Channelization cascade

TL;DR

This paper models the formation of complex river networks as a cascade of instabilities driven by landscape evolution dynamics, revealing critical conditions and pattern formation similar to fluid turbulence.

Contribution

It introduces a coupled PDE model that explains the emergence of valley spacing and channel networks through a channelization cascade mechanism.

Findings

Identification of critical conditions for channel formation

Emergence of characteristic valley spacing

Patterns resemble dislocation defects in pattern systems

Abstract

The hierarchy of channel networks in landscapes displays features that are characteristic of non-equilibrium complex systems. Here we show that a sequence of increasingly complex ridge and valley networks is produced by a system of partial differential equations coupling landscape evolution dynamics with a specific catchment area equation. By means of a linear stability analysis we identify the critical conditions triggering channel formation and the emergence of characteristic valley spacing. The ensuing channelization cascade, described by a dimensionless number accounting for diffusive soil creep, runoff erosion, and tectonic uplift, is reminiscent of the subsequent instabilities in fluid turbulence, while the structure of the simulated patterns is indicative of a tendency to evolve toward optimal configurations, with anomalies similar to dislocation defects observed in pattern-forming systems. The choice of specific geomorphic transport laws and boundary conditions strongly influences the channelization cascade, underlying the nonlocal and nonlinear character of its dynamics.