Avulsion in action: reconstruction and modeling sedimentation pace and upstream flood water levels following a Medieval tidal-river diversion catastrophe (Biesbosch, The Netherlands, 1421–1750 AD)

Deltaic land inundated by storm surges may reform by sedimentation from natural or human-induced river diversions. This is a well-known trigger mechanism for creation of new channels in coastal plains and deltas, which may develop into main channels and lead to abandonment of older (avulsion), particularly in the downstream parts of deltas that host tidal rivers. These new channels develop as part of deltaic splay complexes that heal initial diversion scars and fill up flooded basins at a certain pace. We study a case with excellent historical and geological data of a diversion of the river Rh... Mehr ...