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Active geomorphic features of rivers like sandbars provide habitat for endangered and threatened riparian plant and animal species. However, human development has altered flow and sediment regimes, thus impairing formation of sandbars and islands. Large scale mapping of the fluvial geomorphology in river ecosystems like the Connecticut River is are necessary to understand the dynamics of these features and preserve habitat. Orthophotographs from 2012 from United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) were used to develop a model in ArcGIS Pro to identify fluvial geomorphic features in the Connecticut River and 12 of its major tributaries. This multi-stage image classification model identifies and ranks pixels of proximity and similar color to identify and map sandbars and islands. Locations of sandbars distribution were mapped and analyzed for each river. In the majority of rivers, sandbar area per reach decreases downstream. For the mainstem, sandbar area decreased towards the mouth but with three increases of sandbars due to meandering and major tributary confluences of the White and Deerfield rivers. Dams tend to decrease sandbars downstream but the effect of dams is context specific. Sandbars are stored upstream of the impoundment on the Black River as expected, sandbars appear downstream of a dam on the mainstem if a tributary confluence is present. Conservation of high sandbar area reaches and naturally eroding stream banks are necessary for preservation of endangered species. This spatial model for sandbar mapping can be applied in other river ecosystems across the region.

The surfaces of rivers are hotspots for biogeochemical exchange and emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases globally. Estimates of river surface area are critical to determining fluvial greenhouse gas evasion yet are currently poorly constrained. The relative abundance of narrow rivers to wide rivers is commonly assumed to be fractal, or scale invariant. This assumption aids in statistical estimates of river surface area but has not been tested across spatial scales. We measured river size in four nested basins within the Mississippi River Basin using a combination of remote sensing and field surveying to determine the statistical size distribution of rivers from continental to headwater scales. We found that the relative abundance of narrow rivers to wide rivers consistently fits a log-normal probability density function, supporting the assumption of fractal river size. Using the fractal size distribution of rivers, we estimated a total river surface area of 17,828 ± 5,126 km2 (0.54 ± 0.16 % of land surface area) in the Mississippi River Basin which is comparable to previous studies. Our multi-scale approach revealed the fractal nature of river size and allowed for a more accurate accounting of river surface area with implications for the role of rivers in biogeochemical cycling. / Master of Science / Greenhouse gases and other gaseous chemicals enter the atmosphere at the surfaces of rivers. Knowing the total surface area of rivers can help us figure out how much greenhouse gas comes from rivers, but there is a wide range of estimates for the total river surface area. Some estimates of total river surface area rely on the assumption that river networks look similar when zoomed in or zoomed out, like the leaves of a fern or the crystals in a snowflake. To test this assumption, we measured the size of rivers in the Mississippi River Basin at large and small scales using satellite and aerial imagery as well as by hand in the field. We found evidence that supports the assumption that river networks look similar at all scales. We also used our measurements to make a statistical estimate of total river surface area in the Mississippi River Basin: 17,828 ± 5,126 km2, or 0.54 ± 0.16 % of the total land surface area, which is a similar percentage to what other researchers have found. This approach gave us a clearer picture of the surface area of rivers of all sizes which is important because small rivers emit greenhouse gases at a faster rate than large rivers.

Alluvial river channels are self-formed by the sediment-laden flow that is supplied to them from upstream and the interactions between this flow and the materials forming the channel bed and banks. Thus, any changes in the volumes of solid and liquid discharge or the resistance of the boundary materials can produce adjustments in the form of river channels over time. These shifts may increase or decrease the capacity of a channel to contain flood flows. However, despite a wealth of studies on the average geometry of river channels across different scales and climatic regimes, there has not yet been a systematic assessment of the rates and controls of trends in channel form. Using a combination of USGS data, including manual field measurements and mean daily streamflow data at hundreds of stream gages, this work is the first attempt to quantify how trends in channel geometry develop over decadal timescales and how they contribute to shifts in flood hazard, in comparison with trends in streamflow. Findings reveal that two-thirds of all channel cross-sections studied exhibit significant trends in channel geometry. The majority of the investigated US river channels are eroding, with widening and deepening trends partially offset by decreases in average flow velocity. Rates of change are principally controlled by the channel size. Although large channels develop larger trends, changes are proportionally greater in small channels in percentage terms. A secondary major control is hydrology: rates of change in channel geometry are heightened by the variability and flashiness of flow regimes. Finally, results show that changing flood frequencies can only be accurately quantified when both hydrologic and geomorphic trends are accounted for, and that flood hazard is significantly increasing across the studied sites. These documented trends in channel geometry, hydraulics, and flood hazard have important implications for the management of alluvial channels, navigation, and riverside infrastructure.

O estudo de bacias hidrográficas no meio tropical úmido, tem adquirido grande importância nas últimas décadas, devido a crescente demanda por planejamento de recursos hídricos. Entretanto, muitos desses trabalhos têm confundido o conceito de bacias hidrográficas, acreditando ser esta, uma mera rede de canais interconectados que formam a hidrografia dos terrenos, portanto, tomando-a como simples unidade cartográfica de estudo. Este fato tem banalizado em muito o uso de conceitos relacionados aos estudos de bacias, provocando sérios equívocos nas produções acadêmicas atuais. Partindo do princípio de que as bacias hidrográficas são espaços territoriais de circulação vertical e horizontal dágua, tendo a rede interconectada de canais, como um dos seus principais elementos, que escolhemos a bacia hidrográfica do Rio Benevente para estudo da relação entre a dinâmica fluvial desta e os seus condicionantes estruturais e morfológicos. Fundamentado no método da associação e indeterminação geomorfológica de Leopold e Langbein (1970), e, através de informações oriundas dos procedimentos técnico-operacionais de compartimentação geomorfológica e compilação de dados de parâmetros hidrográficos, foi possível descobrir que os sub-sistemas de drenagem que compõem a hidrografia total da bacia, evoluem condicionados por litoestruturas cristalinas e tectônicas do proterozóico, portanto, de organização antiga, e, que, aparentemente, demonstram não sofrer reativações modernas, a ponto de intervir na evolução dos sub-compartimentos de relevo regionais e na evolução hidrográfica da rede de canais. Chega-se desta forma, à conclusão de que os processos de encaixamento da drenagem, capturas fluviais, seccionamento de litoestruturas, gênese de knickpoints e evolução dos perfis longitudinais fluviais estão associados à dinâmica de processos geomórficos diferenciais, sob litoestruturas de forte natureza anisotrópica e complexa organização geotectônica. Fato que responde pela diversidade de sub-compartimentos de relevo e configuração evolutiva dos sistemas fluviais de dinâmicas diferenciais. / The study of watersheds in the humid tropical environment, has acquired great importance in recent decades due to growing demand for water resources planning. However, many studies have confused the concept of watersheds, believing that this was simply a network of interconnected channels that form the hydrography of the land, thus making it as simple cartographic unit of study. This commonplace is the use of concepts related to the studies of basins, causing serious confusion in the current academic productions. Assuming that the basins are territorial spaces of vertical and horizontal movement of water, the interconnected network of channels, as one of its main elements, we chose the basin of Rio Benevente to study the relationship between the dynamics of this river and its structural and morphological constraints. Based on the method of the Association and indeterminacy in geomorphologic Leopold and Langbein (1970), and through information from the technical and operational procedures of geomorphological partitioning and compilation of data from hydrographic parameters, could find that the sub-drainage systems that make up the total of the hydrographic basin, driven by evolving litoestruturas crystal and the tectonic proterozóico, therefore, the old organization, and that, apparently, show not suffer reactivations modern as to intervene in the evolution of sub-compartments of regional importance and the evolution of the network of river channels. Enough is thus concluded that the processes to fit the drainage, catch river, sectioning of litoestruturas, gênesis of knickpoints and evolution of longitudinal river profiles are associated with the dynamic of geomorphic processes differential,under litoestruturas of strong anisotropic nature and complex organization geotectônica. Fact responsible for the diversity of sub-compartments of important configuration and evolutionary dynamics of river systems of differential.

O estudo da geodiversidade vem sendo desenvolvido desde a década de 1990 e visa o conhecimento, descrição e conservação do patrimônio natural, através da avaliação de aspectos geológicos (minerais, rochas e fósseis), geomorfológicos (formas de relevo, processos) e pedológicos. A presente pesquisa buscou demonstrar e avaliar o potencial de utilização de variáveis da geomorfologia fluvial como indicadores de geodiversidade, considerando a subtilização deste tipo de indicador em estudos ambientais no Brasil. Essa subtilização coloca-se especialmente para a região amazônica, onde o ambiente fluvial tem grande relevância, seja nos aspectos ambientais, culturais estéticos ou científicos. O objetivo central da tese é a caracterização morfológica e análise, por amostragem, de padrões de canais fluviais e de outros parâmetros da morfologia fluvial na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Xingu, a fim de demonstrar a relevância desta variável para a avaliação da geodiversidade na Amazônia. Apesar de ainda ser, em grande parte, protegida por Unidades de Conservação e por Terras Indígenas, a Bacia Hidrográfica do Xingu sofre graves pressões antrópicas, ocasionadas principalmente pela monocultura de soja, nas áreas de cabeceiras, e pela construção da Usina Belo Monte na chamada Volta Grande do Xingu, próxima à sede do município de Altamira- PA. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em duas escalas. Na de maior detalhe (1:150.000), foram realizados mapeamentos da morfologia fluvial para 23 áreas selecionadas como representativas da diversidade de padrões de canais fluviais na bacia hidrográfica considerada. Essa caracterização comprovou a grande diversidade de padrões de canais fluviais na área de estudo, demonstrando a pertinência desse parâmetro como indicativo de geodiversidade, e servindo também como base para a inserção da variável mudanças de padrão de canais fluviais na metodologia de mapeamento dos índices de geodiversidade da Bacia Hidrográfica do Xingu. Na escala de menor detalhe, foi aplicado um método de quantificação da geodiversidade, em toda a Bacia Hidrográfica, baseado na mensuração e integração dos elementos abióticos espacializados em mapas temáticos em escalas que variam de 1:250.000 a 1:1.000.000, com auxílio de um grid da articulação sistemática 1:25.000. Nesta escala foi realizada, também, uma correlação entre os índices de geodiversidade e os índices de biodiversidade, inferidos pelo XI mapeamento da vegetação em escala 1:250.000 (IBGE, 2000c). As principais contribuições da pesquisa foram o enriquecimento de bases para o estudo de grandes rios amazônicos e a aplicação de um método de mapeamento dos índices de geodiversidade, que poderá servir como instrumento para o planejamento ambiental, especialmente na definição de áreas prioritárias para conservação na região amazônica. / The study of geodiversity has been developed since the 1990s and aims the knowledge, description and conservation of natural heritage, through the evaluation of geological (minerals, rocks and fossils), geomorphological (landforms, processes) and pedological aspects. This research has intended to demonstrate and evaluate the potential use of fluvial geomorphological variables as geodiversity indicators, in view of the underutilization of this kind of indicator in environmental studies in Brazil. This underutilization is a critical issue for the Amazon region, where fluvial environments have great relevance on diverse aspects (environmental, cultural, aesthetic and scientific). The central aim of the thesis is the morphological characterization and analysis of river channel patterns and other parameters of fluvial morphology in sampling areas in the Xingu River Basin, in order to demonstrate the relevance of these parameters for the assessment of geodiversity in the Amazon. Although still largely preserved by conservation units and indigenous lands, the Xingu Basin suffers severe anthropogenic pressures, mainly caused by soy monocultures in headwater areas and by the construction of the Belo Monte Dam in the \"Volta Grande do Xingu\", near the town of Altamira, in the state of Pará. This research was conducted at two different spatial scales. On a more detailed scale (1:150,000), maps of fluvial morphology were made for 23 selected areas, which were considered representative of the diversity of river channel patterns in the drainage basin. This characterization proved the great diversity of river channel patterns in the study area, demonstrating the relevance of this parameter as an indicator of geodiversity. Such a characterization was also useful as a basis for the inclusion of the variable \"change in channel pattern\" in the mapping methodology of the geodiversity indexes in the Xingu Drainage Basin. On a less detailed scale, a method to quantify the geodiversity was applied to the entire drainage basin, based on the measurement and integration of abiotic elements, spatially distributed on thematic maps with scales ranging from 1:250,000 to 1:1,000,000, with the aid of a systematic articulation grid 1:25,000. On this scale it was also performed a correlation between the geodiversity and the biodiversity indexes, the latter inferred by vegetation mapping on scale 1:250,000 (IBGE, 2000c). XIII The main contributions of this research are the enrichment of the knowledge basis about large Amazonian rivers, as well as the application of a method for mapping the geodiversity indexes, which can be useful as a tool for environmental planning, particularly in defining priority areas for conservation in the Amazon region.

A pesquisa teve como objetivo compreender o papel dos rearranjos de drenagem à evolução do relevo e da drenagem na bacia hidrográfica do Rio Capivari, situada no reverso da Serra do Mar, em São Paulo-SP. Parte-se da hipótese de que esses fenômenos seriam responsáveis por inúmeras anomalias de drenagem observadas, como: inflexões em ângulos retos, padrões de drenagem anômalos, colos, rupturas em perfis longitudinais e subdimensionamento de cursos dágua em relação aos vales. Especial ênfase foi dada à inflexão do alto Rio Capivari, localizada na confluência com o Ribeirão Embura, possível remanescente de uma captura fluvial, o qual melhor preserva as evidências de um rearranjo em toda a bacia. Os principais fatores dos rearranjos de drenagem na área foram: o forte gradiente hipsométrico proporcionado pela Serra do Mar, a densa trama de foliações e fraturas presentes no embasamento geológico, movimentações tectônicas recentes e as oscilações paleoclimáticas do Quaternário tardio. Sob influência dessas forças, alguns tributários da drenagem litorânea teriam se aproveitado de sua vantagem erosiva frente aos rios de planalto, produzido uma marcha de erosão regressiva em direção ao interior, com interferências nos canais situados em níveis sucessivamente mais elevados. Com base nas propostas metodológicas de Small (1972), Bishop (1995), Zaprowski et al. (2002) e Oliveira (2003), buscou-se a identificação de elementos morfológicos e sedimentológicos sugestivos desses processos, por meio de: análise de Modelos Digitais do Terreno (MDE) por métodos geomorfométricos; observação de fotografias aéreas; trabalhos de campo para descrição e coleta de materiais sedimentológicos; análise granulométrica, morfoscópica e mineralógica de sedimentos fluviais; e datação de sedimentos fluviais por Luminescência Óptica Estimulada para se estimar a idade da captura do alto curso do Rio Capivari. Os dados apresentados corroboram a hipótese de que o alto curso desse rio sofreu uma captura há cerca de 8.000 anos, no máximo, e que diversos outros casos de rearranjos de drenagem, entre eles reversões de grandes sistemas fluviais, seriam responsáveis pelas anomalias de drenagem observadas no interior da bacia estudada. / The aim of this research was to understand the role of drainage rearrangements on the evolution of relief and drainage in the Capivari River basin, located on the reverse of Serra do Mar range, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is assumed that these phenomena would be responsible for numerous drainage anomalies observed, such as: river inflections at right angles, anomalous drainage patterns, cols, knickpoints and river underfitting, considered as indicative for drainage rearrangements. Special emphasis will be given to the inflection of the Capivari River at the confluence with the Ribeirao Embura, a possible remnant of a stream capture, which best preserves the evidence of a rearrangement throughout the basin. The main factors of the drainage rearrangements in the area would be: the strong hypsometric gradient provided by Serra do Mar range, the set of foliations and fractures densely present in the geological basement, recent tectonic movements and climatic oscillations of the Quaternary. Under the influence of these forcings, some tributaries of the coastal drainage would have taken erosive advantage over the plateau upside rivers, producing a regressive erosion march towards the interior of the continent, leading to interferences in the river systems situated at successively higher levels. Based on the methodological proposals of Small (1972), Bishop (1995), Zaprowski et al. (2002) and Oliveira (2003), we seek the identification of morphological and sedimentological elements that are suggestive of these processes, by means of: Digital Elevation Models (DEM) analysis by geomorphometric methods; observation of aerial photographs; fieldwork for description and collection of sedimentological materials; granulometric, morphoscopic and mineralogical analysis of fluvial sediments; and dating of fluvial sediments by Optically Stimulated Luminescence to estimate the age of capture of the upper reaches of the Capivari River. The presented data corroborate the hypothesis that the high course of the Capivari river was captured at least 8,000 years ago and that several other cases of drainage rearrangements, including reversals of large river systems, would be responsible for the observed drainage anomalies.