Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The fate of sediment, wood, and organic carbon eroded during an extreme flood, Colorado Front Range, USA

2017; Geological Society of America; Volume: 45; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g38935.1

1943-2682

Sara L. Rathburn, Georgina L. Bennett, Ellen Wohl, Christy E. Briles, Brandon McElroy, Nicholas A. Sutfin,

Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

Research Article| June 01, 2017 The fate of sediment, wood, and organic carbon eroded during an extreme flood, Colorado Front Range, USA S.L Rathburn; S.L Rathburn 1Department of Geosciences, Campus Delivery 1482, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1482, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar G.L. Bennett; G.L. Bennett 1Department of Geosciences, Campus Delivery 1482, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1482, USA2U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar E.E. Wohl; E.E. Wohl 1Department of Geosciences, Campus Delivery 1482, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1482, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar C. Briles; C. Briles 3Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Campus Box 172, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80217-3364, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar B. McElroy; B. McElroy 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, Department 3006, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar N. Sutfin N. Sutfin 1Department of Geosciences, Campus Delivery 1482, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1482, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2017) 45 (6): 499–502. https://doi.org/10.1130/G38935.1 Article history received: 22 Sep 2016 rev-recd: 26 Jan 2017 accepted: 29 Jan 2017 first online: 28 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation S.L Rathburn, G.L. Bennett, E.E. Wohl, C. Briles, B. McElroy, N. Sutfin; The fate of sediment, wood, and organic carbon eroded during an extreme flood, Colorado Front Range, USA. Geology 2017;; 45 (6): 499–502. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G38935.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Identifying and quantifying the dominant processes of erosion and tracking the fate of sediment, wood, and carbon eroded during floods is important for understanding channel response to floods, downstream sediment and carbon loading, and the influence of extreme events on landscapes and the terrestrial carbon cycle. We quantify sediment, wood, and organic carbon (OC) from source to local sink following an extreme flood in the tectonically quiescent, semiarid Colorado (USA) Front Range. Erosion of >500,000 m3 or as much as ∼115 yr of weathering products occurred through landsliding and channel erosion during September 2013 flooding. More than half of the eroded sediment was deposited at the inlet and delta of a water supply reservoir, resulting in the equivalent of 100 yr of reservoir sedimentation and 2% loss in water storage capacity. The flood discharged 28 Mg C/km2, producing an event OC flux equivalent to humid, tectonically active areas. Post-flood remobilization resulted in a further ∼100 yr of reservoir sedimentation plus export of an additional 1.3 Mg C/km2 of wood, demonstrating the ongoing impact of the flood on reservoir capacity and carbon cycling. Pronounced channel widening during the flood created accommodation space for 40% of flood sediment and storage of wood and eroded carbon. We conclude that confined channels, normally dismissed as transport reaches, can store and export substantial amounts of flood constituents. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.