Articles | Volume 10, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-581-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-581-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Jun 2022
Research article |
| 10 Jun 2022
| 10 Jun 2022
An experimental study of drainage network development by surface and subsurface flow in low-gradient landscapes
Brian G. Sockness
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of
Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of
Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, USA
Related authors
No articles found.
Stephanie S. Day, Karen B. Gran, and Chris Paola
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3261–3273, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3261-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3261-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Permanent gullies are deep steep-sided channels that erode as water falls over the upstream end. Erosion of these features is a concern where people and climate change have altered how water moves over the land. This paper analyzes a set of experiments that were used to determine how changing gully flows impact erosion. We found that while increasing the volume of water will increase erosion, changing the flow rate into gullies will not impact the total erosion, but will alter gully shape.
Related subject area
Physical: Landscape Evolution: modelling and field studies
Modeling the formation of toma hills based on fluid dynamics with a modified Voellmy rheology
Flexural isostatic response of continental-scale deltas to climatically driven sea level changes
Scaling between volume and runout of rock avalanches explained by a modified Voellmy rheology
Drainage rearrangement in an intra-continental mountain belt: A case study from the central South Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan
Past anthropogenic land use change caused a regime shift of the fluvial response to Holocene climate change in the Chinese Loess Plateau
Steady-state forms of channel profiles shaped by debris flow and fluvial processes
Refining patterns of melt with forward stratigraphic models of stable Pleistocene coastlines
Optimising global landscape evolution models with 10Be
Self-organization of channels and hillslopes in models of fluvial landform evolution and its potential for solving scaling issues
Stream laws in analog tectonic-landscape models
Short Communication: Motivation for standardizing and normalizing inter-model comparison of computational landscape evolution models
A control volume finite-element model for predicting the morphology of cohesive-frictional debris flow deposits
Erosion and weathering in carbonate regions reveal climatic and tectonic drivers of carbonate landscape evolution
Patterns and rates of soil movement and shallow failures across several small watersheds on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
River incision, 10Be production and transport in a source-to-sink sediment system (Var catchment, SW Alps)
Simulating the effect of subsurface drainage on the thermal regime and ground ice in blocky terrain in Norway
The push and pull of abandoned channels: how floodplain processes and healing affect avulsion dynamics and alluvial landscape evolution in foreland basins
Climate changes and the formation of fluvial terraces in central Amazonia inferred from landscape evolution modeling
Investigation of stochastic-threshold incision models across a climatic and morphological gradient
Comparing the transport-limited and ξ–q models for sediment transport
Autogenic knickpoints in laboratory landscape experiments
Transmissivity and groundwater flow exert a strong influence on drainage density
Graphically interpreting how incision thresholds influence topographic and scaling properties of modeled landscapes
Escarpment retreat rates derived from detrital cosmogenic nuclide concentrations
Hilltop curvature as a proxy for erosion rate: wavelets enable rapid computation and reveal systematic underestimation
Short communication: Analytical models for 2D landscape evolution
Effect of rock uplift and Milankovitch timescale variations in precipitation and vegetation cover on catchment erosion rates
Modeling glacial and fluvial landform evolution at large scales using a stream-power approach
Topographic disequilibrium, landscape dynamics and active tectonics: an example from the Bhutan Himalaya
Last-glacial-cycle glacier erosion potential in the Alps
The rate and extent of wind-gap migration regulated by tributary confluences and avulsions
Inferring potential landslide damming using slope stability, geomorphic constraints, and run-out analysis: a case study from the NW Himalaya
Groundwater erosion of coastal gullies along the Canterbury coast (New Zealand): a rapid and episodic process controlled by rainfall intensity and substrate variability
Erosional response of granular material in landscape models
Transport-limited fluvial erosion – simple formulation and efficient numerical treatment
Dimensional analysis of a landscape evolution model with incision threshold
Computing water flow through complex landscapes – Part 2: Finding hierarchies in depressions and morphological segmentations
Rivers as linear elements in landform evolution models
Interactions between main channels and tributary alluvial fans: channel adjustments and sediment-signal propagation
Drainage divide networks – Part 1: Identification and ordering in digital elevation models
Drainage divide networks – Part 2: Response to perturbations
Hillslope denudation and morphologic response to a rock uplift gradient
Geomorphic signatures of the transient fluvial response to tilting
The destiny of orogen-parallel streams in the Eastern Alps: the Salzach–Enns drainage system
Statistical modelling of co-seismic knickpoint formation and river response to fault slip
A versatile, linear complexity algorithm for flow routing in topographies with depressions
Can the growth of deltaic shorelines be unstable?
Development of proglacial lakes and evaluation of related outburst susceptibility at the Adygine ice-debris complex, northern Tien Shan
Reconstruction of four-dimensional rockfall trajectories using remote sensing and rock-based accelerometers and gyroscopes
Short communication: flow as distributed lines within the landscape
Stefan Hergarten
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1070, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1070, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Toma hills are more or less isolated hills in the deposits of rock avalanches and their origin is still enigmatic. This paper presents results of numerical simulations based on a modified version of a friction law that was originally introduced for snow avalanches. The model produces more or less isolated hills on the valley floor, which look much like toma hills. The results presented here provide the perhaps first explanation for the occurrence of toma hills based on a numerical model.
Sara Polanco, Mike Blum, Tristan Salles, Bruce C. Frederick, Rebecca Farrington, Xuesong Ding, Ben Mather, Claire Mallard, and Louis Moresi
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 301–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-301-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Two-thirds of the world's most populated cities are situated close to deltas. We use computer simulations to understand how deltas sink or rise in response to climate-driven sea level changes that operate from thousands to millions of years. Our research shows that because of the interaction between the outer layers of the Earth, sediment transport, and sea level changes deltas develop a self-regulated mechanism that modifies the space they need to gain or lose land.
Stefan Hergarten
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 219–229, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-219-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-219-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Large landslides turn into an avalanche-like mode of flow at high velocities, which allows for a much longer runout than predicted for a sliding solid body. In this study, the Voellmy rheology widely used in models for hazard assessment is reinterpreted and extended. The new approach predicts the increase in runout length with volume observed in nature quite well and may thus be a major step towards a more consistent modeling of rock avalanches and improved hazard assessment.
Lingxiao Gong, Peter van der Beek, Taylor F. Schildgen, Edward R. Sobel, Simone Racano, and Apolline Mariotti
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2651, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2651, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The central South Tian Shan displays a complex river pattern spatially. We choose the transition zone in between and analyse topographic and fluvial metrics along the river profile. Considering the river patterns and the timing constraints, we suggest that the river patterns were triggered by a big capture event, potentially affected by both tectonic and climate factors. This conclusion underlines the importance of local contingent factors in driving drainage development.
Hao Chen, Xianyan Wang, Yanyan Yu, Huayu Lu, and Ronald Van Balen
Earth Surf. Dynam., 12, 163–180, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-163-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-12-163-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The Wei River catchment, one of the centers of the agricultural revolution in China, has experienced intense land use changes since 6000 BCE. This makes it an ideal place to study the response of river systems to anthropogenic land use change. Modeling results show the sensitivity of discharge and sediment yield to climate change increased abruptly when the agricultural land area exceeded a threshold at around 1000 BCE. This regime shift in the fluvial catchment led to a large sediment pulse.
Luke A. McGuire, Scott W. McCoy, Odin Marc, William Struble, and Katherine R. Barnhart
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 1117–1143, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1117-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-1117-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Debris flows are mixtures of mud and rocks that can travel at high speeds across steep landscapes. Here, we propose a new model to describe how landscapes are shaped by debris flow erosion over long timescales. Model results demonstrate that the shapes of channel profiles are sensitive to uplift rate, meaning that it may be possible to use topographic data from steep channel networks to infer how erosion rates vary across a landscape.
Patrick Boyden, Paolo Stocchi, and Alessio Rovere
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 917–931, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-917-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-917-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Preservation bias often hampers the extraction of sea level changes from the stratigraphic record. In this contribution, we use a forward stratigraphic model to build three synthetic subtropical fringing reefs for a site in southwestern Madagascar (Indian Ocean). Each of the three synthetic reefs represents a different ice sheet melt scenario for the Pleistocene. We then evaluate each resultant reef sequence against the observed stratigraphic record.
Gregory A. Ruetenik, John D. Jansen, Pedro Val, and Lotta Ylä-Mella
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 865–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-865-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-865-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We compare models of erosion against a global compilation of long-term erosion rates in order to find and interpret best-fit parameters using an iterative search. We find global signals among exponents which control the relationship between erosion rate and slope, as well as other parameters which are common in long-term erosion modelling. Finally, we analyse the global variability in parameters and find a correlation between precipitation and coefficients for optimised models.
Stefan Hergarten and Alexa Pietrek
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 741–755, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-741-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-741-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The transition from hillslopes to channelized flow is typically attributed to a threshold catchment size in landform evolution models. Here we propose an alternative concept directly based on topography. Using this concept, channels and hillslopes self-organize, whereby the catchment size of the channel heads varies over some range. Our numerical results suggest that this concept works better than the established idea of a strict threshold catchment size.
Riccardo Reitano, Romano Clementucci, Ethan M. Conrad, Fabio Corbi, Riccardo Lanari, Claudio Faccenna, and Chiara Bazzucchi
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 731–740, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-731-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-731-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Tectonics and surface processes work together in shaping orogens through their evolution. Laboratory models are used to overcome some limitations of direct observations since they allow for continuous and detailed analysis of analog orogens. We use a rectangular box filled with an analog material made of granular materials to study how erosional laws apply and how erosion affects the analog landscape as a function of the applied boundary conditions (regional slope and rainfall rate).
Nicole M. Gasparini, Katherine R. Barnhart, and Adam M. Forte
Earth Surf. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2023-17, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2023-17, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for ESurf
Short summary
Short summary
Computational landscape evolution models (LEMs) show how landscapes change through time. There are many LEMs in the scientific community, but there are no standards for testing whether LEMs produce correct solutions or comparing output among LEMs. We present a comparison of three LEMs, illustrating both strengths and weaknesses. We hope our examples will motivate the LEM community to develop methods for inter-model comparison, which could help to avoid current and future modeling pitfalls.
Tzu-Yin Kasha Chen, Ying-Chen Wu, Chi-Yao Hung, Hervé Capart, and Vaughan R. Voller
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 325–342, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-325-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Predicting the extent and thickness of debris flow deposits is important for assessing and mitigating hazards. We propose a simplified mass balance model for predicting the morphology of terminated debris flows depositing over complex topography. A key element in this model is that the termination of flow of the deposit is determined by prescribed values of yield stress and friction angle. The model results are consistent with available analytical solutions and field and laboratory observations.
Richard Ott, Sean F. Gallen, and David Helman
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 247–257, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-247-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-247-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We compile data on carbonate denudation, the sum of mechanical erosion and chemical weathering, from cosmogenic nuclides and use them in conjunction with weathering data to constrain the partitioning of denudation into erosion and weathering. We show how carbonate erosion and weathering respond to different climatic and tectonic conditions and find that variations in denudation partitioning can be used to explain the vastly different morphology of carbonate landscapes on Earth.
Joanmarie Del Vecchio, Emma R. Lathrop, Julian B. Dann, Christian G. Andresen, Adam D. Collins, Michael M. Fratkin, Simon Zwieback, Rachel C. Glade, and Joel C. Rowland
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 227–245, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-227-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-227-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In cold regions of the Earth, thawing permafrost can change the landscape, impact ecosystems, and lead to the release of greenhouse gases. In this study we used many observational tools to better understand how sediment moves on permafrost hillslopes. Some topographic change conforms to our understanding of slope stability and sediment transport as developed in temperate landscapes, but much of what we observed needs further explanation by permafrost-specific geomorphic models.
Carole Petit, Tristan Salles, Vincent Godard, Yann Rolland, and Laurence Audin
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 183–201, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-183-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-183-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present new tools in the landscape evolution model Badlands to simulate 10Be production, erosion and transport. These tools are applied to a source-to-sink system in the SW French Alps, where the model is calibrated. We propose a model that fits river incision rates and 10Be concentrations in sediments, and we show that 10Be in deep marine sediments is a signal with multiple contributions that cannot be easily interpreted in terms of climate forcing.
Cas Renette, Kristoffer Aalstad, Juditha Aga, Robin Benjamin Zweigel, Bernd Etzelmüller, Karianne Staalesen Lilleøren, Ketil Isaksen, and Sebastian Westermann
Earth Surf. Dynam., 11, 33–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-33-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-33-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
One of the reasons for lower ground temperatures in coarse, blocky terrain is a low or varying soil moisture content, which most permafrost modelling studies did not take into account. We used the CryoGrid community model to successfully simulate this effect and found markedly lower temperatures in well-drained, blocky deposits compared to other set-ups. The inclusion of this drainage effect is another step towards a better model representation of blocky mountain terrain in permafrost regions.
Harrison K. Martin and Douglas A. Edmonds
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 555–579, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-555-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-555-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
River avulsions (rivers suddenly changing course) redirect water and sediment. These floods can harm people and control how some landscapes evolve. We model how abandoned channels from older avulsions affect where, when, and why future avulsions occur in mountain-front areas. We show that abandoned channels can push and pull avulsions, and the way they heal controls landscapes. Avulsion models should include abandoned channels; we also highlight opportunities for future field workers.
Ariel Henrique do Prado, Renato Paes de Almeida, Cristiano Padalino Galeazzi, Victor Sacek, and Fritz Schlunegger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 457–471, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-457-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-457-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our work is focused on describing how and why the terrace levels of central Amazonia were formed during the last 100 000 years. We propose to address this question through a landscape evolution numerical model. Our results show that terrace levels at lower elevation were established in response to dry–wet climate changes and the older terrace levels at higher elevations most likely formed in response to a previously higher elevation of the regional base level.
Clément Desormeaux, Vincent Godard, Dimitri Lague, Guillaume Duclaux, Jules Fleury, Lucilla Benedetti, Olivier Bellier, and the ASTER Team
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 473–492, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-473-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-473-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Landscape evolution is highly dependent on climatic parameters, and the occurrence of intense precipitation events is considered to be an important driver of river incision. We compare the rate of erosion with the variability of river discharge in a mountainous landscape of SE France where high-magnitude floods regularly occur. Our study highlights the importance of the hypotheses made regarding the threshold that river discharge needs to exceed in order to effectively cut down into the bedrock.
Jean Braun
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 301–327, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-301-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-301-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
By comparing two models for the transport of sediment, we find that they share a similar steady-state solution that adequately predicts the shape of most depositional systems made of a fan and an alluvial plain. The length of the fan is controlled by the size of the mountain drainage area feeding the sedimentary system and its slope by the incoming sedimentary flux. We show that the models differ in their transient behavior to external forcing and are characterized by different response times.
Léopold de Lavaissière, Stéphane Bonnet, Anne Guyez, and Philippe Davy
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 229–246, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-229-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-229-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Rivers are known to record changes in tectonic or climatic variation through long adjustment of their longitudinal profile slope. Here we describe such adjustments in experimental landscapes and show that they may result from the sole effect of intrinsic geomorphic processes. We propose a new model of river evolution that links long profile adjustment to cycles of river widening and narrowing. This result emphasizes the need to better understand control of lateral erosion on river width.
Elco Luijendijk
Earth Surf. Dynam., 10, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-10-1-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The distance between rivers is a noticeable feature of the Earth's surface. Previous work has indicated that subsurface groundwater flow may be important for drainage density. Here, I present a new model that combines subsurface and surface water flow and erosion, and demonstrates that groundwater exerts an important control on drainage density. Streams that incise rapidly can capture the groundwater discharge of adjacent streams, which may cause these streams to become dry and stop incising.
Nikos Theodoratos and James W. Kirchner
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1545–1561, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1545-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1545-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We examine stream-power incision and linear diffusion landscape evolution models with and without incision thresholds. We present a steady-state relationship between curvature and the steepness index, which plots as a straight line. We view this line as a counterpart to the slope–area relationship for the case of landscapes with hillslope diffusion. We show that simple shifts and rotations of this line graphically express the topographic response of landscapes to changes in model parameters.
Yanyan Wang and Sean D. Willett
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1301–1322, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1301-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Although great escarpment mountain ranges are characterized by high relief, modern erosion rates suggest slow rates of landscape change. We question this interpretation by presenting a new method for interpreting concentrations of cosmogenic isotopes. Our analysis shows that erosion has localized onto an escarpment face, driving retreat of the escarpment at high rates. Our quantification of this retreat rate rationalizes the high-relief, dramatic landscape with the rates of geomorphic change.
William T. Struble and Joshua J. Roering
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1279–1300, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1279-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1279-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We used a mathematical technique known as a wavelet transform to calculate the curvature of hilltops in western Oregon, which we used to estimate erosion rate. We find that this technique operates over 1000 times faster than other techniques and produces accurate erosion rates. We additionally built artificial hillslopes to test the accuracy of curvature measurement methods. We find that at fast erosion rates, curvature is underestimated, raising questions of measurement accuracy elsewhere.
Philippe Steer
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1239–1250, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1239-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
How landscapes respond to tectonic and climatic changes is a major issue in Earth sciences. I have developed a new model that solves for landscape evolution in two dimensions using analytical solutions. Compared to numerical models, this new model is quicker and more accurate. It can compute in a single time step the topography at equilibrium of a landscape or be used to describe its evolution through time, e.g. during changes in tectonic or climatic conditions.
Hemanti Sharma, Todd A. Ehlers, Christoph Glotzbach, Manuel Schmid, and Katja Tielbörger
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1045–1072, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1045-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1045-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We study effects of variable climate–vegetation with different uplift rates on erosion–sedimentation using a landscape evolution modeling approach. Results suggest that regardless of uplift rates, transients in precipitation–vegetation lead to transients in erosion rates in the same direction of change. Vegetation-dependent erosion and sedimentation are influenced by Milankovitch timescale changes in climate, but these transients are superimposed upon tectonically driven uplift rates.
Stefan Hergarten
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 937–952, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-937-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-937-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new approach to modeling glacial erosion on large scales. The formalism is similar to large-scale models of fluvial erosion, so glacial and fluvial processes can be easily combined. The model is simpler and numerically less demanding than established models based on a more detailed description of the ice flux. The numerical implementation almost achieves the efficiency of purely fluvial models, so that simulations over millions of years can be performed on standard PCs.
Martine Simoes, Timothée Sassolas-Serrayet, Rodolphe Cattin, Romain Le Roux-Mallouf, Matthieu Ferry, and Dowchu Drukpa
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 895–921, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-895-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-895-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Elevated low-relief regions and major river knickpoints have for long been noticed and questioned in the emblematic Bhutan Himalaya. We document the morphology of this region using morphometric analyses and field observations, at a variety of spatial scales. Our findings reveal a highly unstable river network, with numerous non-coeval river captures, most probably related to a dynamic response to local tectonic uplift in the mountain hinterland.
Julien Seguinot and Ian Delaney
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 923–935, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-923-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-923-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ancient Alpine glaciers have carved a fascinating landscape of piedmont lakes, glacial valleys, and mountain cirques. Using a previous supercomputer simulation of glacier flow, we show that glacier erosion has constantly evolved and moved to different parts of the Alps. Interestingly, larger glaciers do not always cause more rapid erosion. Instead, glacier erosion is modelled to slow down during glacier advance and peak during phases of retreat, such as the one the Earth is currently undergoing.
Eitan Shelef and Liran Goren
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 687–700, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-687-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-687-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Drainage basins are bounded by water divides (divides) that define their shape and extent. Divides commonly coincide with high ridges, but in places that experienced extensive tectonic deformation, divides sometimes cross elongated valleys. Inspired by field observations and using simulations of landscape evolution, we study how side channels that drain to elongated valleys induce pulses of divide migration, affecting the distribution of water and erosion products across mountain ranges.
Vipin Kumar, Imlirenla Jamir, Vikram Gupta, and Rajinder K. Bhasin
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 351–377, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-351-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-351-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Despite a history of landslide damming and flash floods in the NW Himalaya, only a few studies have been performed. This study predicts some potential landslide damming sites in the Satluj valley, NW Himalaya, using field observations, laboratory analyses, geomorphic proxies, and numerical simulations. Five landslides, comprising a total landslide volume of 26.3 ± 6.7 M m3, are found to have the potential to block the river in the case of slope failure.
Aaron Micallef, Remus Marchis, Nader Saadatkhah, Potpreecha Pondthai, Mark E. Everett, Anca Avram, Alida Timar-Gabor, Denis Cohen, Rachel Preca Trapani, Bradley A. Weymer, and Phillipe Wernette
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We study coastal gullies along the Canterbury coast of New Zealand using field observations, sample analyses, drones, satellites, geophysical instruments and modelling. We show that these coastal gullies form when rainfall intensity is higher than 40 mm per day. The coastal gullies are formed by landslides where buried channels or sand lenses are located. This information allows us to predict where coastal gullies may form in the future.
Riccardo Reitano, Claudio Faccenna, Francesca Funiciello, Fabio Corbi, and Sean D. Willett
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 973–993, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-973-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-973-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Looking into processes that occur on different timescales that span over thousands or millions of years is difficult to achieve. This is the case when we try to understand the interaction between tectonics and surface processes. Analog modeling is an investigating technique that can overcome this limitation. We study the erosional response of an analog landscape by varying the concentration of components of analog materials that strongly affect the evolution of experimental landscapes.
Stefan Hergarten
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 841–854, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-841-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-841-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Many contemporary models of large-scale fluvial erosion focus on the detachment-limited regime where all material entrained by the river is immediately excavated. This limitation facilitates the comparison with real river profiles and strongly reduces the numerical complexity. Here a simple formulation for the opposite case, transport-limited erosion, and a new numerical scheme that achieves almost the same numerical efficiency as detachment-limited models are presented.
Nikos Theodoratos and James W. Kirchner
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 505–526, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-505-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-505-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We non-dimensionalized a commonly used model of landscape evolution that includes an incision threshold. Whereas the original model included four parameters, we obtained a dimensionless form with a single parameter, which quantifies the relative importance of the incision threshold. Working with this form saves computational time and simplifies theoretical analyses.
Richard Barnes, Kerry L. Callaghan, and Andrew D. Wickert
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 431–445, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-431-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-431-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Maps of elevation are used to help predict the flow of water so we can better understand landslides, floods, and global climate change. However, modeling the flow of water is difficult when elevation maps include swamps, lakes, and other depressions. This paper explains a new method that overcomes these difficulties, allowing models to run faster and more accurately.
Stefan Hergarten
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 367–377, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-367-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-367-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Models of fluvial erosion have a long history in landform evolution modeling. Interactions between rivers and processes acting at hillslopes (e.g., landslides) are receiving growing interest in this context. While present-day computer capacities allow for applying such coupled models, there is still a scaling problem when considering rivers to be linear elements on a topography. Based on a reinterpretation of old empirical results, this study presents a new approach to overcome this problem.
Sara Savi, Stefanie Tofelde, Andrew D. Wickert, Aaron Bufe, Taylor F. Schildgen, and Manfred R. Strecker
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 303–322, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-303-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-303-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Fluvial deposits record changes in water and sediment supply. As such, they are often used to reconstruct the tectonic or climatic history of a basin. In this study we used an experimental setting to analyze how fluvial deposits register changes in water or sediment supply at a confluence zone. We provide a new conceptual framework that may help understanding the construction of these deposits under different forcings conditions, information crucial to correctly inferring the history of a basin.
Dirk Scherler and Wolfgang Schwanghart
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 245–259, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-245-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-245-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Drainage divides are believed to provide clues about divide migration and the instability of landscapes. Here, we present a novel approach to extract drainage divides from digital elevation models and to order them in a drainage divide network. We present our approach by studying natural and artificial landscapes generated with a landscape evolution model and disturbed to induce divide migration.
Dirk Scherler and Wolfgang Schwanghart
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 261–274, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-261-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-261-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Drainage divides are believed to provide clues about divide migration and the instability of landscapes. Here, we present a novel approach to extract drainage divides from digital elevation models and to order them in a drainage divide network. We present our approach by studying natural and artificial landscapes generated with a landscape evolution model and disturbed to induce divide migration.
Vincent Godard, Jean-Claude Hippolyte, Edward Cushing, Nicolas Espurt, Jules Fleury, Olivier Bellier, Vincent Ollivier, and the ASTER Team
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 221–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-221-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-221-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Slow-slipping faults are often difficult to identify in landscapes. Here we analyzed high-resolution topographic data from the Valensole area at the front of the southwestern French Alps. We measured various properties of hillslopes such as their relief and the shape of hilltops. We observed systematic spatial variations of hillslope morphology indicative of relative changes in erosion rates. These variations are potentially related to slow tectonic deformation across the studied area.
Helen W. Beeson and Scott W. McCoy
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 123–159, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-123-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-123-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We used a computer model to show that, when a landscape is tilted, rivers respond in a distinct way such that river profiles take on unique forms that record tilt timing and magnitude. Using this suite of river forms, we estimated tilt timing and magnitude in the Sierra Nevada, USA, and results were consistent with independent measures. Our work broadens the scope of tectonic histories that can be extracted from landscape form to include tilting, which has been documented in diverse locations.
Georg Trost, Jörg Robl, Stefan Hergarten, and Franz Neubauer
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 69–85, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-69-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-69-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The evolution of the drainage system in the Eastern Alps is inherently linked to different tectonic stages. This leads to a situation in which major orogen-parallel alpine rivers, such as the Salzach and the Enns, are characterized by elongated east–west-oriented catchments. We investigate the stability of present-day drainage divides and the stability of reconstructed paleo-drainage systems. Our results indicate a progressive stability of the network towards the present-day situation.
Philippe Steer, Thomas Croissant, Edwin Baynes, and Dimitri Lague
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 681–706, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-681-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-681-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We use a statistical earthquake generator to investigate the influence of fault activity on river profile development and on the formation of co-seismic knickpoints. We find that the magnitude distribution of knickpoints resulting from a purely seismic fault is homogeneous. Shallow aseismic slip favours knickpoints generated by large-magnitude earthquakes nucleating at depth. Accounting for fault burial by alluvial cover can modulate the topographic expression of earthquakes and fault activity.
Guillaume Cordonnier, Benoît Bovy, and Jean Braun
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 549–562, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-549-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-549-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We propose a new algorithm to solve the problem of flow routing across local depressions in the topography, one of the main computational bottlenecks in landscape evolution models. Our solution is more efficient than the state-of-the-art algorithms, with an optimal linear asymptotic complexity. The algorithm has been designed specifically to be used within landscape evolution models, and also suits more generally the efficient treatment of large digital elevation models.
Meng Zhao, Gerard Salter, Vaughan R. Voller, and Shuwang Li
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 505–513, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-505-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-505-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Typically, we think of a shoreline growing with a smooth line separating the land and the water. If the growth is unstable, however, the land–water front will exhibit a roughness that grows with time. Here we ask whether the growth of deltaic shorelines cab be unstable. Through mathematical analysis we show that growth is unstable when the shoreline is building onto an adverse slope. The length scale of the unstable signal in such a case, however, might be obscured by other geomorphic processes.
Kristyna Falatkova, Miroslav Šobr, Anton Neureiter, Wolfgang Schöner, Bohumír Janský, Hermann Häusler, Zbyněk Engel, and Vojtěch Beneš
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 301–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-301-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-301-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In the last 50 years the Adygine glacier has been subject to relatively fast recession comparable to other glaciers in Tien Shan. As a consequence, a three-level cascade of glacial lakes formed, two of which were categorised as having medium outburst susceptibility. By 2050, the glacier is expected to have shrunk to 56–73 % of its 2012 extent. Further development of the site will result in formation of new lakes and probably also increase of outburst susceptibility due to permafrost degradation.
Andrin Caviezel, Sophia E. Demmel, Adrian Ringenbach, Yves Bühler, Guang Lu, Marc Christen, Claire E. Dinneen, Lucie A. Eberhard, Daniel von Rickenbach, and Perry Bartelt
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 199–210, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-199-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-199-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In rockfall hazard assessment, knowledge about the precise flight path of assumed boulders is vital for its accuracy. We present the full reconstruction of artificially induced rockfall events. The extracted information such as exact velocities, jump heights and lengths provide detailed insights into how rotating rocks interact with the ground. The information serves as future calibration of rockfall modelling tools with the goal of even more realistic modelling predictions.
John J. Armitage
Earth Surf. Dynam., 7, 67–75, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-67-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-7-67-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Landscape evolution models (LEMs) aim to capture an aggregation of the processes of erosion and deposition and predict evolving topography. A key aspect of any LEM is how water is chosen to be routed down the surface, which can impact the model results and, importantly, the numerical accuracy. I find that by treating flow as lines within the model domain and by distributing water down all slopes, the results are independent of resolution, pointing to a new method to model landscape evolution.
Cited articles
Abotalib, A. Z., Sultan, M., and Elkadiri, R.: Groundwater processes in
Saharan Africa: Implications for landscape evolution in arid environments,
Earth-Science Rev., 156, 108–136, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.03.004,
2016.
Abrams, D. M., Lobkovsky, A. E., Petroff, A. P., Straub, K. M., McElroy, B.,
Mohrig, D. C., Kudrolli, A., and Rothman, D. H.: Growth laws for channel
networks incised by groundwater flow, Nat. Geosci., 2, 193–196,
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo432, 2009.
Altin, T. B. and Altin, B. N.: Development and morphometry of drainage nnetwork in volcanic terrain, Central Anatolia, Turkey, Geomorphology, 125, 485–503, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.09.023, 2011.
Babault, J., Van Den Driessche, J., and Teixell, A.: Longitudinal to
transverse drainage network evolution in the High Atlas (Morocco): The role of tectonics, Tectonics, 31, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011TC003015, 2012.
Berhanu, M., Petroff, A., Devauchelle, O., Kudrolli, A., and Rothman, D. H.:
Shape and dynamics of seepage erosion in a horizontal granular bed, Phys.
Rev. E, 86, 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.041304, 2012.
Bonnet, S. and Crave, A.: Landscape response to climate change: Insights from experimental modeling and implications for tectonic versus climatic uplift of topography, Geology, 31, 123–126,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0123:LRTCCI>2.0.CO;2, 2003.
Brooks, J. R., Mushet, D. M., Vanderhoof, M. K., Leibowitz, S. G., Christensen, J. R., Neff, B. P., Rosenberry, D. O., Rugh, W. D., and Alexander, L. C.: Estimating Wetland Connectivity to Streams in the Prairie
Pothole Region: An Isotopic and Remote Sensing Approach, Water Resour. Res.,
54, 955–977, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021016, 2018.
Castelltort, S. and Simpson, G.: River spacing and drainage network growth in widening mountain ranges, Basin Res., 18, 267–276,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2117.2006.00293.x, 2006.
Castillo, C. and Gómez, J. A.: A century of gully erosion research:
Urgency, complexity and study approaches, Earth-Sci. Rev., 160, 300–319,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.07.009, 2016.
Clayton, L. and Moran, S. R.: Chronology of late wisconsinan glaciation in
middle North America, Quaternary Sci. Rev., 1, 55–82, https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(82)90019-1, 1982.
Coelho Netto, A. L., Fernandes, N. F., and de Deus, C. E.: Gullying in the
southeastern Brazilian Plateau, Bananal, SP, in Sediment Budgets, in:
Proceedings of the Porto Alegre Symposium, IAHS Publication No. 174, 35–42, 1988.
Cohen, Y., Devauchelle, O., Seybold, H. F., Robert, S. Y., Szymczak, P., and Rothman, D. H.:. Path selection in the growth of rivers, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 14132–14137, 2015.
Cullen, C., Anders, A. M., Lai, J., and Druhan, J. L.: Numerical modeling of groundwater-driven stream network evolution in low-relief post-glacial landscapes, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 47, 658–671, 2022.
Daag, A. S.: Modelling the erosion of the pyroclastic flow deposits and the
occurrences of Lahars at Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines, PhD Thesis, Universiteit Utrecht, Utrecht, https://webapps.itc.utwente.nl/librarywww/Papers_2003/phd_theses/daag.pdf (last access: 2 June 2022), 2003.
Daag, A. and Van Westen, C. J.: Cartographic modelling of erosion in
pyroclastic flow deposits of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, ITC J., 2, 110–124, 1996.
D'Alpaos, A., Lanzoni, S., Marani, M., Fagherazzi, S., and Rinaldo, A.: Tidal
network ontogeny: Channel initiation and early development, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 110, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JF000182, 2005.
D'Alpaos, A., Lanzoni, S., Marani, M., and Rinaldo, A.: Landscape evolution in tidal embayments: Modeling the interplay of erosion, sedimentation, and
vegetation dynamics, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 112, 1–17,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000537, 2007.
Devauchelle, O., Petroff, A. P., Lobkovsky, A. E., and Rothman, D. H.: Longitudinal profile of channels cut by springs, J. Fluid Mech., 667, 38–47, 2011.
Devauchelle, O., Petroff, A. P., Seybold, H. F., and Rothman, D. H.: Ramification of stream networks, P. Natla. Acad. Sci. USA, 109, 20832–20836, 2012.
Douglass, J. and Schmeeckle, M.: Analogue modeling of transverse drainage
mechanisms, Geomorphology, 84, 22–43, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.06.004, 2007.
Douglass, J., Meek, N., Dorn, R. I., and Schmeeckle, M. W.: A criteria-based
methodology for determining the mechanism of transverse drainage development, with application to the Southwestern United States, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 121, 586–598, https://doi.org/10.1130/B26131.1, 2009.
Dunne, T.: Formation and controls of channel networks, Prog. Phys. Geogr., 4, 211–239, https://doi.org/10.1177/030913338000400204, 1980.
Dunne, T.: Hydrology mechanics, and geomorphic implications of erosion by
subsurface flow, Spec. Pap. Geol. Soc. Am., 252, 1–28, https://doi.org/10.1130/SPE252-p1, 1990.
Dunne, T., Zhang, W., and Aubry, B. F.: Effects of Rainfall, Vegetation, and
Microtopography on Infiltration and Runoff, Water Resour. Res., 27, 2271–2285, https://doi.org/10.1029/91WR01585, 1991.
Fagherazzi, S., Kirwan, M. L., Mudd, S. M., Guntenspergen, G. R., Temmerman,
S., D'Alpaos, A., Van De Koppel, J., Rybczyk, J. M., Reyes, E., Craft, C.,
and Clough, J.: Numerical models of salt marsh evolution: Ecological,
geomorphic, and climatic factors, Rev. Geophys., 50, 1–28, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011RG000359, 2012.
Foufoula-Georgiou, E., Takbiri, Z., Czuba, J. A., and Schwenk, J.: The change
of nature and the nature of change in agricultural landscapes: Hydrologic
regime shifts modulate ecological transitions, Water Resour. Res., 51,
1–23, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(68)90080-2, 2015.
Garcia, M. and Hérail, G.: Fault-related folding, drainage network
evolution and valley incision during the Neogene in the Andean Precordillera
of Northern Chile, Geomorphology, 65, 279–300, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2004.09.007, 2005.
Gazetti, E. W.: Autogenic signals in an experimental source-to-sink system,
University of Minnesota, Duluth, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/178910 (last access: 2 June 2022), 2015.
Glock, W. S.: The Development of Drainage Systems: A Synoptic View, Geogr.
Rev., 21, 475–482, https://doi.org/10.2307/209434, 1931.
Gomez, B. and Mullen, V. T.: An experimental study of sapped drainage network development, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 17, 465–476, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3290170506, 1992.
Gran, K. B., Belmont, P., Day, S. S., Jennings, C., Johnson, A., Perg, L., and Wilcock, P. R.: Geomorphic evolution of the Le Sueur River, Minnesota, USA, and implications for current sediment loading. Management and restoration of fluvial systems with broad historical changes and human impacts, Geological Society of America Special Paper 451, 119–130, 2009.
Gran, K. B., Finnegan, N., Johnson, A. L., Belmont, P., Wittkop, C., and
Rittenour, T.: Landscape evolution, valley excavation, and terrace development following abrupt postglacial base-level fall, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 125, 1851–1864, https://doi.org/10.1130/B30772.1, 2013.
Grimaud, J.-L., Paola, C., and Voller, V.: Experimental migration of knickpoints: influence of style of base-level fall and bed lithology, Earth
Surf. Dynam., 4, 11–23, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-11-2016, 2016.
Hasbargen, L. and Paola, C.: Landscape instaibility in an experimental
drainage basin, Geology, 28, 1067–1070,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<1067:LIIAED>2.0.CO;2, 2000.
Hilgendorf, Z., Wells, G., Larson, P. H., Millett, J., and Kohout, M.: From
basins to rivers: Understanding the revitalization and significance of top-down drainage integration mechanisms in drainage basin evolution, Geomorphology, 352, 107020, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2019.107020, 2020.
Hovius, N., Stark, C. P., Tutton, M. A., and Abbott, L. D.: Landslide-driven
drainage network evolution in a pre-steady-state mountain belt: Finisterre
Mountains, Papua New Guinea, Geology, 26, 1071–1074,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<1071:LDDNEI>2.3.CO;2, 1998.
Howard, A. D., Groundwater sapping experiments and modeling, in: ch. 5, Sapping features of the Colorado Platea: a comparative planetary geology field guide, edited by: Howard, A. D., Kochel, R. C., and Holt, H. E., NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC, 71–83, 1988.
Howard, A. D. and Iii, C. F. M.: Sediment Seepage Undermining Sapping Zone,
Water Resour., 24, 1659–1674, 1988.
Howard, A. D. and McLane, C. F.: Erosion of cohesionless sediment by
groundwater seepage, Water Resour. Res., 24, 1659–1674,
https://doi.org/10.1029/WR024i010p01659, 1988.
Huang, J., Wu, P., and Zhao, X.: Effects of rainfall intensity, underlying
surface and slope gradient on soil infiltration under simulated rainfall
experiments, Catena, 104, 93–102, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2012.10.013, 2013.
Ilstad, T., Elverhøi, A., Issler, D., and Marr, J. G.: Subaqueous debris
flow behaviour and its dependence on the sand
Janda, R. J., Meyer, D. F., and Childer, D.: Sedimentation and Geomorphic
changes during and following the 1980–1983 eruptions on Mount St. Helens,
Washington, J. Japan Soc. Eros. Control Eng., 37, 10–21, 1984.
Kasse, C.: Cold‐climate aeolian sand‐sheet formation in north‐western Europe (c. 14–12.4 ka); a response to permafrost degradation and increased aridity, Permafrost Periglac. Process., 8, 295–311, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1530(199709)8:3<295::AID-PPP256>3.0.CO;2-0, 1997.
Kochel, R. C. and Piper, J. F.: Morphology of large valleys on Hawaii:
Evidence for groundwater sapping and comparisons with Martian valleys, J. Geophys. Res., 91, E175, https://doi.org/10.1029/jb091ib13p0e175, 1986.
Labaugh, J. W., Winter, T. C., and Rosenberry, D. O.: Hydrologic Functions of
Prairie Wetlan, Gt. Plains Res., 8, 17–37, https://about.jstor.org/terms (last access: 13 May 2021), 1998.
Lague, D., Crave, A., and Davy, P.: Laboratory experiments simulating the
geomorphic response to tectonic uplift, J. Geophys. Res.-Solid, 108, ETG 3-1–ETG 3-20, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002jb001785, 2003.
Lai, J. and Anders, A. M.: Modeled Postglacial Landscape Evolution at the
Southern Margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet: Hydrological Connection of
Uplands Controls the Pace and Style of Fluvial Network Expansion, J.
Geophys. Res. Earth Surf., 123(5), 967–984, https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JF004509, 2018.
Laity, J. E. and Malin, M. C.: Sapping processes and the development of
theater-headed valley networks on the Colorado Plateau, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 96, 203–217, https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1985)96<203:SPATDO>2.0.CO;2, 1985.
Langbein, W. B. and Schumm, S. A.: Yield of sediment in relation to mean
annual precipitation, Eos Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 39, 1076–1084,
https://doi.org/10.1029/TR039i006p01076, 1958.
Lapotre, M. G. A. and Lamb, M. P.: Substrate controls on valley formation by
groundwater on Earth and Mars, Geology, 46, 531–534, https://doi.org/10.1130/G40007.1, 2018.
Leibowitz, S. G. and Vining, K. C.: Temporal connectivity in a prairie pothole complex, Wetlands, 23, 13–25,
https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2003)023[0013:TCIAPP]2.0.CO;2, 2003.
Leibowitz, S. G., Mushet, D. M., and Newton, W. E.: Intermittent Surface Water Connectivity: Fill and Spill Vs. Fill and Merge Dynamics, Wetlands, 36, 323–342, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0830-z, 2016.
Lobkovsky, A. E.: Threshold phenomena in erosion driven by subsurface flow, J. Geophys. Res., 109, 4010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004jf000172, 2004.
Lobkovsky, A. E., Jensen, B., Kurdolli, A., and Rothman, D. H.: Threshold
phenomena in erosion driven by subsurface flow, J. Geophys. Res., 109,
F04010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004jf000172, 2004.
Lusardi, B. A., Gowan, A. S., McDonald, J. M., Marshall, K. J., Meyer, G. N., and Wagner, K. G.: S-23 Geologic Map of Minnesota – Quaternary Geology, https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/208552 (last access: 3 June 2022), 2019.
Maroukian, H., Gaki-Papanastassiou, K., Karymbalis, E., Vouvalidis, K.,
Pavlopoulos, K., Papanastassiou, D., and Albanakis, K.: Morphotectonic control on drainage network evolution in the Perachora Peninsula, Greece,
Geomorphology, 102, 81–92, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.07.021, 2008.
Marr, J. G., Shanmugam, G., and Parker, G.: Experiments on subaqueous sandy
gravity flows: The role of clay and water content in flow dynamics and
depositional structures, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 113, 1377–1386,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(2001)113<1377:EOSSGF>2.0.CO;2, 2001.
Matsch, C. L.: River Warren, the southern outlet to glacial Lake Agassiz, in:
Glacial Lake Agassiz, edited by: Teller, J. T. and Clayton, L., Geol. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap., 26, 231–244, 1983.
McDanel, J. J., Meghani, N. A., Miller, B. A., and Moore, P. L.: A harmonized map of landform regions in the glaciated Central Lowlands, USA, J. Maps, in review, 2022.
Meghani, N., and Anders, A. M.: Controls on drainage density in the recently glaciated Central Lowlands of the USA, in: Annual Meeting, Geological Society of America, 10–13 October 2021, Portland, OR, 2021.
Micallef, A., Marchis, R., Saadatkhah, N., Pondthai, P., Everett, M. E.,
Avram, A., Timar-Gabor, A., Cohen, D., Preca Trapani, R., Weymer, B. A., and
Wernette, P.: Groundwater erosion of coastal gullies along the Canterbury
coast (New Zealand): A rapid and episodic process controlled by rainfall
intensity and substrate variability, Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1–18,
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1-2021, 2021.
Morbidelli, R., Saltalippi, C., Flammini, A., Cifrodelli, M., Corradini, C.,
and Govindaraju, R. S.: Infiltration on sloping surfaces: Laboratory experimental evidence and implications for infiltration modeling, J. Hydrol., 523, 79–85, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.01.041, 2015.
Mu, W., Yu, F., Li, C., Xie, Y., Tian, J., Liu, J., and Zhao, N.: Effects of
rainfall intensity and slope gradient on runoff and soil moisture content on
different growing stages of spring maize, Water (Switzerland), 7, 2990–3008, https://doi.org/10.3390/w7062990, 2015.
Nassif, S. H. and Wilson, E. M.: The influence of slope and rain intensity on runoff and infiltration, Hydrol. Sci. Bull., 20, 539–553,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667509491586, 1975.
Neff, B. P. and Rosenberry, D. O.: Groundwater Connectivity of Upland-Embedded Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region, Wetlands, 38, 51–63, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-017-0956-7, 2018.
Onda, Y.: Seepage erosion and its implication to the formation of amphitheatre valley heads: A case study at Obara, Japan, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 19, 627–640, 1994.
Ouchi, S.: Effects of uplift on the development of experimental erosion
landform generated by artificial rainfall, Geomorphology, 127, 88–98,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.12.009, 2011.
Parker, R. S.: Experimental study of drainage basin evolution and its
hydrologic implications, Hydrol. Pap. 90, Colo. State Univ., Fort Collins, https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA051839 (last access: 13 May 2021), 1977.
Pelletier, J. D.: Drainage basin evolution in the Rainfall Erosion Facility:
Dependence on initial conditions, Geomorphology, 53, 183–196,
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-555X(02)00353-7, 2003.
Petroff, A. P., Devauchelle, O., Abrams, D. M., Lobkovsky, A. E., Kudrolli, A., and Rothman, D. H.: Geometry of valley growth, J. Fluid Mech., 673, 245–254, 2011.
Petroff, A. P., Devauchelle, O., Seybold, H., and Rothman, D. H.: Bifurcation dynamics of natural drainage networks, Philos. T. Roy. Soc. A, 371, 20120365, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0365, 2013.
Phillips, L. F. and Schumm, S. A.: Effect of regional slope on drainage networks., Geology, 15, 813–816, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1987)15<813:EORSOD>2.0.CO;2, 1987.
Pillans, B.: Drainage initiation by subsurface flow in South Taranaki, New
Zealand, Geology, 13, 262–265, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1985)13<262:DIBSFI>2.0.CO;2, 1985.
Poesen, J., Nachtergaele, J., Verstraeten, G., and Valentin, C.: Gully erosion and environmental change: Importance and research needs, Catena, 50, 91–133, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0341-8162(02)00143-1, 2003.
Reddi, L. N. and Bonala, M. V. S.: Critical shear stress and its relationship with cohesion for sand – kaolinite mixtures, Can. Geotech. J., 34, 26–33, 1997.
Rosenberry, D. O. and Winter, T. C.: Dynamics of water-table fluctuations in
an upland between two prairie-pothole wetlands in North Dakota, J. Hydrol.,
191, 266–289, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(96)03050-8, 1997.
Ruhe, R. V.: Topographic discontinuities of the Des Moines Lob, Am. J. Sci.,
1, 46–56, 1952.
Schorghofer, N., Jensen, B., Kudrolli, A., and Rothman, D. H.: Spontaneous
channelization in permeable ground: Theory, experiment, and observation, J.
Fluid Mech., 503, 357–374, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112004007931, 2004.
Schottler, S. P., Ulrich, J., Belmont, P., Moore, R., Lauer, J. W., Engstrom, D. R., and Almendinger, J. E.: Twentieth century agricultural drainage creates more erosive rivers, Hydrol. Process., 28, 1951–1961, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9738, 2014.
Schumm, S. A.: Evolution and Response of the Fluvial System, Sedimentologic
Implications, Special Publication: Recent and Ancient Nonmarine depositional Environmentas: Models for Exploration, edited by: Ethridge, F. G. and Flores, R. M., SEPM – Society for Sedimentary Geology, 1981.
Schumm, S. A. and Lichty, R. W.: Time, space, and causality in geomorphology, Am. J. Sci., 263, 110–119, https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.263.2.110, 1965.
Schumm, S. A. and Phillips, L.: Composite channels of the Canterbury Plain,
New Zealand: a Martian analog?, Geology, 14, 326–329,
https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14<326:CCOTCP>2.0.CO;2, 1986.
Schumm, S. A., Boyd, K. F., Wolff, C. G., and Spitz, W. J.: A ground-water
sapping landscape in the Florida Panhandle, Geomorphology, 12, 281–297,
https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-555X(95)00011-S, 1995.
Seybold, H., Rothman, D. H., and Kirchner, J. W.: Climate's watermark in the geometry of stream networks, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 2272–2280, 2017.
Seybold, H. J., Kite, E., and Kirchner, J. W.: Branching geometry of valley networks on Mars and Earth and its implications for early Martian climate, Sci. Adv., 4, eaar6692, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aar6692, 2018.
Shaw, D. A., Vanderkamp, G., Conly, F. M., Pietroniro, A., and Martz, L.: The
Fill-Spill Hydrology of Prairie Wetland Complexes during Drought and Deluge,
Hydrol. Process., 26, 3147–3156, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8390, 2012.
Simon, A.: Channel and drainage-basin response of the Toutle River system in
the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington,
United States Geological Survey Open-file Report 96-633, p. 130, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr96633, 1999.
Singh, A., Reinhardt, L., and Foufoula-Georgiou, E.: Landscape reorganization
under changing climatic forcing: Results from an experimental landscape,
Water Resour. Res., 51(6), 4320–4337, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017161, 2015.
Smith, B., Kudrolli, A., Lobkovsky, A. E., and Rothman, D. H.: Channel erosion due to subsurface flow, Chaos, 18, 17–18, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2997333,
2008.
Sockness, B.: An Experimental Study of Drainage Network Development by Surface and Subsurface Flow in Low-Gradient Landscapes, University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy [data set], https://hdl.handle.net/11299/213050 (last access: 2 June 2022), 2020.
Sockness, B. G. and Gran, K. B.: An Experimental Study of Drainage Network Development by Surface and Subsurface Flow in Low-Gradient Landscapes Raster Datasets, Data Repository for the University of Minnesota [data set], https://doi.org/10.13020/7a27-tg76, 2021.
Stichling, W. and Blackwell, S. R.: Drainage area as a hydrologic factor on
the glaciated Canadian prairies, IUGG Proc., 365–367, 1957.
Sweeney, K. E., Roering, J. J., and Ellis, C.: Experimental evidence for
hillslope control of landscape scale, Science, 349, 51–53,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab0017, 2015.
Thompson, S. E., Harman, C. J., Heine, P., and Katul, G. G.: Vegetation-infiltration relationships across climatic and soil type gradients, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 115, G02023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009jg001134, 2010.
Tiner, R. W.: Geographically isolated wetlands of the United States, Wetlands, 23, 494–516, https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2003)023[0494:GIWOTU]2.0.CO;2, 2003.
Turowski, J. M., Lague, D., Crave, A., and Hovius, N.: Experimental channel
response to tectonic uplift, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 111, F03008, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JF000306, 2006.
Uchupi, E. and Oldale, R. N.: Spring sapping origin of the enigmatic relict
valleys of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts, Geomorphology, 9, 83–95, https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-555X(94)90068-X, 1994.
Valentin, C., Poesen, J., and Li, Y.: Gully erosion: Impacts, factors and control, Catena, 63, 132–153, 2005.
Whipple, K. X., DiBiase, R. A., Ouimet, W. B., and Forte, A. M.: Preservation
or piracy: Diagnosing low-relief, high-elevation surface formation mechanisms, Geology, 45, 91–94, https://doi.org/10.1130/G38490.1, 2017.
Winter, T. C.: Relation of streams, lakes, and wetlands to groundwater flow
systems, Hydrogeol. J., 7, 28–45, 1999.
Winterberg, S. and Willett, S. D.: Greater Alpine river network evolution,
interpretations based on novel drainage analysis, Swiss J. Geosci., 112,
3–22, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00015-018-0332-5, 2019.
Short summary
To study channel network development following continental glaciation, we ran small physical experiments where networks slowly expanded into flat surfaces. By changing substrate and rainfall, we altered flow pathways between surface and subsurface. Initially, most channels grew by overland flow. As relief increased, erosion through groundwater sapping occurred, especially in runs with high infiltration and low cohesion, highlighting the importance of groundwater in channel network evolution.
To study channel network development following continental glaciation, we ran small physical...
