Captures, Cutoffs, and Autogenic Drainage Basin Reorganization from Bedrock River Meandering in the Oregon Coast Range

Abstract:

Meandering bedrock channels in the Oregon Coast Range (OCR), USA, have lateral migration rates far in excess of vertical incision rates. Consequently, the sweeping of trunk streams through this landscape can locally exert a much stronger influence on tributary channel long profiles than far-field tectonic forcing of base-level. Here, we use LiDAR-data to explore the influence of lateral channel mobility on the evolution of tributaries to the Smith River, in the OCR. We focus on two processes that dramatically and instantaneously change tributary long profiles: 1) Capture of tributaries by growing meander bends, and 2) Meander bend neck cutoffs on the main-stem that leave tributaries disconnected from base-level lowering. We focus on these two types of events because they provide clear examples of autogenic drivers of landscape disequilibrium at the sub-watershed scale in a landscape that is commonly argued to reflect steady tectonic forcing of base-level.

We show that tributary streams are significantly more likely to flow into the leading edge of meander bends, testifying to the repeated capture of tributaries by growing bends. Examples of eminent captures by migrating bends, and examples with large knick points along recently captured tributaries suggest that the autogenic capture of tributaries by growing bends is a fundamental cause of transience in tributary channels in this landscape. To demonstrate the influence of the process of meander bend neck cutoff on tributary long profile evolution, we compare the long profiles of 34 tributaries that were hung above the main-stem of the Smith River following neck cutoff events. These stagnated tributary channels typically exhibit large convexities that record ongoing lowering of the trunk stream. Measured heights of these hanging tributaries implies that the timescale of adjustment for tributaries following cutoff events is ~ 10⁵-10⁶ years. The timescale of adjustment of tributary channels following meander cutoff events is therefore comparable to or in excess of the time-scale of Pleistocene climate and sea-level variability. Our results therefore demonstrate that tributaries in the OCR are strongly overprinted by the effects of autogenic base-level changes triggered by meandering trunk streams.