georreferenced articles
Contribute
If you want to georreference your article inside this platform,
please fill out the following form
Help
Topics
Fluvial geomorphology
Biodiversity
Hazards
Conservation
Property
Value
Mark
Otto
@mdo
Research Article
X
Planform dynamics of the Iquitos anabranching structure in the Peruvian Upper Amazon River
Authors:
Alejandro Mendoza
,
Jorge D. Abad
,
Christian E. Frias
First published:
21/07/2019
doi:
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1235009
Citations:
318
The Upper reach of the Amazon River has a very dynamic morphology with the highest rates of migration
observed in the entire Amazon River. It has an anabran