ABSTRACT Field data reveal how the discharge ( Q ), channel area ( A ), and average water velocity ( V avg ) of natural streams functionally depend on the effective stage ( h ) above channel bottom. A graphical technique allows the level that corresponds to a dry channel, denoted “ h 0 ,” to be determined, permitting the dependent variables Q , A , and V avg to all be expressed as simple functions of h , equal to h L – h 0 , where h L is the local stage that is typically reported relative to an arbitrary, site-specific datum. Once h 0 is known, plots of log Q , log A , and log V avg versus log h can be constructed using available data. These plots define strong, nearly linear trends for which the slopes (1) quantify the power relationships among these variables; (2) show that V avg varies nearly linearly with h , unlike behaviors assumed in the Chezy and Manning equations; (3) distinguish the individual contributions of A and V avg to discharge, which is their product; (4) provide quantitative means with which to compare different sites; and (5) offer new insights into the character and dynamics of natural streams.

Abstract In glacier-fed Baspa River valley, Late Quaternary climatic changes are archived in the terraces, fan and landslide deposits. An initial optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) based stratigraphy of these deposits is developed to deduce geomorphic evolution and palaeoclimatic changes. The data show large alluvial fan progradation around Sangla till c. 45 ka (middle of marine isotope stage 3 or MIS-3) due to glacial retreat and readjustment of glacigenic sediment under warm and humid conditions followed by incision. During the end phase of MIS-3 (>23 ka), intensified precipitation blocked the river course near Sangla and Kharogla by rock avalanches and imposed lacustrine conditions which recorded sedimentation until the beginning of Holocene ( c. 11.4 ka). Reduced sedimentation in these lakes during the last glacial maximum (LGM) c. 23–18 ka suggests a cold and arid climate, whereas increased sedimentation during c. 18–11.5 ka indicates a warm and humid climate post-LGM. A palaeolake breach occurred during early Holocene and incision continued throughout the Holocene, with a pulse of fluvial aggradation during c. 9.1–6.5 ka over lacustrine remnant. In the upper reach of the valley (Chitkul area), coeval aggradation continued from >28 ka until c. 19 ka (MIS-3 to LGM) under cold and relatively arid conditions. This study emphasizes that Late Quaternary geomorphic evolution of Baspa valley is well synchronous with glacial fluctuations and the rapid response of the glacifluvial system to Indian summer monsoon (ISM) dynamics.

Abstract The Pleistocene Fuji–Einstein system in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico consists of a shelf-edge delta that is directly linked to and coeval with two submarine channel–levee systems, Fuji and Einstein. There is a continuous transition between the channel fills and the delta clinoforms, and the seismic reflections of the prodelta are continuous with the levee deposits. Five smaller delta lobes within the Fuji–Einstein delta formed through autocyclic lobe switching that was superimposed on a single falling-to-rising sea-level cycle. The corresponding stratigraphic complexity is difficult to interpret in single downdip seismic sections, especially where elongated mudbelts are attached to some of the delta lobes. The two slope channel systems, Fuji and Einstein, deeply incise the shelf-edge delta. However, late-stage delta progradation was coeval with slope-channel development, and, as a result, there is no easily mappable, single erosional surface separating channel deposits from deltaic sediments. During early delta-lobe development, a gully field forms on the upper slope, directly downdip from the delta lobe. As the delta progrades, one of the larger gullies in the middle of the field captures most of the denser flows and gradually evolves into a sinuous channel. The larger delta-related slope channels source 2–4 km-wide submarine aprons where they encounter areas with lower gradients. If the slope gully or channel remains active for a long enough time, its corresponding submarine apron smooths out the slope and becomes incised by the later bypassing flows. The well-preserved and mappable 3D shelf-edge architecture provides a rare opportunity to understand relationships between deltaic and slope depositional systems.