Clarification of grain size characteristics of widely extended alluvial plain sediments is a fundamental and important problem in understanding the modes of formation of alluvial plain. In order to relate grain size distribution to various landforms statistically, the author analyzed the surface deposits, particularly fine, muddy deposits, of alluvial plain, which have not been sufficiently studied as regards their geomorphology or sedimentology. The Kiso River alluvial plain is a typical Japanese flood plain with three geomorphic zone (alluvial fan, natural levee and deltaic plain zone) from the upper to the lower course (Fig. 1). Sediment grains coarser than silt size were analyzed by the method of mechanical sieving (1/4 phi interval), and finer silt and clay particles were analyzed by photoextinc-tion-sedimentation method (Moriyama, 1976a).
Statistical parameters of grain size distributions for the surface sediments of this alluvial plain are shown in Tables 1 and 2. The correlation diagram between mean and skewness (Fig. 2) shows clearly several interesting features as follows. The plots of sandy deposits (river sands and eolian dune sands) are clearly distinguished from those of fine, muddy sediments (surface sediments of alluvial fan; IF, natural levee deposits; KN, and back-swamp deposits; KB). Each muddy sediment, however, cannot be distinguished individually: IF, KN and KB overlap one upon the other. Furthermore, each muddy sediment shows a strong negative correlation between mean and skewness.
In order to consider further precise sedimentological meanings, the author drew the cumulative grain size distribution curves on normal probability paper for all samples (Figs. 3_??_8). And furthermore, he separated quantitatively from each curve . some component populations showing normal distribution and calculated their means, standard deviations and mixing proportions of each component population in reference to muddy sediments, according to the method by Inokuchi & Mezaki (1974b). Their distributions of mean, standard deviation and mixing proportions of each component population are shown in Fig. 9. Consequently, almost all deposits are composed of sand and clay populations. Most of the sand populations have 2.0_??_3.5 phi means with small standard deviations, while the clay populations have mostly 6.5-8.5 phi means with large standard deviations. In spite of relatively constant character in means and standard deviations of both populations, the mixing proportions of each population have great variations.
The coarser grained sediments prevail in sand population and finer ones prevail in clay population. The mixing proportions of each component population are thought to be related to hydraulic conditions; the sediments contain high proportions of sand populations under great flow intensisy. Therefore, the surface sediments of alluvial fan with steeper slopes and those of natural levee near the river channel have dominant sand populations, whereas the sediments of backswamps contain high proportions of clay. As the flow velocity, however, practically may vary with such local surface conditions as the micro-landform, artificially constructed facilities, vegetation, and land use, the distinct relation-ships between grain size characteristics and landforms cannot be expected.
Fig. 9 shows that there is no component populations whose mean lies between two popu-lations (i.e., in the range 3.5_??_6.5 phi). To know this reason, the author prepared histo-grams and relative frequency distribution curves (Fig. 10), calculating the average frequency of all size classes for each geomorphic element. Due to experimental errors in the analyzing method, it is meaningless to give serious attention to small “valley” or “peaks”. In comparison with the very narrow and tall, concentrated distribution of KID and KD, the muddy sediments of IF, KN and KB have broad, low ridged distributions on the whole.
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