Interannual kinetics (2010-2013) of large wood in a river corridor exposed to a 50-year flood event and fluvial ice dynamics (2010-2013)
Résumé
Semi-alluvial rivers of the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec, are prone to produce and transport vast quantities of large
wood (LW). The high rate of lateral erosion owing to high energy flows and noncohesive banks is the main process
leading to the recruitment of large wood, which in turn initiates complex patterns of wood accumulation and
reentrainment within the active channel. The delta of the Saint-Jean River (SJR) has accumulated large annual
wood fluxes since 1960 that culminated in a wood raft of N3-km in length in 2014. To document the kinetics
of large wood on the main channel of SJR, four annual surveys were carried out from 2010 to 2013 to locate
and describe N1000 large wood jams (LWJ) and 2000 large wood individuals (LWI) along a 60-km river section.
Airborne and ground photo/video images were used to estimate the wood volume introduced by lateral erosion
and to identify local geomorphic conditions that control wood mobility and deposits. Video camera analysis
allowed the examination of transport rates from three hydrometeorological events for specific river sections. Results
indicate that the volume of LW recruited between 2010 and 2013 represents 57% of the total LW production
over the 2004–2013 period. Volumes of wood deposited along the 60-km section were four times higher in 2013
than in 2010. Increases in wood amount occurred mainly in upper alluvial sections of the river, whereas decreases
were observed in the semi-alluvial middle sections. Observations suggest that the 50-year flood event
of 2010 produced large amounts of LW that were only partly exported out of the basin so that a significant
amount was still available for subsequent floods. Large wood storage continued after this flood until a similar
flood or an ice-breakup event could remobilise these LW accumulations into the river corridor. Ice-jam floods
transport large amounts of wood during events with fairly low flow but do not contribute significantly to recruitment
rates (ca. 10 to 30% early). It is fairly probable that the wood export peak observed in 2012 at the river
mouth, where no flood occurred and which is similar to the 1-in 10-year flood of 2010, is mainly linked to
such ice-break events that occurred in March 2012.
Domaines
Sciences de l'Homme et Société
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