Process-product relationships in a large multi-channel river: the Rio Paraná, Argentina

Abstract

Knowledge concerning the morphodynamics and sedimentology of multi-channel rivers is primarily based on analysis of small-scale channels (less than 1 km wide), with little known about whether such knowledge is transferable to the world’s largest rivers. This is despite the fact that there are good theoretical reasons to suggest such transfer should be questioned. For example, force-balance considerations show a dependence on width-depth ratio that does not scale linearly with flow discharge. These scale effects are likely to impinge on our modeling and management strategies and also on the subsurface sedimentology of these large continental scale river systems. This paper reports on a combined ‘process-product’ investigation in one of the world’s largest multi-channel rivers – the Río Paraná – and highlights notable differences between the process-product relationships with channel scale.