Glaciofluvial (also known as glacifluvial or fluvio-glacial) sediments are deposited by glacier melt-streams, in either ice-contact or proglacial settings (Benn and Evans, 1998). Glacier-fed rivers exhibit large diurnal and annual fluctuations in discharge, and commonly have an abundant supply of coarse, cohesionless sediment. Sediment motion is strongly episodic, with entrainment and transport occurring during rising discharge, and deposition during falling stages. Typically, large amounts of sediment are transported as bedload (rolling or sliding close to the stream bed) especially during high stages, when even large boulders can be set in motion. Suspended sediment concentrations can also be high, particularly during early summer when they can reach a few tens of grams per liter. (Glacier meltstreams often also have high dissolved loads, but this is not considered here.)
Proglacial river networks tend to consist of braided channel networks with intervening gravelly barforms. Active...
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Benn, D.I. (2009). Glaciofluvial Sediments. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_98
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