Evolution of river networks
- 13 January 1992
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 68 (2), 205-208
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.68.205
Abstract
Why does a sheet of water flowing over an initially featureless surface spontaneously form a river network? To address this question, we construct a simple model which enables us to examine the shape and stability of individual river channels. We compare predictions for the geometry of fluvial channels with experimental data. In addition, we construct a lattice model which allows us to look at large-scale features of river networks and calculate their scaling relations.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- A model of river basin evolutionEos, 1990
- A method for exponential propagation of large systems of stiff nonlinear differential equationsJournal of Scientific Computing, 1989
- The fractal nature of river networksWater Resources Research, 1988
- Mathematical simulation of stable and equilibrium river bed profiles and slopesEarth Surface Processes and Landforms, 1983
- Diffusion-Limited Aggregation, a Kinetic Critical PhenomenonPhysical Review Letters, 1981
- Self-formed straight rivers with equilibrium banks and mobile bed. Part 1. The sand-silt riverJournal of Fluid Mechanics, 1978
- A Derivation of the Hydraulic Geometry of Steady-State Channels from Conservation Principles and Sediment Transport LawsThe Journal of Geology, 1974
- Random Walk and Random Roughness Models of Drainage NetworksWater Resources Research, 1969
- Statistical Law of Stream NumbersThe Journal of Geology, 1966
- The Development of Drainage Systems: A Synoptic ViewGeographical Review, 1931