A Quantitative Stratigraphic Model for Alluvium, with Special Reference to Channel Deposit Density and Interconnectedness

Abstract Channel deposit density and interconnectedness within a ‘matrix’ of overbank fines in stratigraphic sections through alluvium are inversely related to the rates of contemporary channel avulsion and floodplain accretion and to the width of the alluvial plain. Simulated sections through alluvium generated by random channel avulsions and residence intervals reveal spurious local concentrations of channel deposits. Such concentrations may be given misleading non-random interpretations in stratigraphic or exploration schemes based upon incomplete exposures or sparse borehole data.