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research article

Signatures of sea level changes on tidal geomorphology: Experiments on network incision and retreat

Stefanon, Luana
•
Carniello, Luca
•
D'Alpaos, Andrea
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2012
Geophysical Research Letters

How do tidal networks respond to changes in relative mean sea level (RMSL)? The question on whether the morphological features of a tidal landscape retain signatures of past environmental forcings, or are in equilibrium with current ones, is critical to our prediction of the fate of residual tidal landforms. In the case of tidal networks, the issue is quite relevant owing to their fundamental role on landscape eco-morphodynamic evolution. Here we explore the response of tidal networks to cyclic variations in RMSL triggering tidal prism changes on the basis of laboratory experiments carried out in a synthetic lagoonal environment. A decrease in the tidal prism leads to network retreat and contraction of channel cross sections. Conversely, an increase in the tidal prism promotes network re-incision and re-expansion of channel cross sections: Network retreat and expansion tend to occur within the same planar blueprint. Our results show that the drainage density of tidal channels is linearly related to the landscape-forming prism, although this relation is speculated to hold with reasonable approximation as a statistical tendency rather than as a pointwise, instantaneous adaptation. Changes in tidal prism rapidly influence network efficiency in draining the intertidal platform and the related transport of water, sediments, nutrients and pollutants. This bears important consequences for quantitative predictions of the long-term ecomorphological adaptation of the tidal landscape to RMSL changes. Citation: Stefanon, L., L. Carniello, A. D'Alpaos, and A. Rinaldo (2012), Signatures of sea level changes on tidal geomorphology: Experiments on network incision and retreat, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L12402, doi:10.1029/2012GL051953.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.1029/2012GL051953
Web of Science ID

WOS:000305647700005

Author(s)
Stefanon, Luana
•
Carniello, Luca
•
D'Alpaos, Andrea
•
Rinaldo, Andrea  
Date Issued

2012

Published in
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume

39

Issue

12

Article Number

L12402

Subjects

Salt-Marsh

•

Drainage Density

•

Landscape

•

Model

•

Morphodynamics

•

Evolution

Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
ECHO  
Available on Infoscience
July 20, 2012
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/84026
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