"Using advanced satellite technology, the team mapped how certain
landscape features make avulsions more likely. "Measuring topography
around a river is difficult and time-consuming because of the dense vegetation," said Gearon. "We took advantage of a new satellite that
uses lasers to measure topography." This technology, called lidar,
penetrates vegetation to find bare-earth elevations, allowing for
accurate topographical measurements.
The study presents a novel framework for predicting when avulsions will
occur, a problem humanity has dealt with for millennia. "Avulsions which
are possibly the inspirations for ancient flood myths, have created the
largest floods in human history, and continue to threaten millions of
people today," explained Edmonds. "As climate change alters global water
cycles and human expansion into flood-prone areas increases,
understanding and predicting avulsions has never been more critical.""
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/09/240919174816.htm
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"In sedimentary geology and fluvial geomorphology, avulsion is the rapid abandonment of a river channel and the formation of a new river channel. Avulsions occur as a result of channel slopes that are much less steep
than the slope that the river could travel if it took a new course.[1]"
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