Debris-flow fan channel avulsions: An important secondary erosional process along the Ichino-sawa torrent, Japan

Abstract

Sediment transported from debris-flow initiation zones is typically stored in a topographic feature called a debris-flow fan, the formation process of which governs secondary sediment transport further downstream. Although sediment transport from debris-flow fans can impact sediment regimes and change landforms, the determinants of progressive fan formation are not well constrained. To identify such determinants, this study monitored debris flows and performed topographic surveys of debris-flow fans in the Ichino-sawa torrent (Japan) during 2016–2017. In this period, eight debris flows occurred, two of which eroded the existing fan and formed a new channel with a short recurrence interval (~40 days). Consequently, these two cases induced substantial sediment transport further downstream from the fan. The examined rainfall indices did not provide a threshold for diagnosing the occurrence of such sediment transport. Debris flows with a large flow depth and a long duration led to changes in the runout direction and subsequently formed new channels. Before these processes, the existing channel was backfilled and plugged by previous debris flows, forming a steep fan surface around the fan apex. The results suggest that increasing the magnitude and the duration of debris flows potentially triggers sediment transport from fans coupled with channel plugging. The annual sediment transport from the fan exceeded almost all sediment yields of the world rivers and was found comparable with that linked with volcanic eruptions and their aftermath. Thus, the fan-formation process can induce substantial sediment transport, independent of volcanic perturbations and extreme climatic events, and is dependent on the sediment supply from repeated occurrence of debris flows in the initiation zones.