Theory 81/River & Floodplain/Sediment budget
Downstream Starvation Is a Trap Ratio
The claim
Sediment starvation downstream of a reservoir is set by the ratio of trap efficiency to sediment supply, so a small reservoir with high trapping can starve a coast more than a large one with low trapping.
01Mechanism
The deficit is the trapped fraction of supply; the ratio determines how much reaches the delta.
02Prediction
Starvation should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Starvation tracking reservoir size would remove trapping.