Articles | Volume 14, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-211-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-14-211-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Mar 2026
Research article |
| 17 Mar 2026
| 17 Mar 2026
Discriminating fluvial fans and deltas: channel network morphometrics reflect distinct formative processes
Colorado School of Mines, Geology & Geologic Engineering, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Piret Plink-Björklund
Colorado School of Mines, Geology & Geologic Engineering, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Jack Henry
Colorado School of Mines, Geology & Geologic Engineering, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Rice University, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005-1827, USA
Related authors
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Daniel Baldassare, Thomas Reichler, Piret Plink-Björklund, and Jacob Slawson
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 531–541, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-531-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-531-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Using ensemble members from the ERA5 reanalysis, the most widely used method for estimating tropical-width trends, the meridional stream function, was found to have large error, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere and in the summer, because of weak gradients at the tropical edge and poor data quality. Another method, using the latitude where the surface wind switches from westerly to easterly, was found to have lower error due to better-observed data.
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Short summary
Fluvial fans are a newly recognized type of river system that look like river deltas, especially when they reach lakes or oceans. This study explores how to tell them apart by measuring the size and layout of channels in these fan-shaped landforms. Understanding these differences helps to predict how these landforms respond to climate change and urbanization, and to identify them on Mars and other planetary bodies.
Fluvial fans are a newly recognized type of river system that look like river deltas, especially...
