Articles | Volume 13, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-13-219-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-13-219-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Mar 2025
Research article |
| 12 Mar 2025
| 12 Mar 2025
Geometric constraints on tributary fluvial network junction angles
Jon D. Pelletier
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA
Robert G. Hayes
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA
Olivia Hoch
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA
Brendan Fenerty
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA
Luke A. McGuire
Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona, 1040 East Fourth Street, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077, USA
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Short summary
We demonstrate that landscapes with more planar initial conditions tend to have lower mean junction angles. Geomorphic processes on alluvial piedmonts result in especially planar initial conditions, consistent with a correlation between junction angles and the presence/absence of Late Cenozoic alluvial deposits and the constraint imposed by the intersection of planar approximations to the topography upslope from tributary junctions. We caution against using junction angles to infer paleoclimate.
We demonstrate that landscapes with more planar initial conditions tend to have lower mean...
