Proximal braided-river morphodynamics reconstructed through groundpenetrating radar and multi-temporal remote sensing: Kicking Horse River, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Located in southeastern British Columbia, the Kicking Horse River is a gravel-bed braided river that flows westward through the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Prior studies focused on using ground observations to describe processes of bar formation and sediment distribution patterns; however, a complete model of planform evolution and related stratigraphic signature is lacking. The river was re-examined combining ground observations, multi-temporal remote sensing, discharge data, and ground-penetrating radar to develop three-dimensional models of bar geometry and to highlight changes in alluvial morphology. Remote sensing indicates extensive lateral channel migration over an eight-year period and demonstrates how varying flood stages are associated with episodes of channel braiding. Ground-penetrating radar imaging and analysis identified the distribution of sedimentary facies in the subsurface, which were used to understand the river’s depositional history. The Kicking Horse River’s sedimentary signature is compared to those of both proximal, coarse-grained and more distal, mixed sandy-gravel fluvial systems where similarities in sedimentary architecture and fluvial processes are observed.