Probabilistic source-to-sink analysis of the provenance of the California paleoriver: implications for the early Eocene paleogeography of western North America
type: CreativeWork
description: The Latest Paleocene to Early Eocene Colton and Wasatch Formations exposed in the Roan Cliffs on the southern margin of the Uinta Basin, UT make up a genetically related lobate wedge of dominantly fluvial deposits. Estimates of the size of the river that deposited this wedge of sediment vary by more than an order of magnitude. Some authors suggest the sediments are locally derived from Laramide Uplifts that define the southern margin of the Uinta Basin, the local recycling hypotheses. Other authors suggest the sediments were transported by a river system with headwaters 750 km south of the Uinta Basin, the California paleoriver hypothesis. This study uses source-to-sink analysis to constrain the size of the river system that deposited the Colton-Wasatch Fm. We pay particular attention to the what magnitude and recurrence interval of riverine discharge is preserved in the Colton-Wasatch Fm. stratigraphy, and consider the effects this has on scaling discharge to the paleo-catchment area of the system. We develop new scaling relationships between discharge and catchment area using daily gauging data from 415 rivers worldwide. Previous studies using a global database of rivers use average discharge in scaling relationships to catchment area. We demonstrate that average discharge is a flow of variable magnitude and recurrence interval in rivers with different hydrology, and that at higher magnitudes of discharge, especially 99th percentile discharge and higher, the discharge yields and recurrence intervals of flow events of given magnitude are similar across climates and hydrological regimes. These scaling relationships between 99th percentile and higher magnitudes of flow and catchment area have greatly improved predictive precision compared to existing relationships using average discharge. The discharge events our new scaling relationships are based on are also of similar magnitude and recurrence interval as bankfull flow in modern rivers. Bankfull flow is typically c…
abstract: The Latest Paleocene to Early Eocene Colton and Wasatch Formations exposed in the Roan Cliffs on the southern margin of the Uinta Basin, UT make up a genetically related lobate wedge of dominantly fluvial deposits. Estimates of the size of the river that deposited this wedge of sediment vary by more than an order of magnitude. Some authors suggest the sediments are locally derived from Laramide Uplifts that define the southern margin of the Uinta Basin, the local recycling hypotheses. Other authors suggest the sediments were transported by a river system with headwaters 750 km south of the Uinta Basin, the California paleoriver hypothesis. This study uses source-to-sink analysis to constrain the size of the river system that deposited the Colton-Wasatch Fm. We pay particular attention to the what magnitude and recurrence interval of riverine discharge is preserved in the Colton-Wasatch Fm. stratigraphy, and consider the effects this has on scaling discharge to the paleo-catchment area of the system. We develop new scaling relationships between discharge and catchment area using daily gauging data from 415 rivers worldwide. Previous studies using a global database of rivers use average discharge in scaling relationships to catchment area. We demonstrate that average discharge is a flow of variable magnitude and recurrence interval in rivers with different hydrology, and that at higher magnitudes of discharge, especially 99th percentile discharge and higher, the discharge yields and recurrence intervals of flow events of given magnitude are similar across climates and hydrological regimes. These scaling relationships between 99th percentile and higher magnitudes of flow and catchment area have greatly improved predictive precision compared to existing relationships using average discharge. The discharge events our new scaling relationships are based on are also of similar magnitude and recurrence interval as bankfull flow in modern rivers. Bankfull flow is typically c…
author: Jones, Evan Rhys
language: eng
language: English
keywords: discharge, Monte Carlo, scaling relationship, fluvial fan, California paleoriver, provenance
identifier: T 8248
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:43:31Z
provider: Colorado School of Mines
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Colorado School of Mines. Arthur Lakes Library

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/11124/170973