Synonyms
Vertical-accretion deposits
Definition
Flood deposits are sediments derived from a running water source (river) and can consist of clay, gravel, sand, and silt. The sediments deposited are in an unconsolidated form until lithification.
Overview
Flood deposits are represented by channel deposits and overbank deposits associated with seasonal increases in river discharge caused by prolonged periods of snow melt, excessive rain, or monsoon conditions (Aslan, 2003). Lasting upward of several months, such “seasonal floods” are most typical of medium to large size rivers (e.g., Mississippi, Amazon, and Danube).
Subglacial outburst floods (jökulhlaup) that are episodic flood events accumulate fluvial outburst flood deposits (Duller et al., 2008). The structureless and diffusely stratified characteristics of depositional units are interpreted as the result of rapid deposition following flow deceleration at the stoss side of major antidunes, as well as at hydraulic jumps. This...
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Bibliography
Aslan, A., 2003. Floodplain sediments. In Middleton, G. V. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 286–287.
Benito, G., Sánchez-Moya, Y., and Sopeña, A., 2003. Sedimentology of high-stage flood deposits of the Tagus River, Central Spain. Sedimentary Geology, 157, 107–132.
Bridge, J., and Demicco, R., 2008. Earth Surface Processes, Landforms and Sediment Deposits. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Duller, R. A., Mountney, N. P., Russell, A. J., and Cassidy, N. C., 2008. Architectural analysis of a volcaniclastic jokulhlaup deposit, southern Iceland: sedimentary evidence for supercritical flow. Sedimentology, 55, 939–964.
McKee, E. D., 1938. Original structures in Colorado River flood deposits of Grand Canyon. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 8, 77–83.
Miall, A. D., 1996. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. Berlin: Springer.
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Kovács, J. (2013). Flood Deposits. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_137
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_137
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