Articles | Volume 14, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-493-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-14-493-2026
Research article
 | 
29 Jun 2026
Research article |  | 29 Jun 2026

Discrete differential geometry of fluvial landscapes

Nathaniel Klema, Leif Karlstrom, and Joshua Roering

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Cited articles

Acharki, S., Boudhar, A., Bouihrouchane, A., Bousbaa, M., Karaoui, I., Elyoussfi, H., Bargam, B., Khalki, E. M. E., Hadri, A., and Chehbouni, A.: Spatial modeling of snow water equivalent in the high atlas mountains via a lumped process-based approach, Sci. Rep., 15, 26327, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12163-8, 2025. a
Anand, S. K., Bertagni, M. B., Drivas, T. D., and Porporato, A.: Self-similarity and vanishing diffusion in fluvial landscapes, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 120, e2302401120, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2302401120, 2023. a
Andrews, D. J. and Bucknam, R. C.: Fitting degradation of shoreline scarps by a nonlinear diffusion model, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 92, 12857–12867, https://doi.org/10.1029/jb092ib12p12857, 1987. a, b
Baldwin, E. M.: Geologic map of the lower Umpqua River area, Oregon, Tech. rep., US Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.3133/om204, 1961. a, b
Bater, C. W. and Coops, N. C.: Evaluating error associated with lidar-derived DEM interpolation, Comput. Geosci., 35, 289–300, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2008.09.001, 2009. a
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Short summary
Geomorphology is built on process models that take topographic geometry as inputs. However, many studies calculate these metrics on 2-D projections of topography rather than on true surfaces in 3-D space. In this work we apply classical surface theory to fluvial topography of the Oregon Coast Range, USA. This formal approach improves the accuracy of geometry calculations, extracts more information than standard methods, and sheds light on the organizational structure of landscapes.
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