Approaches to River Channel Sensitivity

Much research in the physical and human sciences has addressed the concept of sensitivity to adjustment, including the analysis of geomorphological adjustment in fluvial systems. However, geomorphological sensitivity has been defined in numerous ways, partly because current conceptual understanding of the fluvial system exceeds modeling capabilities. Using published literature and analogies from materials behavior as a background, previous definitions are standardized and four hierarchically based interpretations are developed. The four interpretations, which relate to ratios, thresholds, recovery times, and sensitivity analysis, are explained and illustrated using a table that could be modified to apply to other environmental systems. Such standardized definitions of sensitivity should facilitate more precise communication between geomorphologists and guarantee effective use of the concept in analyses of the fluvial system.