Hydrodynamically-Driven Deposition of Mud in River Systems

The riverine transport and deposition of mud is the primary agent of landscape construction and evolution in many fluvial and coastal environments. Previous efforts exploring this process have raised uncertainty regarding the effects of hydrodynamic and chemical controls on the transport and deposition of mud, and thus the constructions of muddy coastal and upstream environments. As such, direct measurements are necessary to constrain the deposition of mud by river systems. Here, we combine laboratory evidence and a field investigation in the Mississippi River delta to explore the controls on the riverine transport and deposition of mud. We show that the flocculation of mud, with floc diameters greater than 10 μm, in freshwater is a ubiquitous phenomenon, causing the sedimentation of mud to be driven by changes in local hydrodynamics, and thus providing an explanation for how river systems construct landscapes through the deposition of mud in both coastal and upstream environments.