Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-8cg97 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-09T22:31:46.103Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Responses of Floods to Holocene Climatic Change in the Upper Mississippi Valley

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James C. Knox
James C. Knox*
Affiliation:
234 Science Hall, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Dimensions of Holocene relict channels and sedimentological characteristics of point bars associated with these relict channels were used to reconstruct a Holocene history of long-term changes in magnitudes of 1.58-yr floods in Upper Mississippi Valley watersheds of southwestern Wisconsin. The reconstructed record of floods shows relatively large and persistent (nonrandom) departures from contemporary long-term average flood magnitudes. The flood history indicates climatic changes that are broadly similar to climatic changes indicated from fossil pollen in the same region. The Holocene floods ranged from about 10–15% larger to 20–30% smaller than contemporary floods of the same recurrence frequency. Large floods were characteristic between about 6000 – 4500 and 3000 – 2000 yr B.P., and during a brief interval after 1200 yr B.P. Small floods were common between about 8000 – 6500, 4500 – 3000, and 2000 – 1200 yr B.P. These fluvial responses were found to be closely associated with a long-term episodic mobility and storage of sediments in the Wisconsin watersheds. During periods of relatively large floods, relatively rapid lateral channel migration either reworked or removed extensive tracts of valley bottom alluvium. In contrast, during periods of relatively small floods, relatively slow lateral channel migration is apparent and the channel and floodplain system appear to have been relatively stable.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , May 1985 , pp. 287 - 300
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Andrews, E.D. 1980 Effective and bankfull discharges of streams in the Yampa River basin, Colorado and Wyoming Journal of Hydrology 46 311–330 Google Scholar
Bartlein, P.J. Webb, T. 1982 Holocene climatic changes estimated from pollen data from the northern Midwest Knox, J.C. Clayton, L. Mickelson, D.M. Field Trip Guide Book Number 5. Quaternary History of the Driftless Area. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Madison 83–87 Google Scholar
Bernabo, J.C. Webb, T. 1977 Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record of northeastern North America: A mapped summary Quaternary Research 8 64–96 Google Scholar
Borchert, J.R. 1950 The climate of the central North American grassland Annals of the Association of American Geographers 40 1–39 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryson, R.A. 1966 Air masses, streamlines, and the boreal forest Geographical Bulletin 8 228–269 Google Scholar
Conger, D.H. 1981 Techniques for Estimating Magnitude and Frequency of Floods for Wisconsin Streams U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 80-1214 Google Scholar
Costa, J.E. 1974 Response and recovery of a piedmont watershed from tropical storm Agnes, June 1972 Water Resources Research 10 106–112 Google Scholar
Costa, J.E. 1978 Holocene stratigraphy in flood frequency analysis Water Resources Research 14 626–632 Google Scholar
Costa, J.E. 1983 Paleohydraulic reconstruction of flash-flood peaks from boulder deposits in the Colorado Front Range Geological Society of America Bulletin 94 986–1004 Google Scholar
Davis, A.M. 1977 The prairie-deciduous ecotone in the Upper Middle West Annals of the Association of American Geographers 67 204–213 Google Scholar
Dury, G.H. 1974 Magnitude-frequency analysis and channel morphology Morisawa, M. Fluvial Geomorphology. State University of New York, Publications in Geomorphology, Binghamton. 91–121 Google Scholar
Dury, G.H. 1976 Discharge prediction, present and former, from channel dimensions Journal of Hydrology 30 219–245 Google Scholar
Dury, G.H. 1977 Peak flows, low flows, and aspects of geomorphic dominance Gregory, K.J. River Channel Changes Wiley New York 61–74 Google Scholar
Gumbel, E.J. 1958 Statistical theory of floods and droughts Institute of Water Engineers Journal 12 157–184 Google Scholar
Kerr, R.A. 1983 Carbon dioxide and a changing climate Science (Washington, D.C.) 222 491 Google Scholar
King, J.E. 1981 Late Quaternary vegetational history of Illinois Ecological Monographs 51 43–62 Google Scholar
Knox, J.C. 1977 Human impacts on Wisconsin stream channels Annals of the Association of American Geographers 67 323–342 Google Scholar
Knox, J.C. 1979 Geomorphic evidence of frequent and extreme floods Improved Hydrologic Forecasting—Why and How Amer. Soc. of Civil Engineers New York 220–238 Google Scholar
Knox, J.C. 1983 Responses of river systems to Holocene climates Wright, H.E. Jr. Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States, the Holocene Vol. 2 Univ. of Minnesota Press Minneapolis 26–41 Google Scholar
Knox, J.C. McDowell, P.F. Johnson, W.C. 1981 Holocene fluvial stratigraphy and climatic change in the Driftless Area, Wisconsin Mahaney, W.C. Quaternary Paleoclimate 107–127 Geo Abstracts, NorwichGoogle Scholar
Kochel, R.C. Baker, V.R. 1982 Paleoflood hydrology Science (Washington, D.C.) 215 353–361 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kutzbach, J.E. 1981 Monsoon climate of the early Holocene: Climate experiment with the earth's orbital parameters for 9000 years ago Science (Washington, D.C.) 214 59–61 Google Scholar
Langbein, W.B. 1949 Annual floods and the partialduration series Transactions of the American Geophysical Union 30 879–881 Google Scholar
Leopold, L.B. Skibitzke, H.E. 1967 Observations on unmeasured rivers Geografiska Annaler 49A 247–255 Google Scholar
Maher, L.J. Jr. 1982 The palynology of Devils Lake, Sauk County, Wisconsin Knox, J.C. Clayton, L. Mickelson, D.M. Quaternary History of the Driftless Area. Field Trip Guide Book Number 5. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Madison 119–135 Google Scholar
McDowell, P.F. 1980 Holocene Fluvial Activity in Brush Creek Watershed, Wisconsin Unpublished PhD thesis University of Wisconsin Madison Google Scholar
McDowell, P.F. 1983 Evidence of stream response to Holocene climatic change in a small Wisconsin watershed Quaternary Research 19 100–116 Google Scholar
Nunnally, N.R. 1967 Definition and identification of channel and overbank deposits and their respective roles in floodplain formation Professional Geographer 19 1–4 Google Scholar
Patton, P.C. Baker, V.R. Kochel, R.C. 1979 Slack-water deposits: A geomorphic technique for the interpretation of fluvial paleohydrology Adjustments of the Fluvial System Kendall-Hunt Dubuque, Iowa 225–253 Google Scholar
U.S. Water Resources Council, Hydrology Committee 1981 Guidelines for Determining Flood Flow Frequency Bulletin 17B, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Williams, G.P. 1978 Bank-full discharge of rivers Water Resources Research 14 1141–1154 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolman, M.G. Leopold, L.B. 1957 River Flood Plains: Some Observations on Their Formation U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 282-C 87–109 Google Scholar
Wright, H.E. Jr. 1976 The dynamic nature of Holocene vegetation: A problem in paleoclimatology, biogeography, and stratigraphic nomenclature Quaternary Research 6 581–596 Google Scholar
Wright, H.E. Jr. Winter, T.C. Patten, H.L. 1963 Two pollen diagrams from southeastern Minnesota: Problems in the late and postglacial vegetational history Geological Society of America Bulletin 74 1371–1396 Google Scholar