HR: 11:50h
AN: OS51D-07    [PDF]
TI: Fluvial Incision in the Adriatic Shelf (Italy) During the Last 120 kyr: the Role of the Apennine Rivers.
AU: Das, H
EM: Himangshu_Das@URSCorp.com
AF: URS Corporation, 3676 Hartsfield Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303 United States
AU: * Fagherazzi, S
EM: sergio@csit.fsu.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences, Florida State University, 108 Carraway Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306 United States
AU: Niedoroda, A W
EM: Alan_Niedoroda@URSCorp.com
AF: URS Corporation, 3676 Hartsfield Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303 United States
AU: Donoghue, J
EM: donoghue@gly.fsu.edu
AF: Department of Geological Sciences, Florida State University, 108 Carraway Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306 United States
AU: Reed, C W
EM: Chris_Reed@URSCorp.com
AF: URS Corporation, 3676 Hartsfield Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303 United States
AU: Wiberg, P L
EM: pw3c@virginia.edu
AF: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Rd, P.O. Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4123 United States
AU: Howard, A D
EM: alanh@virginia.edu
AF: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Rd, P.O. Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4123 United States
AB: We used the Detachment Limited Model (DeLiM) of Howard (1994) to simulate the development of rivers in the Adriatic shelf during sea-level cycles. The computer model couples a drainage basin evolution component with sea level oscillations and deltaic deposition in the ocean. The drainage basin component of the model incorporates the chief geomorphological processes responsible for the routing of sediments to the ocean: weathering, mass wasting, detached limited fluvial erosion, and transport limited fluvial erosion. Low sea levels during past glacial epochs exposed large areas of the Adriatic shelf, with the southernmost coastline located near the Puglie region during the Last Glaciation Maximum. As a consequence the Po River (the major river flowing in the Adriatic Sea) was dissecting the entire Adriatic shelf, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea 500 km away from the actual delta. Simulations show that the peculiar characteristics of the Adriatic Sea dictate the evolution and degree of incision of fluvial channels in the shelf. Its narrow epicontinental basin prevents the distribution of fluvial sediments over large areas. Moreover the Apennine Rivers flowing into the Adriatic Sea along the west coast of Italy are easily captured by the ancient Po River during sea level low stands. The capture of these rivers is proved to be critical for channel incision and sediment deposition in the shelf. Particular emphasis is devoted to the role of the Apennine Rivers in sculpting the morphology of the Adriatic shelf. Different scenarios, with river discharges and sediment loads varying as a function of climatic fluctuations are also explored in the simulations.
DE: 1625 Geomorphology and weathering (1824, 1886)
DE: 1815 Erosion and sedimentation
DE: 3045 Seafloor morphology and bottom photography
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling
DE: 4556 Sea level variations
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting