Experimental migration of knickpoints: influence of style of base-level fall  and bed lithology

Grimaud, J.-L.; Paola, C.; Voller, V.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-11-2016

Articles | Volume 4, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-11-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-11-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 4, issue 1

Research article

|

15 Jan 2016

Research article |

| 15 Jan 2016

Experimental migration of knickpoints: influence of style of base-level fall and bed lithology

J.-L. Grimaud, C. Paola, and V. Voller

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Final revised paper (published on 15 Jan 2016)
Preprint (discussion started on 25 Aug 2015)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC C296: 'Role of tools vs clear water erosion', Jens Turowski, 07 Sep 2015
- AC C308: 'Bedload variation and upscaling', Jean-Louis Grimaud, 16 Sep 2015
RC C402: 'Review of Grimaud et al', Anonymous Referee #2, 06 Nov 2015
- AC C413: 'Response to comments by referee #2', Jean-Louis Grimaud, 13 Nov 2015

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

AR by Jean-Louis Grimaud on behalf of the Authors (04 Dec 2015)

ED: Publish as is (09 Dec 2015) by Jean Braun

ED: Publish as is (10 Dec 2015) by Frédéric Herman (Editor)

AR by Jean-Louis Grimaud on behalf of the Authors (10 Dec 2015)

Short summary

Knickpoints represent localized steps along a river profile (e.g. waterfalls or rapids) that are commonly interpreted as the geomorphic response of river systems to external changes. We used a simple experiment to show that knickpoints may not only respond to external base-level change but are also able to self-organize. We highlight the effect of alluvial cover in delaying knickpoint formation and show that river bed strength controls both retreat velocity and geometry of knickpoints.