Geomorphological evidence of neotectonic deformation in the Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia

Abstract

This study examines channel-scale morphodynamics of ephemeral streams in the onshore Carnarvon basin in arid west-central Western Australia. The rivers in this region have low gradients, the landscape has low relief, and the rates of climatically and tectonically driven geomorphic processes also are low. As a result, the rivers in the Carnarvon alluvial plain are highly sensitive to minor perturbations in base level, channel slope, and fluvial energy.We use channel planform adjustments, stream gradient changes, and floodplain profiles across multiple ephemeral streams within a variety of catchments and flow regimes to determine if tectonically driven land level changes are affecting channel form and fluvial processes. Growth of individual fold segments is shown to have altered stream and floodplain gradients and triggered repeated avulsions at structurally controlled nodes. Aligned perturbations in channel form across multiple channel-fold intersections provide systematic geomorphic evidence for the location and orientation of neotectonic structures in the region. These features occur as a belt of low relief anticlines in the Carnarvon alluvial plain.