Varnish microlamination (VML) dating is a correlative age determination technique that can be used to date and correlate various geomorphic features in deserts. In this study, we establish a generalized late Quaternary (i.e., 0–300 ka) varnish layering sequence for the drylands of western USA and tentatively correlate it with the SPECMAP oxygen isotope record. We then use this climatically corr...

[1] Alluvial fan deltas are built by aggrading and avulsing river channels. A numerical model of flow and sediment transport in channels is combined with a condition for channel avulsion to describe evolution of the fan surface. The model combines elements of two recent approaches: (1) diffusional models of depositional basin filling, which describe the evolution of overall morphology, and (2) ...

Introduction: We have previously demonstrated the viability of using thermal infrared images for mapping surface grain size distributions on terrestrial allu-vial fans [1, 2, 3]. For a well characterized alluvial fan in Owens Valley, CA we have used a quantitative analysis between aerial thermal images and ground-based grain size counts as well as a qualitative analysis between our thermal imag...

The surfaces of alluvial fans and river deltas (collectively fans) are often dissected by a small number of channels radiating from the fan apex. On long timescales, channels migrate via avulsion, the process of channel bed deposition and abandonment that often results in catastrophic flooding and loss of life on densely populated fans. We present results of an experimental fan that creates rea...