The animations depict the results from three different hypothetical scenarios of floodplain evolution over time. In the first scenario, the channel elevation slowly rises as sediment builds up beneath its bed. As it does so, floods deposit fine sediments across the floodplain, with the result that the land surface steadily rises. Meanwhile, the channel meanders back and forth. The gradual accumulation of fine sediment across the floodplain slowly buries the remains of earlier settlements, so that by the end of 12,000 years, only the youngest archaeological materials are 'visible' near the surface. 

In the second scenario, the channel alternative moves upward (due to accumulation of sediment) and downward (due to erosion). The pattern of channel erosion and sedimentation is based on the history of the Pomme de Terre River in south-eastern Missouri, USA, which was reconstructed by Brakenridge (1980) and provides an example of the behaviour of a moderate-sized river during the Holocene period.

The third scenario is also one in which the channel undergoes successive periods of erosion and sedimentation. In this case, the channel's behaviour is based on the record of sea level during the Holocene as reflected in the relative abundance of the heavy oxygen isotope O-18 in cores recovered from ice sheets and ocean sediments.

For each scenario, there are four animations. The first animation shows a time evolution of the floodplain and its channel, with settlements shown in red. The second shows a succession of slices through the valley sediments at the end of the 12,000-year simulatino. Warm colours indicate coarse sediment (sand and gravel) deposited directly by the channel and cool colours indicate fine sediments (silt and clay) deposited across the floodplain during floods. The slices are perpedicular to the valley, and the animation progresses from upstream to downstream. Note that there is considerable vertical exaggeration. The third animation also shows slices through the valley sediments, but in this case the slices are parallel to the valley. Animation four, like animation two, also shows a series of perpendicular slices perpendicular to the valley. In this case, however, the colours indicate the relative density of archaeological remains, with dark blue indicating no remains, and deep red indicating the greatest density (in terms of the number of artifacts and/or features per cubic meter of soil).