Articles | Volume 12, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1329-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-1329-2024
Research article
 | 
03 Dec 2024
Research article |  | 03 Dec 2024

Knickpoints and fixed points: the evolution of fluvial morphology under the combined effect of fault uplift and dam obstruction on a soft bedrock river

Hung-En Chen, Yen-Yu Chiu, Chih-Yuan Cheng, and Su-Chin Chen

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Cited articles

Ahmed, M. F., Rogers, J. D., and Ismail, E. H.: Knickpoints along the upper Indus River, Pakistan: an exploratory survey of geomorphic processes, Swiss J. Geosci., 111, 191–204, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00015-017-0290-3, 2018. 
Bishop, P., Hoey, T. B., Jansen, J. D., and Artza, I. L.: Knickpoint recession rate and catchment area: the case of uplifted rivers in Eastern Scotland, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 30, 767–778, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.1191, 2005. 
Braatne, J. H., Rood, S. B., Goater, L. A., and Blair, C. L.: Analyzing the impacts of dams on riparian ecosystems: a review of research strategies and their relevance to the Snake River through Hells Canyon, Environ. Manage., 41, 267–281, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-007-9048-4, 2008. 
Brandt, S. A.: Classification of geomorphological effects downstream of dams, Catena, 40, 375–401, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0341-8162(00)00093-X, 2000. 
Bressan, F., Papanicolaou, A. N., and Abban, B.: A model for knickpoint migration in first- and second-order streams, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 4987–4996, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL060823, 2014.  
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Short summary
This study explores the fluvial morphology evolution in three rivers in Taiwan caused by natural tectonic movements (the 1999 Mw 7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake) and human-made structures (dams). Knickpoints resulting from riverbed uplift shift, leading to gradual evolution from instability to equilibrium. Dams, on the other hand, cause continuous degradation of the bed. When both effects exist on a reach, the impact of the knickpoint gradually fades away, but the effects of the dam on the river persist.