Amplification of Plunging Flows in Bedrock Canyons.

Bedrock river erosion is driven by channel hydraulics, which are not well understood for complex morphologies. Many bedrock rivers exhibit a constriction‐pool‐widening (CPW) morphology associated with submerged plunging flows. These flows cause velocity profile inversions resulting in high velocities near the bed and low velocities on the water surface. The first observations documenting plunging flows were from relatively low discharge, and it is unclear whether they persist during floods. Here we show that plunging flows persist and get stronger at flood discharge, increasing bedrock erosion potential by particle impacts. Flood‐discharge plunging flows contact the bed and maintain high velocities farther through the CPW structure, and evacuate large volumes of sediment from the pools. These reach‐scale processes are not represented in large‐scale landscape evolution models, yet these erosion mechanisms set the pace of landscape evolution, begging for a re‐evaluation of process representation in landscape evolution models. Plain Language Summary: Incision in bedrock rivers sets the pace of landscape evolution by controlling the rate of geomorphic responses to climatic and tectonic signals, yet the processes driving incision occur at much finer scale than those captured by landscape evolution models. Local bedrock river incision is driven by flow structures that are not well understood. Rivers typically flow fastest near the surface and slowest near the bed, but many bedrock rivers have channel morphologies that cause this velocity/depth relation to invert. The fastest‐flows submerge toward the bed enhancing near‐bed velocities, sediment transport, and consequently the potential for bedrock incision by particle impacts. However, the first observations of these "plunging flows" were from relatively low discharges and it is not clear if they persist during floods. Here we show that plunging flows get stronger during floods, which clears sediment cover that protects the underlying bedrock and increases bedrock incision potential. The length of the plunging flows matches their coincident pools which are common features of bedrock rivers, explaining why these pools exist. Formation of deep scour pools by complex flow structures in bedrock‐confined rivers is the mechanism that drives incision, begging for a re‐examination of the models used to explore landscape evolution. Key Points: Plunging flows occurring in bedrock rivers increase near‐bed velocity, sediment transport, and rock erosion potential in scour poolsPlunging flows persist and get stronger as the discharge and flow velocity increasePlunging flows at moderate discharges remove sediment cover, exposing bedrock surfaces to bedload impacts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]