A model of channel response in disturbed alluvial channels

Dredging and straightening of alluvial channels between 1959 and 1978 in West Tennessee caused a series of morphologic changes along modified reaches and tributary streams. Degradation occurred for 10 to 15 years at sites upstream of the area of maximum disturbance and lowered bed-levels by as much as 6.1 m. Following degradation, reaches upstream of the area of maximum disturbance experienced a secondary aggradation phase in response to excessive incision and gradient reduction. -from Author